Belgrade City Council

CITY OF BELGRADE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES COUNCIL CHAMBERS October 16th, 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, Assistant City Manager Greg Tryon, City Attorney Rick Ramler, City Clerk Camille Gregory, Executive Assistant Dana Jambor, Executive Finance Director Charity VanKirk, Director of Information Technology Ryan Curtis, Municipal Court Judge Chris Gregory, Fire Chief Lonnie Rash, Director of Community Development Jason Karp, Director of Parks and Recreation Steve Klotz, Director of Public Works Camaree Ulija, and Library Director Gale Bacon. Others in attendance were Mike Devries, Taylor Devries, Vivian Crouse, Judy Doyle, Kathleen Brandis, Paul Reich, and Ty Elliot. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Nelsoncalled for public comment. Kathleen Brandis, residing at S. Church in Bozeman, offered public comment. She stated she was there to introduce herself to the City of Belgrade as a candidate for Municipal Judge and to offer why she was pursuing the position. Mayor Nelson called two more times for public comment. There being none, the public forum was closed. CONSENT AGENDA Consider Approval of Council Minute Draft( S): 9- 18- 23 & 10- 02- 23. Consider Approval of an Improvements Agreement and Financial Guaranty for Ashton Meadows Subdivision Phase 1 Consider Final Plat Approval for the Ashton Meadows Subdivision Phase 1 Director of Community Development Karp stated there was a change in the Ashton Meadows Improvement Agreement that will expire on April 20, 2024. He noted the updated letter of credit will expire on July 20, 2024. ACTION: Council Member Simon moved to approve the consent agenda items as submitted with the noted change by Karp. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Page 1 of 5 DISCUSSION AGENDA Discuss Letter of Support for Prospera Business Network. Paul Reichert, Executive Director of Prospera Business Network, appeared before the Council to request a letter of support. He asked that the Council issue a letter showing support for Prospera' s application to continue serving as the Certified Regional Development Corporation CRDC) for Gallatin and Park County. He noted that this is a designation that Prospera re- applies for every four years. He also explained what the company offers in their capacity as CRDC. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Mattimoe moved to approve permission for the Mayor to sign the letter of support. Council Member Guffey seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Discuss Central Valley Fire Department Presentation on Upcoming Mill Levy. Fire Chief Lonnie Rash presented a brief PowerPoint discussing the proposed Mill Levy that will be on the November 7, 2023, ballot. Council Member Meis asked Rash if he kept track of the number of non- resident calls that Central Valley Fire deals with. Rash said he didn' t have that data available, but he would look into it. Chairman of the Central Valley Fire Trustees, Ty Elliot, also appeared. He offered further explanation for why he believed the Mill Levy is necessary. Council Member Guffey asked what the starting wages for Central Valley' s firefighters are. Chief Rash stated those numbers were not readily available. However, Assistant City Manager Tryon stated that the Department is 10- 12% behind comparable fire districts. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. Discuss and Consider Mayor Appointments to Advisory Boards Mayor Nelson recommended the following applicants for appointment to the various boards listed below: Whitney Lonsdale for the Gallatin City- County Board of Health Kimberly Cleary & Jennifer McFarlane for the Gallatin Valley Urban Transportation District( GVUTD) Board Bryan Connelley for the Board of Adjustments Page 2 of 5  Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. Council Member Guffey asked how the City of Belgrade could improve public awareness of open board positions, given the City' s need for applicants to these positions. Guffey wondered if board openings could be advertised in citizens' water bills. City Manager Cardwell answered that the City Clerk always posts the openings in the local newspapers. Those openings are also posted on Belgrademt. gov. He agreed that advertising these openings in water bills could be helpful, and he would look into that possibility. ACTION: Council Member Menicucci moved to adopt the Mayor' s appointments to advisory boards as detailed in the Item Summary. