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Minden The Minden Town Board meeting was held at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 6, 2011, at 1602 Esmeralda Avenue, Minden, Nevada. Board members present: Matt Bernard, Charlie Condron, Roxanne Stangle and John Stephans. Staff present: Greg Hill, George Keele, Trish Koepnick, Bruce Scott and Roger Van Alyne. The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Chairman Stephans. 1. Pledge of Allegiance was led by John Stephans 2. Mr. Van Alyne noted the changes in the agenda to comply with the new open meeting law required by this year’s legislature. Condron/Stangle moved for the approval of the agenda as published. 3. Bernard/Stangle moved for the approval of the minutes of the June 1, 2011 Board Meeting. 4. Mr. Stephans noted that the vouchers and claims were in the process of being signed. 5. Acknowledgement of gifts: None 6. Acknowledgement of service awards a. James Smith and B.J. Strauser have worked for the Town for ten years but could not be here tonight to accept service awards. II. PUBLIC COMMENT Robert McMillan passed out a timetable for Douglas County as compiled by Robert Ellison. He encouraged the board to think outside the box, and offered the opportunity to tour the GE facility. He is concerned by the county figures that make it appear that in the argument for the five cent gas tax, the County is making Minden look as though we are charging too much, but the truth is we have a very good street program. Bob Pohlman will be presenting a petition to the County asking to pull bond and complete the work in Monterra. No one wants to take the responsibility of doing the work. The infrastructure should have been finished by 2007. He is hoping to have this on the County agenda and would appreciate support. Beverly Giannopulos appreciated the park decorations for the 4th of July. She sees that there is a brick front on the pillars and inquired if the year would be put on the pillars. Mr. Stephans said that we would research and determine which year (1905 or 1906); there would be a decision concerning the design. Sandy Deyo suggested looking at the Town’s annexation policy to have it allow for a way to enforce development matters in a timelier manner. The developer has benefits and we need to look carefully at the impact caused, especially if the development does not finish. Mr. Keele said that in Douglas County the annexation process occurs before the approval of the subdivision map which is prudent because of the services required. Mr. Scott said that when an annexation occurs the town starts collecting ad valorem tax based on the land value. In the past we have not had a problem with things being finished, but agree that we need to take a hard look at the process including the development bonding and possibly take the lead to have the town as a named insured on the bond, which would allow us to push forward to get the work done. There has been reluctance by the county to pull the bonds. ---PAGE BREAK--- Minden Town Board Meeting July 6, 2011 Page 2 of 6 III. STAFF REPORTS: 1. Public Works: report of activities by Greg Hill a. Well 3 upgrade is almost done. Next month he will have a full report on the cost; is probably below 200,000. b. The cracking of the pillars have been dealt with by adding a brick finish; he asked for input on lettering for the year. c. Natgun painted the tank last week and it blends very well with the landscaping. d. The Buckeye waterline was tested; he is very happy with the results. After flushing there was no chlorine residual. He will be submitting to state to put in service. e. Work is moving fast at the maintenance facility; it is going very smoothly and we are very pleased with Q&D. f. A transfer switch was replaced at the booster station. g. We participated in the Carson Valley Day and Virginia City parades. B.J. Strauser, Shane Mortensen, Trish Koepnick, and Amber Smith, along with their families, represented the Town. h. Three employees took water distribution tests and we are awaiting the results. Mr. Stephans invited visits to the new yard, asking requests to visit be coordinated with Mr. Van Alyne. 2. Engineering Report: report by Bruce Scott. Mr. Scott said Ed James has been contacted to schedule a meeting before the next round of filing water rights, to assure that all entities involved have an understanding so there will be no protests. Churchill County is the biggest concern. We hope to have this meeting by the beginning of August. There have been significant personnel changes at the county level. There will be a new engineer and manager that will affect our interface with the county. Hopefully we get off on right foot and improve the relationship. We are proposing to go out to bid for the materials for the Lucerne waterline. That project is estimated at a little more than 2 million since some materials will be reimbursed as apart of the Booster Pump Station agreement with the County. We hope to be out to bid for the Buckeye pump station for the revised scale down. Pipeline north has had a few wrinkles but are being worked out. There are concerns on the tight budget, material costs have gone up significantly. Looking at what was done at Well 3, 800 gpm is impressive and the capability of the staff is also impressive. Greg’s experience has been brought to the table and it really shows. We have opened escrow on the land for the Heybourne Booster Pump Station; the lot line adjustment is the mechanism to create the parcel. It will go through the County process and hopefully close in one month. Roxanne thanked Mr. Scott for always being available and answering her questions. 3. Attorney Report: report by Mr. Keele Mr. Keele thanked Mr. Scott for the reference concerning the environmental work at the firehouse, which was done quickly and had favorable results. There is a microscopic amount of asbestos in the floor tiles. With respect to issues raised by Mr. Deyo, Mr. Keele has witnessed several petitions respecting extensions for subdivisions, and they have been generally extended. ---PAGE BREAK--- Minden Town Board Meeting July 6, 2011 Page 3 of 6 He has worked with Mr. Bernard this month concerning lease and tenants for the firehouse and plan to bring back to the board next month. Mr. Keele noted that he is exceedingly impressed by the work done at Jake’s Wetlands. Mr. Stephans expressed appreciation to Mr. Keele for his hard work over the years. Mr. Condron appreciates the history that Mr. Keele and Mr. Scott bring to the table. 