Belgrade City Council

CITY OF BELGRADE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES COUNCIL CHAMBERS August 7, 2023 7: 00 PM This meeting was open to the public and attended in person. Mayor Russell C. Nelson called the meeting to order. Council members in attendance were Jason Guffey, 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 Camille Gregory, Executive Assistant Dana Jambor, Executive Finance Director Charity VanKirk, Chief of Police Dustin Lensing, Director of Information Technology Ryan Curtis, Fire Chief Greg Tryon, Municipal Court Judge Chris Gregory, City Engineer Tom Eastwood, Director of Community Development Jason Karp, Director of Public Works Steve Klotz, and Library Director Gale Bacon. Others in attendance were Vivian Crouse, Judy Doyle, Diana Perry, and Adam Schlegel. ACTION: Council Member Menicucci moved to excuse Mayor Russell Nelson. Council Member Simon seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. PUBLIC FORUM Deputy Mayor Meis called three times for public comment. There being none, the public forum was closed. CONSENT AGENDA Consider a Request for Reduction of a Financial Guaranty for Bridger Heights Subdivision, Phases 1- 4 ACTION: Council Member Menicucci moved to approve the consent agenda items as submitted. Council Member Doyle seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING Discuss and Consider Second Reading of Ordinance 2023- 4, Updating Article II of the Administrative Code. City Attorney Ramler explained that this update changes Belgrade' s code to include the Belgrade Regional Parks, Trails, and Recreation Board. There were also some areas that were updated to make things clearer. Ramler noted one example of this was the addition of clarifying language to the Board of Adjustments section. Page 1 of 5  Ramler noted the Regional Parks, Trails, and Recreation Board will have six- members and one Ex Officio to break ties. He noted the Tree Board will be represented by the three City representatives who sit on the Regional Parks, Trails, and Recreation Board. Council Member Simon asked if there was a typo in the title of the public hearing. He noted that instead of` 2023- 4', it should be ` 2023- 8'. Deputy Mayor Meis called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Simon moved to approve Ordinance 2023- 8, an ordinance amending the provisions of Article II of the Administrative Code of the City of Belgrade regarding the Belgrade Regional Parks, Trails, and Recreation Board and making other administrative modifications. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. DISCUSSION AGENDA Discuss and Consider the Purchase of Police Vehicles. Police Chief Lensing explained that his department is requesting funding to purchase five specially outfitted Chevy Tahoe SUVs to use as police vehicles. Originally the Police Department had set aside a certain amount in the first phase of this year' s budget, which was adopted in July, to purchase three of these vehicles. He stated the plan was to come back in the next phase of the budget and request the final two vehicles. Chief Lensing stated the original plan was to purchase Fords, but the Ford dealership was back ordered by 9, 000 units. After many alternate options were explored, the conclusion was the department needed to pay $655, 000 for the five Chevys. Chief Lensing stated that if the City places an order for these vehicles before September 1st, the hope is they can be built within three or four months. The conservative timeline to receive the vehicles would be approximately six months. Chief Lensing said the Police Department already had the funds for the vehicles, and just needed the funds to be properly allocated to order them. Deputy Mayor Meis called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Menicucci moved to authorize the City Manager to enter into an agreement for the purchase of five new police vehicles in the amount requested. Council Member Guffey seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Discuss and Consider Capital Project Request for Water Main Installation Within Liscom Avenue from Abby Street to Yellow Iron Subdivision, Crossing Jackrabbit Lane. City Engineer Eastwood explained that this is a continuation of a previous request on Companion Way on the east side of Jackrabbit Lane. Water Impact fees will fund this project. Page 2 of 5  Deputy Mayor Meis called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Menicucci moved to authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with Yellow Iron LP, LLC for the upsizing and installation of water infrastructure improvements within Liscom Avenue from Abby Street to Yellow Iron Subdivision up to a maximum amount of$ 858, 500. 00. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Discuss and Consider Master Agreement with Cushing Terrell for Rewrite of the City of Belgrade Master Planning Documents. City Manager Cardwell reminded Council that a rewrite of Belgrade' s Master Planning Documents was suggested to him when he was first hired. This rewrite includes the Transportation Master Plan, Future Land Use Map Master Plan, Stormwater Master Plan, and a Parks, Trails, and Recreation Master Plan. Cardwell explained the City' s Master Plan will be the formula that each subsequent City project" will work under. The CIP program has funded this in both the FY23 and soon- to- be- presented FY24 budgets. Any subsequent work orders will be required to remain in the authorized budget for this project. Cardwell noted that with Senate Bill 382 requiring the City to move into the new planning process, the Future Land Use Planning Plan will replace the old Growth Plan as part of this process. The process is expected to take at least 24 months to complete all parts of the full Master Plan. Its progress will be posted on beheardbelgrade. com, and public participation will be requested. City Attorney Ramler stated he thinks the proposal is a good way to address the Master Plan. Adam Schlegel was present, representing Cushing Terrel. He thanked the City for the opportunity to help with this plan. Schlegel then mentioned that this wasn' t their first time working with the City. He closed by stating the Master Plan is a big undertaking, but he looks forward to working on it with the City. Cardwell mentioned that Chief Tryon will be taking the lead on this project when Tryon becomes Belgrade' s Assistant City Manager. Caldwell also stated the City is very excited about this project. Deputy Mayor Meis called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Simon moved to authorize the City Manager to sign the Master Agreement and subsequent service orders with Cushing Terrell as presented. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. REPORTS City Attorney Ramler had nothing to report. Page 3 of 5  City Manager Cardwell explained that new property tax valuations are incoming from the State. He said the State is statutorily required to release the information to the City. However, to date there had yet to be any valuation information released to the City. Those figures will be provided to the Council as soon as they are released. Caldwell then mentioned that there had been much progress on the City' s development front. He noted most of the development is commercial, asking Director Karp to speak on the matter in more detail. Karp explained that the City' s growth policy was adopted in 2020 with a shelf life of five years. He explained the City is on pace to update that policy within that original five- year window, via the proposed Master Plan. He also mentioned that there are fewer residential permits being issued this year, but commercial permits are up. Karp also noted that he still does not know what the restaurant being built next to Mackenzie River is going to be. Lastly, Cardwell updated the Council on the ongoing construction for the new library. He showed the Council a poster with updated graphics for the new building. The poster will be displayed in City Hall for the public to see. Copies of the poster will also be posted in the existing library and various other places open to the public. Cardwell noted that the north parking lot will be under construction on September 11th, 2023, and that the new building is still on schedule to open in the fall of 2024. FOR YOUR INFORMATION 12th, Council Member Mattimoe mentioned Roller Derby will be played on Saturday, August 2023, at 6: 30 pm. Visit https:// www. grderby. com for more details. She also stated she had gone to the Community Market at the Senior Center, and it looked really nice. Council Member Doyle had nothing to report. Council Member Menicucci mentioned that the Water Quality Board is going through a master plan update. She also mentioned that the airport will be looking into its de- icing procedures and making sure they aren' t polluting the water. Lastly, she commented on how nice the parks look and that she is hearing from the public that they love the parks. Council Member Meis asked for an update on the weeds growing near Town Pump on Jackrabbit. Cardwell said he had spoken with Town Pump earlier that day, and noted Town Pump is reportedly having trouble locating/ hiring vendors to mow the area. He said the City is making progress on getting the old transformers in that area removed, though. Meis closed by mentioning he may be out of town for the August 21St meeting. Page 4 of 5  Council Member Simon asked if there was an update on when Frank Rd. will open. Eastwood explained that the plan is that Frank Rd. should open sometime in September. Crews are still completing landscaping work in the area before pavement markings will be done. Council Member Guffey had nothing to report. ADJOURN Council Member Simon moved to adjourn the meeting at 7: 42 pm. 4i2/1/*/ Russell C. Nelson, Mayor C.`"" i Gregory; City erk Page 5 of 5