Belgrade City Council

CITY OF BELGRADE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES COUNCIL CHAMBERS May 5m, 2025 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, Assistant City Manager Greg Tryon, City Attorney Kyla Murray, City Clerk Camille Gregory, Executive Assistant Dana Jambor, Chief of Police Dustin Lensing, Executive Consultant Jason Karp, Chief Building Official Lucas Sobeck, Director of Human Resources Becky Wilbert, Director of Community and Economic Development Katharine King, Senior Planner Brad Stein, City Engineer Joe Hauck, Public Works Director Camaree Uljua, and Fire Chief Jay Wittwer. Others in attendance were: Kerry Clawson, Vivian Crouse, Roy Crouse, Tammy Reichert, Stephen McAdams, Nick Stinson, Adam Axelson, and Erin Howard. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Nelson called for public comment. Vivian Crouse, residing at 904 Bert Court, stated she has issues with the new parking ordinance. She noted that her RV blocks the sidewalk in her driveway, which implicates the new ordinance. Kerry Clawson, residing at 1609 Ingomar, stated she received a parking ticket and her dispute of the ticket was denied. She asked if the officer who wrote the ticket should be the one to review her dispute against it. Roy Crouse, residing at 904 Bert Court., stated he believes that the City should move the sidewalk further to the end of his driveway so he can park his RV without blocking the sidewalk. Tammy Reichert, residing at 1114 Sunrise Drive, expressed concern about the new parking ordinance. She stated she thinks it needs to be revisited. Reichert also asked the Council to consider ensuring new developments put enough parking for cars and recreational vehicles so that they are not in violation for parking in their driveway. Mayor Nelson called a second time for public comment. Adam Axelson, residing at 107 N. Broadway, expressed concern about the parking ordinance. He stated he believes the 72- hour parking limit is not being enforced and he wanted to know what to do if he could not park his utility vehicle at home. Page 1 of 6  Erin Howard, residing at 504 Kathy Lane, expressed her support for the parking ordinance. She said she has had to leave the sidewalk on several occasions and enter the road to go around vehicles while walking. She appreciates the City and Police Department' s efforts to clear the right- of-way. Mayor Nelson called a third time for public comment. There being none, the Public Forum was closed. DISCUSSION AGENDA Discuss and Consider First Reading Ordinance 2025- 6 Zoning Text Amendment for City of Belgrade Sign Requirements to Allow for an Increase in the Amount of Area Allowed for Freestanding Signs Within 500 Feet of Interstate 90 Senior Planner Stien explained that the Planning Board requested that the Planning Department consider allowing additional sign areas for freestanding signs, as requests had come in from recent applicants for sign variances. Stein noted that at the Planning Board' s most recent meeting, the Planning Department brought a draft ordinance for the Board to review and discuss. The Planning Board then recommended that freestanding signs within 500 feet of Interstate 90 ( I- 90) be 100 square feet. Currently, the maximum area allowed for freestanding signs is 40 square feet. Stein also stated that the Ordinance has been noticed for a second reading 19th, on May 2025. Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to recommend approval of the Ordinance Amending Section 10. 5. 10, Tables 10. 5. 10. A and 10. 5. 10. B of the City Codes of the City of Belgrade to Allow for an Increase in the Amount of Area Allowed for Freestanding Signs Within 500 Feet of Interstate 90 with edits clarifying the height allowance of freestanding signs and the number of freestanding signs allowed per street frontage, and to hold a Public Hearing for May 19th, 2025. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the motion. Council Member Mies commented that there was significant discussion at the Planning Board about whether to allow more signs. Some discussions center on whether additional signage would encourage more people to visit Belgrade, versus whether the signs would take away from the view. Council Member Mattimoe asked if there was a visual representation of what 500 feet from the interstate looks like. Mies answered by pointing out an exhibit in the packet showing the differences between 500 and 1, 000 feet from the interstate. Page 2 of 6  Council Member Guffey stated he does not see the need to have more signs or to make them bigger, given the accessibility of GPS in today' s world. Mayor Nelson called for a roll call vote. Council Members voting " aye": Meis, Mattimoe. Council Members voting " no": Guffey, Simon, Menicucci, Bell. Council Members Absent: None. Motion Failed 4- 2. Discuss and Consider Resolution No. 2025- 12, A Resolution of Intent to Annex Contiguous Real Property Owned by the City of Belgrade Senior Planner Stein noted that this resolution of intent is for the property the City purchased for the water storage project. It is located south of Golden West Road and North of Bolinger Road, between Bolinger Road and 13th Street. Stein noted the property previously operated as a gravel pit and the City surrounds it on three sides. Further, the property has been zoned Flex Employment( FE) and Commercial Corridor( CC). Stein noted this annexation process will be unique because the City' s typical annexation policy is to do annexation by petition. However, since the property being annexed also belongs to the City, the City is doing this by contiguous annexation. That process requires two resolutions. The Resolution, currently before the Council, is the first of the two required resolutions. Notice of the Resolution will be posted in the paper for 20 days, in order to allow any registered voter living in that district to appeal the Resolution. However, Stein noted that no one actually lives there. Additionally, sending out a mailer to residents of the district is required for notice of this annexation. However, there will be no mailer sent in this matter because no one lives in the district and there are no addresses to send a mailer to. Stein wanted to make clear that the City is following the requirements of Montana Code Annotated( including §7- 2- 43, MCA) in this process, despite there being no residents in the district. Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Mattimoe moved to adopt Resolution No. 2025- 12 approving the Resolution of Intent to Annex Contiguous Real Property Owned by the City of Belgrade, pursuant to MCA Title 7, Chapter 2, Part 43, be approved and that the notification process required begin pursuant Montana Code Annotated § 7- 2- 4312. Council Member Menicucci seconded the Motion. Page 3 of 6  Mayor Nelson called for a vote. All voted aye, Motion carried unanimously. Discuss and Consider Resolution 2025- 13 Establishing Monthly City Council Workshop Sessions City Manager Cardwell reminded the Council that at the Council Retreat, they had preliminary discussions about adding a monthly workshop to the calendar. Since Belgrade is growing rapidly, Cardwell advised it could be beneficial for the Council to have a better forum for staff to update the Council on what is being worked on before drafts of said items are written up. Therefore, the City is proposing adding a monthly meeting on the second Monday of every month, starting at 6 p. m. Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Mattimoe moved to adopt Resolution 2025- 13 Establishing Monthly City Council Workshop Sessions on the second Monday of each month at 6: 00 p. m., beginning May 12th, 2025. Council Member Guffey seconded the Motion. There was a brief discussion between the Council about the logistics of the workshops. Mayor Nelson called for a vote. 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 Annual City Manager Performance Review and Employment Agreement At 7: 48 p. m., Mayor Nelson called for an Executive Session. He allowed a brief intermission for all attendees to vacate Council Chambers. Those remaining in the session were all Council Members, Mayor Nelson, City Manager Cardwell, and City Attorney Murray. At 8: 30 p. m., Mayor Nelson closed the Executive Session. He then re- opened the regular meeting to the public and called the meeting back to order. Mayor Nelson summarized that the Council gave him their performance evaluations, and he is happy to report that, although there is always room for improvement, City Manager Cardwell still scored very highly. Page 4of6  The Mayor then asked for a motion. ACTION: Council Member Menicucci moved to approve Resolution 2025- 10 as presented. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the Motion. All voted aye, and the Motion carried unanimously. REPORTS Mayor Nelson had nothing to report. City Attorney Murray reported that she will attend the Tillotson Conference from Wednesday through Friday. City Manager Cardwell thanked the citizens for their public comment and encouraged them to visit Belgrademt. gov/ agendacenter to check out the agenda page and sign up for notifications so they would be notified when a new agenda is posted. He then gave the floor to Assistant City Manager( ACM) Tryon. Tryon updated the Council that a $ 100, 000 Open Lands Grant was awarded to the Parks District from the County Commission and thanked Parks Board Member Emily Decker and Former Parks and Recreation Director Steve Klotz for writing the application. FOR YOUR INFORMATION Council Member Mattimoe reported that the Parks District is in contention for two more grants. She also attended the Parks Board meeting where ACM Tryon gave several updates, including that the Splash Park will hopefully open soon. She also mentioned a clothing swap at the library on May 17th, 2025. The library will be taking donations of children' s, baby, and maternity clothing. Council Member Bell reported that the Senior Center Bingo fundraiser had raised just over$ 8, 400. Council Member Menicucci reported that Public Works Director Uljua was supposed to attend the Water Quality Board meeting. However, the meeting was canceled on short notice. The Board was supposed to discuss how builders who are building near the city limits should collaborate with the City on water and sewer issues. Council Member Simon had nothing to report. Council Member Meis had nothing to report. Council Member Guffey had nothing to report. Page 5 of 6  Mayor Nelson reported that the Health Board' s recommendation to change section 3 of the Health Code, in order to address the serious nitrate problem in the water, was approved. That change will take effect 30 days from April 17th. Public Works Director Uljua then mentioned that Belgrade would do their Spring Yard Clean Up on May 15th and 16th. The City asks residents to have all yard waste set out by 7 a.m. on the 15th. The City will accept bagged leaves, lawn trimmings, and any tree and hedge trimmings that are bound and less than 3 feet long. ADJOURN Council Member Simon moved to adjourn. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the Motion. Mayor Nelson called for a vote. All voted aye, Motion carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8: 44 p. m. Qd- ussell C. Nelson, Mayor 49 Attest: camalj& Gf , gory, ity erk Page 6 of 6