Belgrade City Council

BELGRADE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Council Chambers April 19, 2021 7: 00 PM This meeting was open to the public and attended both in-person and via the Zoom video conference platform. Mayor Russell Nelson called the meeting to order. Other Council Members in attendance were: Brad Cooper, Mike Meis Jim Simon, Kristine Menicucci and Ken Smith. Council Members attending via Zoom video were: Jim Doyle. City staff in attendance were: City Manager Ted Barkley, City Clerk Sue Caldwell and Planning Director Jason Karp. City Staff in attendance via Zoom video were: City Attorney Rick Ramler, Finance Director Diane Eagleson and City Engineer Tom Eastwood. Others in attendance were: Hannah Allen, Chuck Rowan, Amy Rowan and Sharon Martz. Others in attendance via Zoom video were: Andrew Cetraro, Ethan Cote, D. Z., Judy Doyle, Heather, Amy Hyde, Ashley & Jeff Jones, Matt Kelley, Ramona Kirk- Keller, Henry Kriegel, Janine Maines, Eric Reinhardt, W. Ronko, Diana Setterberg, Cheryle Tusken and Rocky Larocco. APPROVE MINUTES ACTION:Council Member Cooper moved to approve meeting minutes for April 6, 2021. Council Member Menicucci seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Nelson opened the public forum and called for public comment. Hannah Allen, residing in River Rock subdivision, stated her desire to see the Council call and end to Belgrade' s Declaration of Emergency. Council suggested that since she resided outside City of Belgrade limits, she could also appear before the Gallatin County Commissioners to make her wishes known. Sharon Martz, residing in Belgrade, agreed with the request and felt that the State of Emergency was well over now due to lower levels of COVID- 19 infections. She felt that lifting the Declaration would help to return citizens of Belgrade to productivity. Cheryl Tusken, residing in Bozeman, acknowledged that although she lived in the County, she did business in Belgrade. She spoke in favor of removing the State of Emergency and felt it would be better to release all businesses from limitations and let them open up at 100% capacity without restrictions. She felt that we wouldn' t need the funding from the government. This action would let businesses pay their taxes like normal, let them get back to normal. Page 1 of 9  City Manager Barkley noted that the status of the Belgrade Declaration of Emergency was due to be discussed as shown on this meeting' s agenda. He clarified that the Declaration had no relation to the mask mandate or the mandates affecting whether the business could open back up. Barkley stated that Belgrade has not been issuing any health orders, but we were subject to them and have followed them. The Declaration of Emergency was solely affecting our eligibility for funding assistance. Hannah Allen spoke again and said she did not realize River Rock was not inside Belgrade city limits.She noted that House Bill 121 was affecting the whole state now that the County commissioners would have to vote to approve the Health Board mandates. She was asking Belgrade City Council to send a message to the County to start moving forward away from the mask mandate. She wanted Belgrade to send a statement requesting that the mandate be rescinded. Mayor Nelson called 2 more times for further public comment. There was none and the public forum was closed. REPORTS Mayor' s Report— Mayor Nelson reported on the flyer that had been produced for the School Levy Ballot, showing Council Member Cooper and his granddaughter, both graduates of Belgrade High School, and he complemented the photo. City Attorney' s Report— the City Attorney had nothing to report. Gallatin County Health Department Report Matt Kelley, Gallatin City- County Health Officer, spoke about the latest statistics on COVID- 19 cases and noted that Gallatin County had more cases than any other county in the State of Montana. He also discussed the progress being made in providing vaccinations and that the supply was increasing, along with available appointments. Kelley noted that he had been the Health Officer for the past 11 years. He discussed the duties of the City-County Health Board as being tasked with protecting the public from the spread of such things as COVID- 19. The board included 9 members with 7 members being unpaid citizen volunteers, 1 member appointed from the Bozeman City Commission and 1 member appointed from the Gallatin County Commission. Kelley noted that the Health Board had made local rules governing bars, pubs and gyms, and also the mask mandates, which would expire in May. He felt that House Bill 121 was ambiguous about the duties and it appeared that final decisions would now fall to the Bozeman and Gallatin commissions. These commissions could also have the authority to rescind current mandates. Discussion followed regarding Belgrade' s position and being included in the decision making process going forward. Kelley noted that Belgrade could request to be included, but it should be discussed with the City Attorney as to how they should proceed. He noted that it was very difficult to strike a balance. No matter what was decided, there would be criticism. Council Member Cooper noted that probably about 25 years ago, Belgrade had a seat on the Health Board, but had not been included for many years now. Page 2 of 9  Kelley noted that board members included residents from all over the County. The interlocal agreement called for 4 from Bozeman, 4 from Gallatin County, and 1 member appointed jointly. Kelley felt it was a healthy thing to have Belgrade join in, but this would be determined by the Bozeman and Gallatin Commissions. It was not up to the Health Board. Mayor Nelson asked if Council had additional questions. Council Member Simon asked about when the current mandates would expire. Kelley responded that they would expire on May 10th. This would be considered at their meeting to be held on May 