Belgrade City Council

CITY OF BELGRADE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES COUNCIL CHAMBERS January 16, 2024 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, Chief of Police Dustin Lensing, Director of Information Technology Ryan Curtis, Municipal Court Judge Chris Gregory, Director of Community Development Jason Karp, Director of Parks and Recreation Steve Klotz, Director of Human Recourses Becky Wilbert, Director of Public Works Camaree Uljua, Senior Center Manager Beedy, and Library Director Gale Bacon. Others in attendance were Vivian Crouse. 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 ( S): 11- 20- 23, 12- 4- 23, 12- 18- 23. ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to approve the Consent Agenda items as submitted. Council Member Doyle seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. DISCUSSION AGENDA Discuss the Police Department Report Chief of Police Lensing reported that he and his department are very happy with the changes made to their office space upstairs. He then briefly discussed the parking challenges that he and the City are facing as Belgrade continues to grow. Council Member Guffey asked if there would be any expansion to the 2- hour restriction on parking downtown. Lensing said there would need to be some discussion with the business owners before those restrictions could be changed. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. Page 1 of 5 Discuss Senior Center Report Senior Center Manager Beedy presented data for the Senior Center' s attendance and program participation, comparing figures from 2022 against those in 2023. She noted there had been a significant increase in demand for the Meals on Wheels program this past year. Beedy estimated that approximately 33% of their time is dedicated to working the Meals on Wheels program. Beedy also reviewed a list of the events and courses offered at the Senior Center. She noted that there are plenty of volunteer opportunities. City Manager Cardwell asked Beedy if there was one thing she thought the Senior Center needed. Beedy said that help with transportation would be her primary request. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. Discuss Parks District Report Director of Parks and Recreation Klotz presented the Council with a preliminary design of what the Mayfair Meadows Park could look like. The handout will be available for the public to view in the City Clerk' s Office. Klotz mentioned that Mayfair was previously called Prescott Park, but it was recently renamed Mayfair Meadows. He noted that Mayfair was platted in 1994 and had been undeveloped for approximately 28 years. Klotz noted that the most requested items by the community for Mayfair were a bike park, dog park, benches, and playground. He advised that the open area of the park is too small for a dog park, but part of the Master Plan is to identify and develop at least two dog parks in Belgrade. The hope is there will be one on the north side of town and one on the south side. The estimated cost to develop Mayfair is four million dollars. Mayor Nelson asked if Ashton Meadows was one big park. Klotz answered that it is, but a road will run through it. There will be eight acres on each side of the road. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. Discuss Community Development Report Director of Community Development Jason Karp explained that Community Development CD herein) encompasses both the Planning Department and the Building Department. He explained that Planning is growing and that they have hired a Senior Planner, Brett Stien, who starts February 5th. He further noted that they have a Planning and Permitting Tech 1 candidate that they hope will accept an offer that was recently made. Page 2 of 5  Karp noted that Levi Simonson, who was previously in CD, has transferred to the IT Department. Simonson will remain with CD until they are fully staffed. Karp also mentioned that CD is working on an updated future land use map and developing zoning regulations for the unzoned portion of the City' s planning jurisdiction. He hopes to have that finished this fall. Karp added that the Building Department is fully staffed. The Building Dept' s main challenge is getting the City Works program fully integrated. He mentioned 600 dogs are registered in town, but he surmises there are far more actually in city limits. Karp also confirmed that Town Pump bought the property where the old Flying J was. There have yet to be any solid plans for the property. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. Discuss Public Works Report Director of Public Works Uljua advised the Council that the Public Works Department consist of multiple sub- departments. Those include Water, Wastewater, and Engineering. She noted that Engineering is looking for a City Engineer. Uljua stated she will act as City Engineer and Public Works Director until that position can be filled. Uljua also noted that Public Works oversees Streets, which is now fully staffed. Uljua further noted that the new infrastructure established this fiscal year has added an extra day to the current staff' s ability to plow the roads. They now have four days to get the roads plowed. Uljua advised that Public Works has been awarded several grants for various projects and is looking into more funding opportunities for the Jackrabbit Crossing Project. This Project has the support of both Senator Tester and Senator Danes. Uljua then reported on various other projects in the Department. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. Discuss Finance Report Executive Finance Director Charity VanKirk explained that her department has wrapped up the Fiscal Year 2022 audit. She noted that the findings from that audit were as expected. The audit showed that the City is in good shape. VanKirk thanked the Auditor for their help and support. VanKirk also mentioned that they are hoping to start the Fiscal Year 2023 audit in March. At the same time, she also hoped to start planning for the Fiscal Year 2024. She stated the Finance Department will be going through some challenges with staffing in the coming months, but they will operate as usual. Page 3 of 5  Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. Discuss Assistant City Manager Master Plan Update Assistant City Manager Greg Tryon thanked the staff for their reports and explained that these reports are to show the community a larger view of what each department does and what is currently happening. He encouraged the community to get on Beheardbelgrade. com to see what is happening in the Master Plan. He then briefly went over the different plans that the overall Master Plan encompasses. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. REPORTS Mayor Nelson had nothing to report. City Attorney Ramler had nothing to report. City Manager Cardwell noted that this meeting could have been canceled, as there were no set items on the agenda. He stated that instead of canceling, he had asked his department heads to do these presentations so the Council and public could be informed of what is happening in each department. Cardwell also mentioned that he plans to bring an ordinance update to every second meeting of the month. He hopes this will help get the Belgrade City Code up to date. FOR YOUR INFORMATION Council Member Guffey had nothing to report. Council Member Meis said they got the Christmas lights down before the big freeze. He said it went smoothly and he thanked the Community Coalition for their help. Council Member Simon had nothing to report. Council Member Menicucci mentioned she recently received many calls about fireworks during the holiday season. She hopes to get that issue on the agenda so it can be discussed. Council Member Doyle attended the Fire Board' s last meeting. The Board hired ESCI to search for their next fire chief. They hope to have the position filled by May. He also mentioned that the Fire Department acquired the fuel tanks from the old Flying J, and they will be used for water storage at the Spring Hill Fire location. Council Member Mattimoe attended the Parks Board meeting. She noted they needed to get the Parks Master Plan done before they could address Belgrade Baseball. Page 4 of 5  The Mayor thanked the City' s staff for their reports. He said it helped everyone better understand what was happening in the City. ADJOURN Council Member Doyle moved to adjourn the meeting at 8: 27 pm. Y Russell C. Nelson, Mayor F' Y q4 fin '>GrQg4 y, Ci Cl k y Y Ya r/ l.Yatl SY Y .. Page 5 of 5