Belgrade City Council

BELGRADE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES COUNCIL CHAMBERS September 6, 2022 Tuesday) 7: 00 PM This meeting was open to the public and attended in person and via Zoom video platform. Mayor Russell C. Nelson called the meeting to order. Council Members in attendance were Martha Sellers, Mike Meis, Jim Simon, Kristine Menicucci, Jim Doyle and Renae Mattimoe. City staff in attendance were: City Manager Neil Cardwell, City Attorney Rick Ramler, City Clerk Susan Caldwell, Executive Assistant Dana Jambor, Finance Director Charity Wilson, Community Development Director Jason Karp, City Engineer Tom Eastwood, Public Works Director Steve Klotz, City Judge Chris Gregory, Police Chief Dustin Lensing, Library Director Gale Bacon, Development Consultant Ted Barkley, Fire Chief Greg Tryon, City Prosecutor Kyla Murray. Others in attendance were Vivian Crouse, Kristi Gee, Morgan Scan, Karen Davis, Fred Bates, Jr., Nick Bates and Matt Cotterman. Others in attendance via zoom were Nicole Cardwell and Judy Doyle. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Nelson called for public comment. Kristi Gee, CEO, Belgrade Chamber of Commerce, discussed the events coming up related including a parade, a free BBQ and various activities at Lewis & Clark Park to Fall Festival throughout the day on Saturday, September 17t. She noted that this year' s raffle would benefit the Belgrade Senior Center. She thanked Council Members Meis and Menicucci for volunteering to assist and she invited all others to come and participate. Setup effort would begin on Friday and cleanup on Saturday afternoon. She announced an added performance of the Intermountain Opera scheduled for 1: 00pm. Mayor Nelson called 2 more times for public comment. There being none, the public forum was closed. CONSENT AGENDA Ordinance 2022- 14 ( first reading) Zone Text Amendment to allow Autobody Business in a BP- Business Park District and set date for public hearing on September 19, 2022 Authorize City Manager to sign a contract with DEQ for Plan Specification Review options Approval of Council Minutes for August 15, 2022 Page 1 of 6  ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to approve all Consent Agenda items as submitted. Council Member Simon seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. DISCUSSION AGENDA Consider Audit Presentation for Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2021 — Amatics Morgan Scan, Amatics CPA Group, reviewed the Audit process for the period ending June 30, 2021. She noted that misstatements were detected as a result of the pre- audit procedure. City staff had corrected all such misstatements. These adjustments were related to the wastewater treatment plant construction costs incurred in fiscal year 2021, CDBG loan balances and activity, and tax revenue receivables. Recommendations included the need for overall internal control policies, documentation retention for pay rate changes, and improved control procedures and policies for disbursement approvals and signature requirements. Scan discussed the finding of material weakness in internal controls over financial reporting and the City staff' s response which was to develop new processes and procedures going forward. She noted findings of noncompliance due to late submissions of annual financial reports and audits. City staff's response included recent reorganization of the finance department and adherence to an approved schedule for timely submittals going forward, particularly since the department was now adequately staffed. Scan discussed the Single Audit finding related to matching funds for the wastewater system project. Because the USDA required matching funds and a specific way the spending should occur, their review showed that some funds were not spent before taking a draw of funds and required reserve funds were not established beforehand. The reserves had since been established. These findings were largely related to a timing factor. Corrective action included adjusting the procedure so that no further draws on federal funds would occur until the committed wastewater impact fees had been fully expended. Council inquired if the auditors had access to the previous City Manager for pertinent information. Scan stated that they encountered no difficulties with access in performing and completing the audit. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. Consider Improvements Agreement for Prescott Ranch Subdivision Phase 2 Community Development Director Karp reviewed the Improvements Agreement for Phase 2 of this subdivision. It consisted of 122 single family lots, 1 public park, 4 open space lots and 3 private alleys. The developers were present, but they did not have any additional comments. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Menicucci moved to approve the Improvements Agreement for Prescott Ranch Subdivision Phase 2 to be accompanied by Letter of Credit acceptable to the City in the amount of$ 591, 427. 