Belgrade City Council

CITY OF BELGRADE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES COUNCIL CHAMBERS June 3, 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, Kristine Menicucci, and Jim Doyle. 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 Human Resources Becky Wilbert, Director of Parks and Recreation Steve Klotz, Public Works Director Camaree Uljua, and Library Director Gale Bacon. Others in attendance were Anita Johnson, General Manager of Extended Stay America. ACTION: Council Member Guffey moved to excuse Council Member Simon. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. 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: 5- 6- 24. 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. DISCUSSION AGENDA Discuss and Consider the Initial Presentation of the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Executive Director of Financial Services VanKirk gave a PowerPoint presentation on the City' s current Preliminary Budget. She then asked the Council to set a public hearing date of June 17, 2024, to consider adopting it. Page 1 of 4  Assistant City Manager Tryon mentioned that VanKirk would schedule meetings with members of the Council to discuss the budget more in- depth before the public hearing. He also mentioned that a 3% wage increase is included in the budget to help employees keep up with the growing cost of living. City Manager Cardwell thanked VanKirk for all her hard work, as she had to overcome many adversities to complete the Preliminary Budget. He also thanked all of the City' s directors for their contributions in helping VanKirk complete this budget. Cardwell then explained that this budget would not solve all of the City' s needs or problems. He also stated that the budget will include a letter from the City Manager, asking the Council to consider a 2 to 4 mil request from the community. The mil request would be to help the Senior Center cover their increasing cost of food and/ or their need for more staffing. Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to accept the Preliminary Budget for FY 2025 as presented and set the date for the public hearing to consider budget adoption on June 17, 2024. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. Discuss and Consider Approval of City Manager' s Appointment of Kyla Murray as City Attorney. City Manager Cardwell stated that the City Attorney position is unique in that it is the only position which the City Manager can hire a candidate, but the Council must confirm them. He then introduced Kyla Murray as the chosen candidate for the City Attorney position. Cardwell noted that Murray was hired in 2022 to take over the City Prosecutor position when Judge Gregory vacated the role to become Belgrade City Judge. The Council commented that they appreciated being involved in the interview process. They noted that, of the two very good candidates, Kyla rose to the top. Murray thanked the Council for the opportunity to be considered for this position. If the Council approves, she would be excited to step into the role and continue working with the current City Attorney, Rick Ramler, to make the transition from prosecution to civil work as smooth as possible. City Attorney Ramler said it has been an honor to assist the City of Belgrade. He stated he would be happy to see Murray fill this position. Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There was none. Page 2 of 4  ACTION: Council Member Mattimoe moved to adopt the City Manager' s appointment of Kyla Murray as City Attorney, effective July 1, 2024. Council Member Doyle seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. REPORTS Mayor Nelson had nothing to report. City Attorney Ramler had nothing to report. City Manager Cardwell said that after Murray vacates the City Prosecutor position, it is likely the City Prosecutor position will be turned into the position of Assistant City Attorney. However, he will leave that decision up to Murray. Cardwell noted that whatever the position is, City Prosecutor or Assistant City Attorney, the position will be posted and a pool of applicants will be considered as part of a competitive process. Cardwell then mentioned that he had the opportunity to attend the Belgrade School District' s meeting on long range facility planning. This meeting was held to discuss the impact of the recently failed bond measure for a new school. He noted that the School District and the City have re- opened talks regarding the Heck/ Quaw property. In the proposal currently being discussed, the City would move into the Heck and Quaw buildings and the School District would move into the block of properties the City currently owns around City Hall. Cardwell made it clear that if this plan were to come to fruition, the City' s land which is currently being used as park land will not go away. Cardwell then thanked Public Works Director Uljua for working with City personnel, MDT, and Knife River to get Airport Boulevard cleaned up. He noted that Airport Blvd. will be closed between 10 p.m. and 4 a. m. on Monday, June 3, 2024, for that cleaning. FOR YOUR INFORMATION Council Member Mattimoe mentioned that the Gallatin Roller Derby will be playing this weekend. Council Member Doyle had nothing to report. Council Member Menicucci mentioned that the Water Quality Board moved their meeting from June 6, 2024, to June 19, 2024, at 8: 15 a.m. That meeting will be to work on the budget. Council Member Meis advised that he had the opportunity to ride along with Belgrade Police Officers Gillies and Schlichtmann on May 23, 2024. He noted this was the morning of the last snowstorm. Meis said he was impressed with the Officers' knowledge, compassion, and dedication to serving the community. He thanked everyone involved for putting it together. Council Member Guffey had nothing to report. Mayor Nelson had nothing to report. Page 3 of 4 ADJOURN Council Member Doyle moved to adjourn the meeting at 8: 07 pm. a/ eir, seila// Russell C. Nelson, Mayor Attest: CamilleQ: regory, Cit Cler Page 4 of 4