Belgrade City Council

CITY OF BELGRADE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES COUNCIL CHAMBERS March 4th, 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 Via Zoom, City Clerk Camille Gregory, Executive Assistant Dana Jambor, Executive Finance Director Charity VanKirk, Chief of Police Dustin Lensing, Director of Information Technology Ryan Curtis, Director of Human Resources Becky Wilbert Public Works Director Camaree Uljua, Staff Engineer Joe Hauck, Director of Parks and Recreation Steve Klotz, and Library Director Gale Bacon. Others in attendance were Vivian Crouse and Judy Doyle. 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 Drafts: 2- 20- 24 & 2- 28- 24 Consider submission letter for " Acting City Manager" Article III Section 3. 02 Belgrade Charter ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to approve the consent agenda items as submitted. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING Discuss and Consider Ordinance 2024- 3 an Ordinance to Revise and Recodifv Title 1, Administration, of the Belgrade City Code. City Manager Cardwell explained that the item summary attached to the Council Agenda covers the proposed changes in this section of the City Code. Any language struck out in the packet will be removed, and everything underlined will be added. He also mentioned that staff and the City Attorney worked together to make the changes. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. Page 1 of 4  ACTION: Council Member Menicucci moved to approve Ordinance 2024- 3 as presented. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. DISCUSSION AGENDA Discuss and Consider Cameron Avenue Sidewalks as the Priority Project for 2023 SLIPA Funding. Director of Public Works Uljua explained that the State Local Infrastructure Partnership Act SLIPA) resulted from the passage of HB 355. The Bill established $ 20 million for infrastructure projects in all Montana cities and towns. The amount allocated to each city or town is based on total road miles and population. Uljua noted that Belgrade was 127, 179 from the SLIPA grant. That money must allocated $ be spent on maintaining and repairing existing government infrastructure. HB 355 requires cities to match 25% of the total cost of the project for water and wastewater projects. Uljua explained that the Public Works Department had found none of their water or wastewater projects fit the parameters of the SLIPA grant. However, their planned Cameron Ave. sidewalks project was a good candidate. Uljua noted this project is different from the Madison Ave. sidewalk project, which is funded through the Transportation Alternatives Program with MDT. Uljua 25% also mentioned that the match that the SLIPA grant requires has already been allocated in the FY24 budget. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to approve Cameron Avenue Sidewalks as the City of Belgrade' s priority project for 2023 SLIPA funding. Council Member Simon seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Discuss and Consider Elected or Appointed Officials Employee Benefit Program Director of Human Resources Wilbert explained that local officials in Montana who are elected/ appointed may participate in MMIA' s Employee Benefits Program. This would allow elected officials like the Mayor or Belgrade City Council members to get the same health benefits as the City' s employees. However, MMIA requires all local governments to submit a resolution to allow their elected/ appointed officials and council members to participate in the Employee Benefits Program. Wilbert noted that the City would like to pass this resolution to allow members of the City Council to participate in the Benefits Program. This is seen as a way of incentivizing more people to participate in and run for local offices in the future. Page 2 of 4  There was a brief discussion about the costs of the Benefits Program and how it should be budgeted. Mayor Nelson called for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to approve Resolution No. 2024- 2 for Approving Elected & Appointed Officials into the Employee Benefits Program, which approves City Council Members, the Municipal Judge, and the Mayor to participate in the Employee Benefits program under the same conditions provided to individual City employees. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Executive Session EXECUTIVE SESSION The Mayor may close to the public all or portions of this meeting, pursuant to § 2- 3- 203( 4)( a), MCA, to discuss strategy with respect to litigation 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 and the presiding officer determines the demands of individual privacy clearly exceed the merits ofpublic disclosure. Discuss and Consider City Manager Performance and Employment Contract At 7: 26 pm, Mayor Nelson called for an Executive Session. 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 Cardwell, and City Attorney Ramler. At 8: 16 pm, Mayor Nelson closed the Executive Session. He then re- opened the regular meeting to the public and called the meeting back to order. ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to approve the City Manager' s Professional Services Agreement as presented. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the motion. All voted aye, and the motion carried unanimously. REPORTS Mayor Nelson reported that he, the City Manager, and the Assistant City Manager attended the Executive Forum in Sidney, MT. There they discussed smaller towns and the challenges they face with high mayor turnover. They also discussed the challenges that Mayor- run local governments face. City Attorney Ramler had nothing to report. City Manager Cardwell had Uljua stand and talk about the lead pipe survey that went out in the water bills. Uljua advised that the City of Belgrade is conducting a survey to take inventory of the types of pipes in Belgrade. The survey is available at https:// www. belgrademt. gov/ 450/ Service- Line- Page 3 of 4 Inventory. The survey is part of the DEQ and EPA reporting requirements. It is requested that the community send in their survey report as soon as possible, as the inventory is due by the end of the year. Uljua noted the survey form has plenty of instructions on how to test your pipes to determine what type they are. Uljua also mentioned that Public Works received a nice card from a community member about their good job with the snow plowing. FOR YOUR INFORMATION Council Member Guffey had nothing to report. Council Member Meis mentioned that the PCC meeting will be at the Bozeman Courthouse on Tuesday, March 5th, at 3: 30 pm. Assistant City Manager Tryon will present at that meeting. Council Member Simon had nothing to report. Council Member Menicucci complimented the snow plowing efforts in her neighborhood. Council Member Doyle had nothing to report. Council Member Mattimoe had nothing to report. ADJOURN Council Member moved to adjourn the meeting at 8: 23 i . Russell C. Nelson, Mayor Attest: 0,76, mille Gregory C' C k a • rl ' sebio 1 f Page 4 of 4