41 and complying with the terms of the Page 2 of 6 Improvements Agreement. Council Member Sellers seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Consider Final Plat Approval for Prescott Ranch Subdivision Phase 2 With the approval of the Improvements Agreement, Karp noted that the Council could now consider Final Plat approval. He reminded Council that when the preliminary plat was amended in May of 2021 requiring additional right- of-way space for Bolinger Road. The developer was then given subsequent approval to increase the number of lots as shown in this final plat. Karp clarified the amount of$ 166, 200 due from the developer for participating in the expense of constructing a roundabout at Dry Creek Road/ Cruiser Lane/ Spooner Road intersection. He noted that the costs related to the Bolinger School offsite improvements was prorated per phase and the correct amount was $ 82, 136. 26. He explained that the payback amount for the Bolinger Lift Station was not required at this time because they had already paid for the first 400 lots. These costs would be reviewed again with Phase 4. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Mattimoe moved to grant final plat approval for Prescott Ranch Subdivision Phase 2 subject to the transmittal of the signed Improvements Agreement and Letter of Credit that is acceptable to the City, and the payment of the following: Dry Creek Road/ Cruiser Lane/ Spooner Road Roundabout Development Cost participation of 166, 200; Bolinger School Off-Site Improvements of$ 82, 136. 26; and 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 Doyle seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Consider Preliminary Budget FY22- 23 and set date for special meeting and public hearing to consider Final Budget Adoption on September 9, 2022 Finance Director Wilson presented a summary of the preliminary budget for fiscal year 2022- 2023. Discussion followed regarding fund categories, estimated revenues and proposed expenditures with previous year comparisons. Wilson noted that several new fund categories had been added and others had been reorganized. As an example, the costs associated with employing a Utility Billing Clerk was previously charged equally between the Water and Sewer fund. The new budget showed a specific fund for Utility Billing so the total cost of that position would be shown in one fund for clearer reporting. Some of the other new fund categories included in this Budget were the Senior Center, Facilities Maintenance and Fleet Services. Wilson reviewed the calculations for the Permissive Medical Levy. It was lower in 2021- 2022 for unknown reasons, but when comparing the level to previous years, and upon confirming current calculations, Wilson said the levy for 2023 would be closer to the expected range at just over 7 mills. Public Works Director Klotz discussed expenditures related to services including efforts to obtain certification for our Chief Operator through the Department of Environmental Quality Page 3 of 6 DEQ). He noted the current foreman was in the process of taking exams. The City would still need some consulting services to run the new plant. City Manager Cardwell reviewed plans related to the Library budget and progress on the construction process. He discussed various funding sources including donations, park impact fees, general fund and capital improvement funds. Discussion followed about how the consulting firms determined the suggested bond amount. Cardwell noted plans to use a similar process for determining the estimate for the Aquatic Center. 8: 33pm Mayor Nelson called for a short recess. 8: 43 Mayor Nelson called the meeting to order. Council Member Sellers desired to see salaries with percentages of increases, if applicable, so it could be shared with the public in an easy to understand format. She wanted to see more detail. She also asked for clarification on the number of proposed FTE totals in regard to staffing levels. Sellers asked for clarification of the change in the funding summary and asked if this was due to the Public Safety Mill levy. Wilson noted that this mill levy should not be considered a large part. Sellers inquired about an increase of income in one category shown at 51%. Wilson noted that many of the increases included revenues and also transfers in from other funds. Sellers requested two previous year' s overall history to review before the final Budget presentation. City Manager Cardwell discussed additional reports for more detailed comparisons that could be produced and that the budget as presented was a work in progress. Cardwell noted the expectation of amendments as needed. Council Member Simon asked about the Finance fund, object code 360 for repair& maintenance. He thought that $ 38, 000 was a high amount and asked what was included in this estimate. Wilson said she would review the category. Finance Director Wilson noted ongoing steps being implemented in order to develop the budget further and bring our practices up to the standards set by the Government Finance Officers Association( GFOA) going forward. Council Member Meis commented on staff' s effort to upgrade the financial reports. He noted that it had been a goal for quite some time and complimented the work accomplished thus far. He acknowledged the need for ongoing improvements. He felt this was a good baseline to work with. City Manager Cardwell thanked the Council for their questions and feedback on the proposed budget. He commended the City team of department heads and staff for their work. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to approve the Preliminary Budget and set date for a special meeting and public hearing at Noon on Friday, September 9, 2022 to consider adoption of the Final Budget for Fiscal Year 2022- 2023. Council Member Simon seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Page 4 of 6 REPORTS Mayor Nelson reported that he would not be in attendance at the Council meeting on September 19th and asked Council Member Meis to conduct as Deputy Mayor. He noted plans to have another discussion about fireworks on the Agenda for October 3rd. He thanked City staff for their efforts on preparing the budget documents. City Attorney Ramler had nothing to report. Development Consultant Ted Barkley commented that he was happy to see the City' s movement toward the GFOA format going forward. He noted that he was available to consult with staff as needed in response to the question about access to information posed earlier during the audit presentation. Barkley discussed the City' s Urban Renewal District which was established with a base year of 2017. He noted that the funds have now had a chance to accumulate so potential projects could be considered. The goal was to invest in Belgrade' s downtown area to attract businesses and provide Barkley amenities. noted there was just over $ 1. 4M in the fund, with approximately 300, 000 of new money expected to come in per year going forward. He noted that the City Council was the governing board for the District right now. He proposed some training to educate them about what they could do with the funds. Barkley noted that he had contacted the original consultants that had helped Belgrade with the initial setup of the District. They would spend some time with Council to bring them up to speed and to be in compliance with statute requirements. Barkley asked when the Mayor and Council would like to attend the training and suggested later October. He thought it would be a session of 2 to 3 hours. The consultants were based in Butte so a virtual session would be preferred. Council agreed that the training session should be scheduled for Monday, October 10th starting at 6: 00pm in the Council chambers. Barkley said he would confirm the date with the trainers. Barkley also discussed an update on working with Montana Rail Link. He noted they had received positive feedback on possible uses along Main Street/ Frontage before the Covid pandemic. Recent efforts were starting up to discuss the possibility of letting the City take down the old lounge building and review that portion along Frontage/ Main Street. There were many possible improvements that would greatly enhance the downtown area. The whole area between Oregon Street and the Chamber of Commerce could be reviewed. City Manager Cardwell reminded Council of the staff picnic on Saturday, September 10th and noted that about 130 employees and family members were planning to attend. He also reminded Council of the Fall Festival events taking place on Saturday, September 17th and encouraged them to volunteer to help serve the BBQ, etc. FOR YOUR INFORMATION Council Member Sellers commended Library staff on the depth and breadth of their programing over the past couple of years and felt it was very impressive. She also noted the Page 5 of 6 upcoming" fixit" event. She asked if the photos of the new library could be rendered and published. Cardwell said yes, as soon as the budget was finalized and approved. Council Member Meis commented on volunteering on Friday at 9am on September 16th to volunteer for Fall Festival setup. He encouraged all to come out and meet up at the Chamber of Commerce. Council Member Simon said he received an email complaint about Urban Camping on Butler Creek Road. Police Chief Lensing confirmed that he had sent out the code enforcement officer to follow up on the complaint. They would establish if they were just parking or if they were living in the RV and would proceed accordingly. Because this RV was parked on the public right- of-way, camping was not allowed. Council Member Simon requested that the current ordinance be reviewed now that it had been in place for about a year. He asked that it be placed on a future agenda so they could review how many applications had been received since implementation, how many violations and any issues of note. Simon also noted that he appreciated seeing the weeds had been mowed at the Yellowstone Airport Plaza. City Manager Cardwell noted that the City Engineer had put a word in with the developers. Council Member Menicucci reported on attending the recent Fire Board meeting. They had considered their budget which was down a bit. They were trying to consolidate and organize sub stations, partnering with school districts, assigning a person in charge of procuring ambulances and fire trucks. They noted longer than usual waiting periods to get new ambulances so that was a challenge. Menicucci reported that the Local Water Quality District was also working on their budget and clarifying who had the power to hire and fire. They were working on a final report on testing for contaminants downstream. Council Member Doyle had nothing to report. Council Member Mattimoe commented on her recent letter to the newspaper about supporting public transportation and she encouraged others to get involved. ADJOURN Council Member Simon moved to adjourn the meeting at 9: 35pm. Mi-ke Meis, Deputy Mayor Attest: Susan Caldwell, City Clerk Page 6 of 6