Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-01-27 SpecialMeridian Citv Council Special Meeting January 27, 2012 A Special meeting of the Meridian City Council was called to order at 1:30 p.m., Friday, January 27, 2012, by Mayor Tammy de Weerd. Members Present: Mayor De Weerd, Brad Hoaglun, David Zaremba, and Keith Bird. Members Absent: Charlie Rountree. Item 1: Roll-call Attendance: Roll call. X David Zaremba X Brad Hoaglun (via phone) O Charlie Rountree X Keith Bird X Mayor Tammy de Weerd Item 2: Adoption of the Agenda Zaremba: I move we adopt the agenda as published. Bird: Second. De Weerd: A motion and a second, all those in favor say aye. ALL AYES. MOTION CARRIED. Item 3: Department Reports a. Public Works: License Agreement with Nampa Meridian Irrigation District Barry: Thank you Madame Mayor. I first want to thank the Mayor and the Council for allowing us to schedule a special meeting. I know it is an inconvenience, but nonetheless we do appreciate you helping us with this issue. Before you today is a license agreement that we have been working for some time with the Nampa Meridian Irrigation District to modify language. Recently you recall that the Irrigation District has to modify language in agreements that require certain conditions that the city does not believe they can agree with. We have been working with representatives from the Irrigation District including staff and attorneys and we also met with the board and they are reluctant, actually not interested in changing the language that we have requested. They are not interested in redacting the language in question and so we feel at this point in time with regard to the project that is at hand with regard to our construction schedule and the requirements of the Irrigation District for us to be out of any of their facilities by March 15'", that we have no choice but to move forward with license agreement with the language that has been included by the Nampa Meridian Irrigation District. We have to that end been encouraged by the District to just simply agree to the language, but if we felt the need to protest the language we could. We have evaluated that option and it is as you know see before you, we have put a letter of protest in with this license agreement language. That does not change the contractual obligation of each or either the entities and so we would still be held to the conditions required under the license agreement, but we would like to go on the record with the protest letter that we have put together for your review. What we are asking today is that you allow us to enter into this license agreement with Nampa Meridian, authorize the Mayor to sign the agreement and include with that the exhibit E, which we titled essentially a protest letter. The project at hand is an important project to us. The water line replacement project that this license agreement is needed for is a replacement of infrastructure for the northwest 15` Street Meridian City Council Special Meeting January 27, 2012 Page 2 of 2 mainline and that work is important because these water lines have been identified as critical water lines within our downtown area. We have modeled that system and identified that that particular line is substandard with regard to fire flow protection. It is less than the required 1,500 gallons per minute standard that we have set even without turning off the well. So we know it is going to be worse than that if we turned off the well (inaudible). This particular project will not only increase fire protection and breach standards; it will also help with leak improvements from that line by replacing this as well as improve water quality. We do have this important project and we need to be done with this crossing before the 15th of March and for that reason, although we have tried to exhaust all options with the Irrigation District, we feel at this point and time to keep the project moving forward, we have no choice but to enter this agreement with the language included and the protest letter. Just as an update, we do want to continue to work with the Nampa Meridian Irrigation District staff and we will attempt to do so and see if we can't get this language redacted or changed in the future, but at this point and time this is the best we could do. With that I will turn it over for any questions. De Weerd: Council any questions? Zaremba: Thank you for all the work and angst if that is the right word for what you have already put into this. I am convinced that the project does need to move forward and the city of Meridian is not going to do anything in this project that violates procedures or things that we have agreed with Nampa Meridian Irrigation District before. In reading the language of the paragraph that they are seeking to add, I agree, that it doesn't apply to this project or probably any other project, it is kind of irrelevant to the project and in addition to that as you have stated, Meridian is not in a position, nor authorized or qualified to make a decision about how a water way is classified. That is not something and to agree to that just to get a permit when our agreement is essentially meaningless, I agree with the tact of continuing to pursue removing that language, but in the meantime, I appreciate what you have put together and the protest that we are attaching to it, if in fact it can be recorded along with that permit document, I think that is the right way to go. We may need to continue doing this until we get an agreement to leave that language out. I understand and appreciate that that language should not be there. De Weerd: Thank you. Any further discussion? Bird: I have none. De Weerd: I agree with what Councilman Zaremba has said. We can't be picking and choosing which ones to sign with the language and which ones can't and making the determination of where we should feel comfortable and we shouldn't -this is something that is not what we have traditionally had in these agreements and I think as we discussed when we went to their meeting, this is not a level of expertise that we have, nor do we want. This is their business between the Irrigation District and the Federal Government and we should not be in the middle of that. Mr. Hoaglun do you have any discussion? Hoaglun: No. I agree completely with what you just said. De Weerd: Council in front of you, you have a license agreement and I seek your direction. Zaremba: I move that we authorize the Mayor to sign and the Clerk to attest the permit application, license agreement and accompanied protest letter to be recorded along with the permit. Bird: Second. De Weerd: Motion and a second. Any discussion? Meridian City Council Special Meeting January 27, 2012 Page 3 of 2 Roll Call Vote: Hoaglun, aye; Bird, aye; Zaremba, aye. ALL AYES. MOTION CARRIED. De Weerd: Anything further? Bar : No Madame Mayor. I appreciate your understanding and support and we will continue to endeavor to work these issues out with Nampa Meridian. Thank you for your time. De Weerd: I would entertain a motion to adjourn. Zaremba: So moved. Bird: Second. De Weerd: All those in favor say aye. ALL AYES. MOTION CARRIED. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 1:39 P.M. (AUDIO REC RDING ON FILE OF E PROCEEDINGS) p~ l ~ ~ l o~fl~~ TAMMY D ERD, MAYOR DATE APPROVED ATTEST: o4~,~c~n au~~Sr ~~ ~~.~ .~ City of 1 N CITY CLERK ~~~~~~ JA CEE LMA , fnaHo ~'~ SEAL o~~ke 1RFAS~~