Belgrade City Council

CITY OF BELGRADE SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES COUNCIL CHAMBERS September 30, 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, Erin Bell, and Renae Mattimoe. City staff in attendance were City Manager Neil Cardwell, City Attorney Kyla Murray, 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, Chief Building Official Lucas Sobeck, Director of Human Resources Becky Wilbert, Director of Parks and Recreation Steve Klotz, Public Works Director Camaree Uljua, City Engineer Joe Hauck, and Fire Chief Jay Wittwer. Others in attendance were Diana Perry. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There being none, the public forum was closed. DISCUSSION AGENDA Discuss and Consider Cost Reimbursement Agreement with VWUS, LLC City Manager Cardwell explained that Todd Waller, Managing Partner for VWUS, had approached the City about a portion remaining on a water right that is up for purchase. Waller inquired whether the City would be interested in purchasing that right. The water right' s place of use boundaries are located on the south side of Jackrabbit. Cardwell advised purchasing this right would be a strategic step for future developments to the south. It would also help continue to supplement and increase the City' s available water capacity as Belgrade continues to grow. He stressed that purchasing this water right is not necessary to meet any current water demands. Rather, purchasing it would simply help offset the water needs associated with future growth. Cardwell advised that an earnest deposit would be needed to get the contract rolling. The cap payout would be $ 150, 000. Of that, $ 100, 000 would be earnest money that VWUS would have to write in order for this to proceed. The only time the City would need to pay the $ 100, 000 would be if the City backs out of the deal. Page 1 of 6  Cardwell further explained that if the Council approves this, the City will work with VWUS to develop a sales agreement. Then, the attorneys will review it. After that the agreement will be brought to the Council to review and authorize the City Manager to enter into it. Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There was none. Council Member Meis stated he thought the City needs to continue to pursue water rights and believes the risk involved with this agreement is minimal. ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to authorize the City Manager to execute the Cost Reimbursement Agreement with VWUS, LLC, as presented. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the motion. All voted aye, motion carried unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING Discuss and Consider Approval of the FY25 Final Budget Executive Finance Director VanKirk began by clarifying that some of the numbers seen in the current exhibits and resolution would not mirror what is on the exhibits and resolution that were posted last week. She noted this was because the Department of Revenue did not get the recertified values to the City until the night before the budget was due. VanKirk then gave a brief presentation on the City of Belgrade' s updated budget for Fiscal Year 2025. She noted that the difference in the update and previous projections was not significant. However, the recertified values did allow the City to restore cuts which were initially made to the Police Department' s budget. Mayor Nelson asked what percentage of new properties were included in these recertified values. Cardwell stated he had not been able to get an answer to that question. Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Menicucci moved to approve Resolution 2024- 22 to approve and adopt the final budget for Fiscal Year 2024- 2025 and set the mill levy pursuant to compliance with MCA 7- 6- 4030. Council Member Simon seconded the motion. There was a roll call vote: Motion carried 6- 0. Council members voting " aye": Guffey, Meis, Simon, Menicucci, Bell, Mattimoe. Council Members voting " no": None. Council members Absent: None. Page 2 of 6 Discuss and Consider Resolution 2024- 24 Amending the Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Executive Finance Director VanKirk advised this item does not have a presentation. However, VanKirk noted that a majority of what has happened to the FY2024 budget is that she has amended it to reflect what has actually been spent and what has been brought in. Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There was none. Council Member Simon asked whether this would go to the auditor if the amendment were approved. Vankirk confirmed that the independent auditor will compare where the City started, where it ended, and what was changed to ensure the budget was correctly amended. ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to approve Resolution 2024- 24 to amend final budget for Fiscal Year 2023- 2024. Council Member Guffey seconded the motion. There was a roll call vote: Motion carried 6- 0. Council members voting " aye": Guffey, Meis, Simon, Menicucci, Bell, Mattimoe. Council Members voting " no": None. Council members Absent: None. Discuss and Consider Approval of Resolution 2024- 21 to Establish and Affix the Number of Mills to be Levied and Budget Additional Property Tax Revenue for FY25 Executive Finance Director VanKirk stated that this matter was covered in the budget presentation. However, the City expects to bring in an additional $ 545, 000 in revenue and increase the mills by 6. 