4. Manager’s Report: report by Roger Van Alyne Mr. Van Alyne noted that Douglas County has hired a new planning manager, Candace Stowell: he believes they are holding off on a finance manager until they fill the county manager position. The Martin Slough Ditch design is estimated closer to $9000. The County is completely rewriting Chapter 12 and greatly appreciated the Town’s input. Mr. Van Alyne toured the Town operation with prospective new employee Dan Kistler and his wife Christine today. He has worked at the city of Oakdale, California; knows water operation very well and appears to be a good equipment operator. NDOT work on Hwy 395 will be starting next week; the main work will start in the north with installation of ADA access ramps on 395 also starting. The curbing for CVI will be part of the contract. 5. Board member reports: a. Board member comments Mr. Condron said that we plan to meet with Gardnerville concerning Chapter 13 to address the wording for the Towns and bring back to the Board by September. Mr. Bernard said there will be a late July meeting for Christmas kickoff weekend planning. The county has been very cooperative concerning the firehouse and there are two separate documents being prepared. He had the privilege of attending the last concert and accepted a plaque for the town. IV. ADMINISTRATIVE AGENDA: 1. Consent agenda: No items for the Consent Agenda. 2. a. Not for possible action. Presentation by Leadership Douglas County regarding the Douglas County 150th Anniversary Celebration. Presentation by Eric Schmidt, representative of the Leadership Douglas County 2011 The Leadership class is assisting Douglas County with the County’s 150th Anniversary Celebration. They are proposing a family fun day at Minden Park on October 1, 2011, which will include an outdoor concert and festival events. They propose to use the gazebo as stage, service organizations serving food and stand up barrels to eat at. He assured the board the park would be left very clean. There would be a game zone, historic walk, VIP tent along Mono with full seating and food for major contributors. Around the perimeter of park would be replicas of historical markers around Douglas County showing locations of the markers. They would have four portable restrooms and 2 hand washing stations. They will look at the possibility of closing some roads. Ms. Stangle suggested activities to be conducted along 5th street rather than 6th as a safety measure. Mr. Bernard suggested adjusting the hours earlier than 2-7 pm because it might get dark. Public comment: Mr. McMillan asked if they will allow booths in this event, as a representative of the historical society he would like to sell items and memberships. Mr. Schmidt said that there has been preliminary ---PAGE BREAK--- Minden Town Board Meeting July 6, 2011 Page 4 of 6 contact with the historical society, as they are assisting them. Mr. Stephans encouraged that affiliation. b. For possible action. Discussion to approve, approve with conditions, continue, or deny a request to waive fees estimated to be $200 for the use of Minden Park for Douglas County’s 150th Anniversary Celebration. Bernard/Stangle moved to approve a request by Leadership Douglas County to waive fees estimated to be $200.00 for the use of Minden Park for the Douglas County’s 150th Anniversary celebration. Motion carried unanimously. 3. For possible action. Discussion to approve, approve with conditions, continue, or deny a request for resident only parking designation at 1596 Mono Avenue. Appearance by Town Manager. Mr. Van Alyne said that tonight’s item is actually not for action; it will introduce staff’s evaluation and at the next meeting formal action will be scheduled. This request meets the two criteria established in the parking ordinance: it is within 100 feet of an office building and they do not have off street parking available to them. Mr. Stephans referred to a denied request in 2003, and noted that there are areas painted green that are invalid. He questioned the status of the residential parking on 5th Street. It appears that the owners of this property chose to take away parking in alley. He cautioned against piecemealing residential parking and opening Pandora’s box in this regard. Mr. Condron was told that the final decision on this matter rests with the Town Board. Roxanne is sympathetic to the situation but it is part of being a resident of small town Minden. She is concerned about green stripes all over town and the nightmare of enforcement. Mr. Bernard noted that we could have a problem long term by allowing this. There is some inevitability of issues because of office use, and this is residential not disabled parking. Public comment: Marlena Hellwinkel noted that the curb on Mono across from the park was painted green as an experiment after the request to paint red; she suggested that the green there should go away. She agreed that we do not need green stripes all over town; this is unwelcoming and hard to enforce. Bev Giannopulos feels that people parking in front of houses is a part of living in the older part of Minden; green and red curbs are not friendly, and we want to be welcoming. Sandy Deyo said that when you purchase a home if you make changes that impact the parking that is your problem. This will be on the agenda next month for action. 