Belgrade City Council

CITY OF BELGRADE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES COUNCIL CHAMBERS November 20th, 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, Jim Doyle, and Renae Mattimoe. Appearing via ZOOM, Kristine Menicucci. City staff in attendance were City Manager Neil Cardwell, Assistant City Manager Greg Tryon( ACM), 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, Municipal Court Judge Chris Gregory, City Engineer Tom Eastwood, Interim Fire Chief Jake Zlomie, Director of Community Development Jason Karp, Director of Parks and Recreation Steve Klotz, and Belgrade Library Director Gale Bacon. Others in attendance were Vivian Crouse, Judy Doyle, Ethan Cote, Lila Fleishman, and Kent Merselis. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There being none, the public forum was closed. CONSENT AGENDA Consider Approval of Council Minute Draft: 11- 6- 23. ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to approve the consent agenda items as submitted. Council Member Simon seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING Discuss and Consider Preliminary Approval of The Whisper Creek PUD. Director of Community Development Karp explained that this is a planning and development for zoning in Four Graces. It' s 41 acres east of Collins Rd. and north of Frontage Rd. He then explained that this is not a subdivision but similar to a manufactured home park without manufactured homes. The developers will be responsible for park and street maintenance, and the City will only provide Water and Sewer. There would be 256 family units and some four plexes in the portion of the property that is zoned R3. The owner plans to keep the development under their ownership to rent out to the public to keep the homes affordable. The City/ County Planning Board held a public hearing to gain public comment, with no negative comments. Page 1 of 6  Ethan Cote with White Mountain Engineering appeared on behalf of the applicant. He explained that the streets would be privately maintained, and each cottage would have its own driveway, with one uncovered and one covered carport parking space instead of a garage. The four- plexes will have at least one parking space, and on-street parking will be provided to supplement. He then went over the proposed relaxations R2 residential neighborhood zoning. They also hope to install 4- foot- wide sidewalks on both sides of the street. Mayor Nelson asked Karp if there were other comparable privately owned streets, to which Karp named Belgrade Village, Vogle Park, and Marjorie Ln. There was a brief discussion on any impact on the Master Plan and driveway size. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. Council Member Meis stated that he attended the planning board meeting, and this subject was discussed at length. However, the consensus was that this development could help with the housing issues in Belgrade. ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to grant approval of the Whisper Creek PUD subject to the conditions of approval recommended by the Belgrade City- County Planning Board. Council Member Doyle seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. DISCUSSION AGENDA Discuss and Consider Res. No. 2023- 29 Approving a Request from HRDC for a Loan to Refurbish the Colorado Apartments for Affordable Housing. Director of Community Development Karp explained that HRDC acquired the Colorado apartments as part of their affordable housing portfolio. Though they acquired some grant money to rehab the apartments, they are still short. HRDC is asking Belgrade for a loan of $ 80, 000 with a term of 15 years at 2% interest to close the gap. Lila Fleishman, Director of community development with HRDC, clarified that HRDC purchased the apartments in 1996 and completed a small remodel in 1998. The project will serve low-income seniors and people with disabilities at$ 700 a month. The refurbishing will be to ensure the apartments are safe and durable. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Mattimoe moved to approve a loan to HRDC for$ 80, 000 for 15 years at 2% interest and authorize the City Manager to sign the loan agreement Page 2 of 6 documents on behalf of the City to effectuate the loan. Council Member Doyle seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Discuss and Consider the Updated Improvements Agreement and Financial Guaranty for West Post Subdivision Phase 4. Director of Community Development Karp explained that items like this are normally on the consent agenda, but this is a large project, so it was placed on the discussion agenda. He further explained that this is only the final plat approval for phase 4. This current phase includes a straight residential lot. Much work is ongoing in this phase, including installing stop signs and fire protection water supply hydrants. The permitting dept will not issue building permits until all those are installed. Kent Merselis, residing at Baseline in Belgrade, who is the applicant, stood and briefly went over the Development phases. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to approve the Amended West Post Subdivision Improvements Agreement and financial guaranty. Council Member Simon seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Discuss and Consider Final Plat Approval of West Post Phase 4. Director of Community Development Karp explained that with the approval of the improvements agreement, the applicant demonstrated compliance with the conditions of approval. The staff recommendation is that the West Post Subdivision phase 4 be granted final plat approval. City attorney Ramler asked the applicant to address, on record, not being issued building permits until the signs were installed. Merselis commented that West Post acknowledges that building permits will only be issued once the city engineer is satisfied with the installed signs. He also mentioned that they will be putting up Christmas lights on Frank Rd. and funding the parade of lights. He has also commissioned TD Kelcey to install a sculpture of a Bronco in the roundabout on Frank Rd. City Manager Cardwell commented that there will have to be a meeting on the logistics of installing the sculpture in the city- owned roundabout. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Mattimoe moved to grant final plat approval for West Post Phase 4 subject to the transmittal of the amended improvements agreement and financial guarantee complying with the terms of the agreement. Council Member Doyle seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Page 3 of 6 Discuss and Consider 2024 Meeting and Pay roll Calendars. City Clerk Gregory presented the meeting schedule calendar to the Council. She explained that the dates on the calendar are color- coded to represent the meeting scheduled for that day. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to adopt the meeting and payroll calendars for 2024 as presented. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Discuss and Consider Annual Board and Committee Appointments for 2024 City Clerk Gregory presented the Council with a worksheet listing the current and past appointments to the various boards. No changes were made. All Council members will remain in their current appointments as follows: Deputy Mayor: Mike Meis City/ County Planning Board: Mike Meis Planning Coordinating Committee ( PCC): Mike Meis Library Board: Jason Guffey Gallatin Local Water Quality District: Kris Menicucci Belgrade Regional Park Board: Renae Mattimoe Central Valley Fire District: Jim Simon City/ County Health Board: Russell Nelson Disaster Emergency Services Committee: Simon and Doyle Senior Center Board: Jim Doyle Urban Transportation District Board: Mike Meis Council member Meis asked if the new Urban Transportation District board needed to be added to the worksheet. Gregory said yes, and they would get it added. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Mattimoe moved to adopt the annual board and committee appointments for 2024 as submitted. Council Member Guffey seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. REPORTS Mayor Nelson confirmed that Meis would be acting as Mayor in his absence at the December 4th Council meeting. City Attorney Ramler had nothing to report. Page 4 of 6  City Manager Cardwell mentioned that on December 9, 2023, the Jingle Jog would start at 10 am, the Ugly Christmas Outfit contest at 11: 30, and the Holiday Market from 9 am to 3 pm. He also mentioned that the Christmas Convoy and Truck Village had been taken over by a new truck convoy association formed recently and that the library will host a watch party for the Truck convoy, with activities and treats. On December 14, the memorial lights night at the senior center will begin at 6 pm. The Staff Christmas Party will be at the River Rock Community Center from 5: 30 pm— 7: 30 pm that same night, and the Council was invited to participate. He also mentioned that he met with the Montana Department of Transportation( MDT) to talk about the various issues in Belgrade and that there' s been some progress made on the Jackrabbit underpass. He thanked City Engineer Eastwood for working hard on completing the Water Resource Recovery Facility Development plan. FOR YOUR INFORMATION Council Member Mattimoe attended the high school career fair and spoke to many of the kids there. Council Member Doyle went to the Festival of Lights lighting ceremony. He thanked everyone who helped set it up and was excited to see the truck convey. He also enjoyed the tour of the water facility and was happy seeing the progress on the New Library. Council Member Simon also went on the tour of all of Belgrade' s various projects and mentioned that the Fire board meeting was " very interesting" and asked Cardwell to speak on it. Cardwell thanked Jake Zlomie for stepping in as Interim Fire Chief. He then explained that the Central Valley Fire Board has asked the City to look into an Interlocal Agreement( ILA) where the City takes on the administrative capacity of managing the Fire department and said the City is interested in looking into it. Simon also mentioned that there were many letters of thanks and support to CVFD. Council Member Meis also thanked all those who volunteered to help set up all the Christmas lights. He also thanked staff for taking the time to show the Council around all the projects in Belgrade. Council Member Guffey congratulated Mayor Nelson and Judge Gregory for winning their elections. Council Member Menicucci announced that Rodger Hoogerheide with the USEPA would be at the water quality board Meeting on December 7, 2023, at 8: 15 am at the courthouse community room in Bozeman to discuss the Idaho Poll site controlled groundwater area. Mayor Nelson wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. ADJOURN Page 5 of 6  Council Member Simon moved to adjourn the meeting at 8: 08 pm. Russell C. Nelson, Mayor Attest:, Calm e Greg,ory, City Cl rk 1 f Page 6 of 6