79. City Manager Cardwell pointed out that Section 1 of Resolution 2024-21 is key for this year. It deals with the increase to the general fund, which was $ 59, 218 from the 2. 8% inflation. That 2. 8% was one- half of the rate of inflation over a three- year period. The City received $ 123, 400 for the value of the newly taxable property. Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Menicucci moved to approve Resolution 2024- 21 to establish and affix the number of mills to be levied and budget additional property tax revenue for Fiscal Year 2024- 2025. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the motion. There was a roll call vote: Motion carried 6- 0. Council members voting " aye": Guffey, Meis, Simon, Menicucci, Bell, Mattimoe. Council Members voting " no": None. Council members Absent: None. Page 3 of 6 Discuss and Consider Approval of Resolution 2024- 23 adopting FY2025 Permissive Medical Levy Executive Finance Director VanKirk stated that the City has 60 employees eligible for medical benefits. The payments for these benefits must be come from governmental funds, not enterprise 1. funds. She noted the levy will bring in $409,000 to offset the medical expenses as of July Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Mattimoe moved to approve Resolution 2024- 23 to adopt Fiscal Year 2025 additional mills levied for employer group health insurance. Council Member Guffey seconded the motion. There was a roll call vote: Motion carried 6- 0. Council members voting " aye": Guffey, Meis, Simon, Menicucci, Bell, Mattimoe. Council Members voting " no": None. Council members Absent: None. Discuss and Consider Resolution 2024- 25 to Set Annual Municipal Court Salaries City Manager Cardwell stated that Montana Code Annotated requires salaries for court personnel to be set by city councils. However, city councils can adopt a resolution that designates the City Manager with the responsibility of setting a court' s salaries. Cardwell noted this resolution would give him authority to set the Belgrade Municipal Court' s salaries, and he added that this will be an annual resolution. Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to adopt Resolution 2024- 25 allowing the City Manager to set the salary for the Municipal Court Judge and Municipal Court Clerk for the FY25 budget. Council Member Simon seconded the motion. There was a roll call vote: Motion carried 6- 0. Council members voting " aye": Guffey, Meis, Simon, Menicucci, Bell, Mattimoe. Council Members voting " no": None. Council members Absent: None. Page 4 of 6  Discuss and Consider Resolution 2024- 28 Approving the FY25 Budget of the Belgrade Regional Parks, Trails, & Recreation District Executive Finance Director VanKirk explained that this was part of the FY25 final budget presentation. She noted the Belgrade Regional Parks, Trails, and Recreation District will bring in approximately $ 1. 6M in revenue from the assessment. Its operation budget is approximately$ 1. 1M, and they will add two new employees. Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Mattimoe moved to approve Resolution 2024- 28 approving the Fiscal Year 2025 Belgrade Regional Parks, Trails, & Recreation Budget. Council Member Menicucci seconded the motion. There was a roll call vote: Motion carried 6- 0. Council members voting " aye": Guffey, Meis, Simon, Menicucci, Bell, Mattimoe. Council Members voting " no": None. Council members Absent: None. FOR YOUR INFORMATION Council Member Mattimoe reported that the Fall Festival was very well attended. She also noted that the Belgrade Library and League of Women Voters will hold a candidate forum for the House District Candidates on October 1, 2024, between 6: 30 p.m. to 8: 30 p.m. Council Member Bell had nothing to report. Council Member Menicucci reported that she got to watch the Fall Festival parade from her home window and was very pleased. She also noted how clean Lions Park was after the Festival, stating she appreciated all the hard work the staff put into it. Council Member Simon reported that the new library building looks really nice, stating he is excited to see it coming together. Council Member Meis echoed that the Fall Festival was a great event. He appreciated the City staffs presence. He also reported that he cannot attend the October 7 meeting. Council Member Guffey had nothing to report. The Mayor reported he had a lot of fun at the Fall Festival and asked how many lunches were served at the Senior Center for the Festival. Cardwell answered that the Senior Center estimated that a little over 1, 100 meals were served to the public by staff. He noted that figure was a little less than last year, but close to what was anticipated. Page 5 of 6  ADJOURN Council Member Simon moved to adjourn the meeting a 8: 04 pm. i issell C. Nelson, Mayor Attest: ,'; Camille C ty rego"rye{ erk i. • Le- a 4 Page 6 of 6