5th. HB 121 now gave the Commissions the power to rescind. Council Member Menicucci thanked Kelley for his hard work as the Health Officer and wished him well on his new job. Council Member Doyle commented that the City of Billings dropped their mask mandate and their numbers were half. Kelley noted that Gallatin County had twice as many college students, twice the number of out- of-state visitors, airplane passengers, and many more young people in our area. All of these factors drove our numbers higher. Gallatin had the first cases and the first surge. It continues to lead in the statistics. City Manager' s Report City Manager Barkley reported on a recent meeting with Montana Rail Link ( MRL) He noted the reenergizing efforts on creating a quiet zone. Work that had been done on the Oregon crossing was one big step toward a quiet zone. Removal of the grade crossing at Jackrabbit will also help. Then Belgrade will only have 2 more crossings to address to achieve a quite zone, so the cost is coming down. When we can meet the standards, it will mean the trains won' t have to sound for their crossings and the noise will reduced. Barkley noted that MRL had also pledged to address the spur south of Broadway. Discussions had also started about options for the City to potentially lease the property across from Lewis & Clark Park in order to develop a public parking are with landscaping similar to the other parking lot across from the Mercantile building. MRL is also looking forward to our proposal in regard the option of tearing down the Belgrade Lounge and discount the lease fee according to the cost of demolition. Barkley noted that the antique shop next door should not be negatively affected by taking down the lounge. Council asked what the funding mechanism would be for these improvements. Barkley noted funding could come partly from the American Rescue Plan( ARPA) funds, the Urban Renewal District tax receipts and some Impact Fees as well. Barkley noted that the State of Montana may also have funds available through a competitive process in the future. More guidance would be coming on our options. Barkley discussed the entitlement amounts coming through the ARPA program and potential funding allowances. He discussed additional infrastructure funding in the works as well, water/ sewer projects, the underpass on Jackrabbit and other infrastructure like curbs and gutters. Council asked if this funding could be used toward the Library project and Barkley thought it was possible, particularly toward the community center part. Council inquired if there was a time limit on using the funds. Page 3 of 9 Barkley said there were rules on how we could use the funds, but more clarification would be coming on the time frame. Barkley reported that the plans and layout for the new Library was in process and they were hoping to have a plan for Council to review in a month. Council Member Cooper said he wanted the Council to see the Library plans to allow enough time for them to review before they were asked to vote on the ballot question. Barkley reported that the recruitment profile for the next City manager was nearly complete. Prothman would start working on producing a comparable compensation range. Barkley reported that Police Chief Clark had reported higher speeds occurring along Cruiser Lane. The police were increasing their presence and enforcement efforts. Barkley reported on a request received from Ryan Simon, Eagle Scout, to hold his Court of Honor at the same park where he had built several picnic tables. He had asked that the park reservation fee be waived for this event. Council approved of waiving the fee. DISCUSSION AGENDA Consider Status of Belgrade Declaration of Emergency due to the Covid- 19 Pandemic— Resolution 2020- 9 Mayor Nelson reviewed Resolution 2020- 9 that had been adopted in March of 2020. City Manager Barkley noted there was a significant amount of confusion about what the declaration accomplished. He noted that it did not constitute or create any health orders affecting businesses. He noted it did not affect the requirements related to wearing masks. He emphasized the fact that the City of Belgrade did not have that authority. The Declaration was directly related to eligibility for emergency funds. There was never any intention to impose health directives. Barkley noted that it was not yet known what federal or state aid was or would be tied to this emergency declaration. Barkley recommended that the Council not rescind the Declaration of Emergency currently in effect as this would affect the City' s eligibility for funding, and it was still unclear what could be made available. Rescinding could harm the City' s fiscal position. This same type of Declaration would have come into play if it had been due to a flood or fire or earthquake. Barkley discussed the City' s efforts to provide help to area businesses to assist them with the challenges presented by the COVID- 19 pandemic. These included Business Sustainability Grants and Job Retention Loans. Barkley noted that there were not a significant number of residents who were delinquent on paying their water/ sewer utility bills so that was a positive. He noted that staff would continue to watch that aspect and provide assistance to businesses wherever possible. Mayor Nelson referenced House Bill 632 section 26 which specified that a city' s share of funding would be reduced by 20% if the city imposed greater restrictions than the State. The cities were being incentivized not to impose more restrictive directives. Page 4 of 9  Council discussed Belgrade' s options to try and control the mask mandates and if there was a way to determine these directives going forward. It was noted that Belgrade did not have the staff to form or administer the duties that are performed by a health board. Council generally agreed that they would like Belgrade to have a seat at the County Health Board' s table going forward. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. Henry Kriegel, residing in Bozeman, stated he was representing Americans for Prosperity. He said there were some inaccuracies on statements about the House Bill. It was introduced due to concerns about the overreaching authority of Health Directors who should only deal with health issues. He noted that the Bill changed how the enforcement would be dealt with in regard to misdemeanor criminal offenses and such. He said health boards could still issue directives but if the directive was more restrictive than the directives from the State, then the local body could approve or deny. Kriegel said this would make the Health Director more accountable to the board. He felt that their mandates requiring masks was causing a negative impact. He recommended that Belgrade send a formal Resolution to Gallatin County Commissioners and the City County Health Board requesting that they rescind the mask mandate. Cheryl Tusken, residing in Bozeman, spoke in support of ending the State of Emergency. She commented on how the Health Board had been conducting their meetings on the Zoom video platform, however, they muted everyone' s microphones. She felt that they would not listen and they needed to be reeled in. She felt that they were consistently using one- sided data to push their mandates. She felt there were false statements made by Dr. Fauci and the CDC. Hannah Allen spoke again about getting the economy back on track. She felt it was important to end the State of Emergency and to send a message that we didn' t need the federal funding because it was not sustainable. It would end up costing us in the future. City Manager Barkley said he would provide copies of the legislation that had passed so Council could review the information. He again suggested waiting a few more weeks before considering the action of ending the Emergency status. He suggested waiting 60 days from March 11 to to allow time to receive guidance. Council discussion followed regarding whether or not to draft a letter to the County Commission about Belgrade' s input regarding mask mandates and related considerations. It was noted that perhaps such communication should be brought before the County by individual residents. ACTION: Council Member Smith moved to table this discussion of the status of the Declaration of Emergency until May 3, 2021. Council Member Cooper seconded the motion. Motion carried 4 to 2. Roll Call Vote Council Members voting aye: Cooper, Meis, Simon, Smith Council members voting no: Menicucci, Doyle Consider Improvements Agreement for Bridger Heights Subdivision Phase 3 Planning Director Karp reviewed the Improvements Agreement for sidewalks and street improvements for Phase 3 which would include the requirement for a letter of credit in the amount of 349, 854. 09. Ethan Cote, Engineer representing Bridger Heights, was present to answer questions. Page 5 of 9  Council Member Doyle wanted to clarify if the Letter of Credit amount should be $ 349, 854. 09 or $ 348, 854. 09. Karp confirmed it should be $ 348, 854. 09. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to approve the Improvements Agreement for Bridger Heights Subdivision Phase 3 to be accompanied by a Letter of Credit acceptable to the City in the amount of$ 348, 854. 09 and complying with the terms of the Improvements Agreement. Council Member Simon seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Consider Final Plat Approval for Bridger Heights Subdivision Phase 3 Planning Director Karp noted that with the approval of the Improvements Agreement the Council could now consider Final Plat approval. He noted that Phase 3 contained 2 additional apartment complex lots in the final plat. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Menicucci moved to grant final plat approval for the Bridger Heights Subdivision Phase 3 subject to the transmittal of the signed Improvements Agreement and Letter of Credit that is acceptable to the City, finding that all conditions of preliminary plat approval have been met and the subdivision complies with the Montana Subdivision and Platting Act and the Belgrade City Code. Council Member Simon seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Consider Ordinance 2021- 1 ( first reading) Adopt Updated International Energy Conservation Code and set date for Public Hearing Planning Director Karp reviewed the process for adopting updated building codes. Each time the State of Montana adopted updated building codes, the local government must also review and update their codes. The State updated their codes according to the International Energy Conservation Code of 2018 ( IECC). This code was, and will be, enforced by the Building Department on commercial and residential structures within the City of Belgrade. Karp discussed several ways that builders and homeowners could view the code details. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Cooper moved to approve Ordinance 2021- 1 upon first reading, adopting the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code with State amendments and setting date for public hearing on May 3, 2021. Council Member Doyle seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Consider Park Board Appointments Council Member Simon noted that a new person was being recommended to fill a vacancy on the Park Board, Vivian Crouse. Crouse had shown interest in serving and had applied several months Page 6 of 9 earlier, but the board membership had already been filled. Also, the Park Board recommended reappointment of Diana Perry and Patrick Feretta as their terms were set to expire on April 30, 2021. Feretta and Perry had indicated their desire to continue serving. Mayor Nelson recommended the appointments as stated and called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Simon moved to appoint Vivian Crouse to the Park Board for a 2 year term, and to reappoint Diana Perry and Patrick Feretta for another 2 year term. Council Member Menicucci seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Consider Relocation of Playground Equipment to Sunnyside Park City Manager Barkley noted that the play structure/equipment that was currently located in Lewis & Clark Park would soon be replaced. The Park Board discussed the option of continued use of the play structure and recommended that it be moved to another City park where there was very little play equipment. They recommended that the entire structure be relocated to Sunnyside Park. Council Member Simon discussed the Park Board' s discussion to move the play equipment as a whole unit, to the South side of Belgrade near the interstate. Sunnyside was a fairly large park that saw a lot of activity. City Manager Barkley noted that City staff agreed with the recommendation. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Simon moved to approve of moving the play equipment structure at Lewis & Clark Park to Sunnyside Park. Council Member Cooper seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Consider Third Quarter Financial Report City Manager Barkley reviewed the report and discussed notable expenses during the quarter. He noted that this report covered accounting through 3/ 31/ 2021 which represented about 75% of our fiscal year and noted $ 1M of COVID- 19 related funds that would be scheduled for use in the future budget. He said the budget planning season was already in the beginning phases. CONSENT AGENDA Payroll for March 2021 Warrants Payable for March 2021 ACTION: Council Member Cooper moved to approve the consent agenda items. Council Member Smith seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. FOR YOUR INFORMATION Council Member Doyle had nothing to report. Page 7 of 9  Council Member Cooper asked about where to place yard waste for pickup during the Spring Cleanup and mentioned some pot holes that needed to be addressed. City Manager Barkley reported that he had confirmed that the City had 3 of the electronic speed signs that Cooper had inquired about at the last meeting. Barkley said he would bring back a proposal of where to install these 3 and then plan to order a few more for the first of July so the Council could choose where they would like to have them installed. Council Member Meis asked when the restrooms at the Parks will be opened for the season. Council Member Simon thought it would probably be when we can get past the freezing temperatures at night. Perhaps the middle to end of May. Council Member Simon reported on the recent Park Board meeting and that Code Enforcement Officer Amber Gibson had attended. She noted that many residents had been asking about having a designated off-leash dog park. The Board discussed possible locations such as the old landfill on the South side of town, and possibly on the North side of town within Prescott Park or Menicucci Park. They felt it needed to be fenced for separation from park equipment. Barkley noted that the panhandle of Menicucci Park was already designated as a possible location for a dog park as indicated in the Park' s master plan. Council Member Simon also discussed some possible uses for Impact Fees such as additional lighting around the Ice Rink Park, Prescott Park topsoil, grading and irrigation, Lewis & Clark' s parking lot, and Sunnyside Park improvements. He wanted to see how these park projects would fit into the budget. Barkley noted that they should review where these projects were listed in the Capital Improvements Plan( CIP) and where they fell within the project priority ranking. He said he would confirm with our liability coverage if an off-leash park could be covered without being fenced. Council Member Menicucci reported that the Library recently held an outdoor book sale and they raised $ 1, 154 despite the cold weather. She congratulated the Belgrade Community Library staff on receiving the Library Service Award by the Montana State Library. Council Member Menicucci also requested that City staff review the situation at a house located on Broadway and Cameron across from Lions Park. She noted that they were running a wood chip business and the back yard was full of woodchips which were now overflowing into the front. She felt this was becoming a hazard and could be easily set ablaze. Council Member Smith suggested that the City and Chamber of Commerce work with the Nutrium Ag building manager and discuss the option of repainting the building and include a welcome to Belgrade" message so it could be seen from the airport. Perhaps it could be a way to use urban renewal funds and improve the entryway to Belgrade from the visitors viewpoint. Smith said he would follow up with the owners to see what kind of bids they receive back. Council Member Cooper asked if any more discussions had taken placed with Town Pump about purchasing a section of land behind their store next to Lewis & Clark Park. Barkley said he had Page 8 of 9 provided them with the land survey information and they were asked to bring back a drawing showing what they wanted to obtain from our park area. Barkley had not heard back from them yet. Mayor Nelson reported on his attendance of the Central Valley Fire Board meeting and their upcoming special ballot for the mill levy, which would be a permanent 10 mill levy. They also had a swearing in ceremony of 3 officers, 2 lieutenants and 1 captain. Mayor Nelson also reported on some bad potholes in the City parking lots, and at the four- way stop as reported by citizens. The Mayor also asked how the progress was going on updating the audio/ video options in the Council chambers. Barkley reviewed some of the temporary upgrades that were being implemented. ADJOURN Council Member Smith moved to adjourn the meet'•._ at 9: 44 pm. cy 4ifie„./.. L :_. C_. Russell C. Nelson, Mayor Attest t- ,- -; ,- 4/ e- i Susan Caldwell, City Clerk - 4?-- k L - 12 C--- Page 9 of 9