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Council Member Meis asked if they could discuss the Council representative for GVUTD Board. He noted that he had volunteered to serve as the temporary Council representative on the Board until a permanent one could be appointed. However, a permanent representative still needed to be appointed. Council Member Simon nominated Meis to represent the Belgrade City Council on the GVUTD Board for the full year. Mayor Nelson called for public comment on the appointment of Council Member Meis as the Council' s representative on the GVUTD Board. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Simon moved to approve Council Member Meis to continue to serve as the Belgrade Council' s representative on the GVUTD Board. Council Member Doyle seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Mayor may close to the public all or portions of this meeting, Montana Code Annotated§ 2- 3- 203( 4)( a), to discuss strategy with respect to litigation pursuant to when an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the litigating position of the City, or when the discussion is related to a matter of individual privacy. Discuss and Consider the City Managers Performance Evaluation and Contract. At 7: 44 p. m., Mayor Nelson called for an Executive Session related to individual privacy. He allowed a brief intermission for all attendees to vacate the chambers. Those remaining in the session were all Council Members, Mayor Nelson, City Manager Caldwell, and City Attorney Ramler. At 8: 00 p.m., Mayor Nelson closed the Executive Session. He then reopened the regular meeting to the public and called the meeting back to order. Page 3 of 5  ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to approve the revisions to the City Manager' s contract as presented and to authorize the Mayor to sign it. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. REPORTS Mayor Nelson reports that he attended the Urban Land Institute ( ULI) dinner with Director of Community Development Karp, City Manager Cardwell, and Assistant City Manager Tryon. He noted the ULI was formed in 1947 and is made up of professional Planners, Architects, Engineers, and Builders. The Institute is intended for individuals in those fields who have an interest in municipal government. Volunteers from all over the country get together at these functions in order to learn what the problems are in other cities and come up with solutions to those problems. City Attorney Ramler had nothing to report. City Manager Cardwell invited Director Karp to stand and elaborate more on the ULI dinner. He commented that cities like Belgrade and counties like Gallatin County all chip in to help support housing for the ULI. However, most of the donations come from private donors. Those who attended the dinner rode on one of the new Streamline buses to tour the Gallatin Valley. Cardwell invited the Library Director, Gale Bacon, to discuss the Belgrade Election Candidate Forum. Bacon explained that the Forum would be held at the Belgrade Community Library on October 24th at 6: 30 p.m. The event would start with the Mayor Candidates. Then the Municipal Judge Candidates would begin at 7: 30 p. m. Bacon noted that the Library Foundation, the Bozeman Public Library, the Bozeman League of Women Voters, the American Association of University Women, and the Bozeman Professional Women sponsor the Forum. Bacon also mentioned the Look Who' s Talking event at Bar 3 on October 26 at 6 p. m. Cardwell added that on November 1st, Belgrade will host the Montana Infrastructure Coalition. He explained that the Montana Infrastructure Coalition assisted in creating the gas tax formula several years ago. Cardwell noted that he would not be able to attend that function due to an upcoming surgery he had scheduled, but ACM Tryon would be in attendance. Cardwell also reported that he may be unable to attend the first council meeting of November due to his surgery. FOR YOUR INFORMATION Council Member Guffey had nothing to report. Council Member Meis reported that he attended the ULI dinner and believed having the Institute here to give input would be great. He also mentioned that he will be at hunting camp until the 29th Council Member Simon noted that he attended the Fire Board meeting. He also said he would be at hunting camp as well but will try to attend the Candidate Forum. Page 4 of 5  Council Member Menicucci had nothing to report. Council Member Doyle attended the Senior Center Board Meeting. They are currently working on updating their rules. He also noted that Meals on Wheels is still going strong. Council Member Mattimoe mentioned that the Parks Board meeting wasn' t listed on the FYI. It will be November 2nd at 6: 30. ADJOURN Council Member Simon moved to adjourn the meeting at 8: 17 p.m. C df-l1627 Russell C. Nelson, Mayor Attest. teA. i L•/ . e e ie Gregory, City If erk 4 i y t Page 5 of 5