4. a. For possible action. Discussion to approve, approve with conditions, continue, or deny a request to: 1) reallocate budget of $19,193 within Fund 630, General Fund for 2011-12 Street Sealing Project and 2) make fund adjustments to Fund 636, Capital Equipment and Construction. b. For possible action. If the budget actions are approved, discussion to examine, award, continue, or reject bid for the 2011 Street Sealing Project to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. Staff recommends Kustom Koatings, Inc., in the amount of $89,192.96. c. For possible action. If bid is awarded, authorize Chairman to execute Agreement for same. Appearance by Town Engineer. Mr. Van Alyne noted that the final 2011-12 budget provided $70,000 for street sealing. The bids received were above the amount budgeted. It is necessary according to statute to fully fund this ---PAGE BREAK--- Minden Town Board Meeting July 6, 2011 Page 5 of 6 project and transfer the additional amount from reserves prior to awarding a contract. Mr. Scott said that our street sealing program maintains 25% of the Town each year. This reflects the majority or work in Westwood with a little bit in Winhaven. Kustom Koatings does excellent work. This does not reflect any major rehab work, and he expressed concern about getting back on track with that. Mr. Condron was happy to see Westwood on the list, as many areas there need help. The Board talked about delaying seal coating but believes we need to get back on track. Ms. Stangle said that this is a great company to work with and totally supports them. Mr. Bernard was told by Mr. Scott that the sand seal process done in Mackland last year will not be done. This is liquid and forms a better than fog seal; works well because we do not have heavy traffic on most of our streets. We are doing 90% of Westwood because the other 10% received a coating more recently than the rest of the Westwood streets. The debris will be blown off the street before sealing. Greg suggested that we coordinate street sweeping prior to sealing. Public comment: Robert McMillan commented that he would rather see the whole neighborhood done even if this is less than 4 years. Bernard/Condron moved to approve reallocate budget of $19,193 within Fund 630 and make fund adjustments to Fund 636; award bid for the 2011 Street Sealing Project to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, Kustom Koatings, Inc., in the amount of $89,192.96; and authorize Chairman to execute Agreement for same. Motion carried unanimously. 5. Not for possible action. Discussion on changes to the C.V.I.C. Hall rental policy as suggested by Staff. Appearance by Town Manager. Mr. Stephans hoped everyone has gone over the policy and asks for input from staff. Mr. Van Alyne said that office staff deals with interpretations every day. This revised policy is not vastly different than what is in place. It is easier to follow, and takes a stab at public agency use clarification, as we have had a number of requests to waive fees for the use of the facility. Mr. Stephans said the two ladies in the office are ambassadors of the town and he welcomed their input. He would like to see public agencies be limited to only those in Douglas County. His main concern is consistency. Mr. Condron had spoken with Trish and Amber and sees his job as establishing policy and not getting into day to day decisions. This makes the position of the people enforcing the policy easier. Being fair and equitable can be difficult. He would like to see us get a good policy to stand behind and we could still make exceptions as noted. He would like to see us cover the hard costs regardless of who is using the hall. Ms. Stangle would like to see the Board submit all of their concerns, to be addressed at the next Board meeting. The Board agreed to this with the deadline for questions and comments established as Friday July 22. Public comment: Beverly Giannopulos asked for clarification of what was presented. This is a reorganization of the policy to make it easier to follow. Also there are some additions with the intention to maintain consistency. Sandy Deyo said that regardless of policy, people should always have the right to come to the board. ---PAGE BREAK--- Minden Town Board Meeting July 6, 2011 Page 6 of 6 6. Not for possible action. Discussion on a ‘Branding Plan’ for the Town of Minden. Appearance by Town Manager. This a continuation of discussion on the challenge issued in April to describe Minden in 7 words or less. After an article by the Record Courier we now have 163 submittals. The question is now what will we do with this? He suggested the possibility of a branding plan; a brand is what they say about you when you are not around. He has included in the packet a draft branding plan; he asked that the Board look at this, get ideas and filling the holes. Get creative juices to stimulate thoughts. Mr. Stephans suggested that we have more community involvement; we could have 3-5 people that sit down with the staff, narrow down to top 5 and get involved in how to market. Mr. Condron said it is an opportune time to get people involved and come up with something that truly defines Minden. Ms. Stangle said this is a good start and agreed that we need input from the community. Mr. Bernard would like to take time to do it right and have community involvement. He has tried very hard to come up with a slogan that somehow ties in the history. He would like to see the logo we currently have tied in with the slogan. Ms. Stangle will spearhead the effort with a group of at least five people and will report back next month. Public comment: Beverly Giannopulos questioned this approach and thinks it seems piecemealed. First there was no deadline. A brand is a picture and a slogan is the wording. She believes that we need to get the brand first and then a slogan. Slogan idea was great, but the brand could be a totally different concept. Mr. Stephans said the brand is how to market the Town, not a picture. We already have a well recognized logo. Mr. Van Alyne said that it would be natural to take the logo and build on it. Sandy Deyo said that we need to keep in mind that first we need to establish one goal. V. PUBLIC COMMENT Mr. Stephans said that this additional public comment is overkill, and will not be done at the next meeting. Mr. McMillan said that Dangberg Ranch is now closed down as a state park He believes that the board should be aware that because there will be quite an expenditure required for maintaining this. Douglas County will probably ask Minden to support it and we should think about this. VI. ADJOURNMENT Condron/Bernard moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:40 P.M. Motion carried unanimously.