Belgrade City Council

CITY OF BELGRADE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES COUNCIL CHAMBERS May 19th, 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, Executive Finance Director Charity VanKirk, 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, Public Works Director Camaree Uljua, Director of Operations James Percival, Library Director Alina Prunean, and Fire Chief Jay Wittwer. Others in attendance were Stephen McAdams. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There being none, the public forum was closed. PROCLAMATION Discuss Mayor' s Proclamation of Safety Month Mayor Nelson proclaimed the month of May as Public Safety Month. Mayor Nelson Called three times for public comment. There was none. CONSENT AGENDA Consider Approval of Council Minute Drafts: 4. 1. 25- Regular 4. 15 — 4. 16. 25 Meeting& Council Retreat. ACTION: Council Member Menicucci moved to approve the Consent Agenda as submitted. Council Member Simon seconded the Motion. All voted aye, Motion carried unanimously. Page 1 of 7 PUBLIC HEARING Discuss and Consider Resolution 2025- 15 Adopting the FY2026 Master Fee Schedule Executive Finance Director Charity VanKirk noted that the City has been offering some services at no charge, for which they should have been charging. Were the City to continue providing these services without charge, the quality of the services would go down or the services themselves may eventually end. With that in mind, these newly added fees are being implemented to allow the City to continue providing the same expected level of service. VanKirk also noted that this fee schedule was developed with the intent of placing the financial burden for services on those who directly benefit from the service, thereby reducing the impact on those who do not use the service and limiting overall taxpayer burden. She also offered two specific notes about the Utility Billing fees. 1. An account transfer will not go into effect until a deposit is in place; and 2. The late fee is specified, where the City can charge a $ 17 fee every time a notice is sent, plus 1. 5% of the past- due balance. This information will be on the Utility Billing website. Mayor Nelson asked whether the City' s analysis included consideration of the fees charged in other cities. VanKirk answered that there was not a clear pattern of fee implementation for any department when other cities were researched. Council Member Guffey asked if the fees contemplated here would compensate for the time that employees take processing or dealing with the late fees. VanKirk confirmed that approximately 2% of customers consume a significant amount of employee time in the Utility Billing area, and her hope is these fees will mitigate the cost of that. Council Member Guffey also asked if there is an hourly wage for planning review. Stein confirmed that these fees factor that in. ACTION: Council Member Menicucci moved to open the Public Hearing. Council Member Mattimoe seconded the Motion. All voted aye, Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There was none. ACTION: Council Member Mattimoe moved to close the Public Hearing. Council Member Simon seconded the Motion. All voted aye, Motion carried unanimously. ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to adopt Resolution 2025- 15 Adopting the FY2026 Master Fee Schedule and set an effective date of July 1, 2025. Council Member Menicucci seconded the Motion. Page 2 of 7  City Manager Cardwell acknowledged that this fee schedule is the result of hundreds of hours of work by all staff in gathering and updating the Master Fee Schedule. Council Member Mattimoe asked why there was no rental fee for the community room in the library. Assistant City Manager Tryon answered that they are in the process of compiling those fees. Mayor Nelson called for a vote. All voted aye, Motion carried unanimously. DISCUSSION AGENDA Discuss Belgrade Safety Action Plan Update and SS4A Downtown Demonstration Project Director of Public Works Uljua explained that the City received a Safe Streets 4 All grant in late 2023 and has since hired Kittleson& Associates to work on the Safety Action Plan for the resulting project. That plan is approximately 60% complete. Uljua also noted the City recently completed the second round of public outreach on this and has received a great deal of positive feedback. Uljua then listed some temporary improvements that the City will deploy in June. She commented that she hopes to receive more feedback on those improvements from the public. Uljua also noted Public Works will present some goals to the Council for consideration in June. She noted that Council input and public stance on the transportation network and public safety is a critical component of the Safety Action Plan. Mayor Nelson asked if there were any talks about flashing crossing signs. Uljua answered that there are already a few of those types of signs established in some Belgrade neighborhoods and school zones. However, she noted the City is considering other places where such crossing signs would work. Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There was none. Discuss and Consider Authorization for the Right- of-Way, Construction, and Construction Engineering Phases of the Cruiser Intersection Improvements- Dry Creek to Jackrabbit Project( WO 22- 03) Director of Public Works Uljua first noted that this project' s name was changed due to the expansion of its scope. Uljua went on to explain that the City hired Sanbell Engineering to conduct the preliminary and final design for the project in October 2022. As of now, their work is approximately 60% complete and the preliminary engineer' s estimate is finished. Page 3 of 7  She then explained that the next step in the project is to start right- of-way( ROW herein) acquisition, which will require authorization for the next phase and funding. The estimated project cost will be $ 8, 225, 824. 70. That will include the estimated cost of ROW acquisition, project construction with a 30% contingency, and construction engineering. Funding for the project would come from developer contributions and street impact fees. She also noted the contingency is expected to come down. Uljua then explained that if the Council were to approve this, the tentative schedule for the project would be to start ROW acquisition quickly and hopefully complete it by the fall. Sanbell anticipates the final design will then be completed sometime this winter or very early in 2026. Then, the goal would be to put the project out for bid in late winter of 2025 or spring of 2026. Finally, construction would hopefully begin on April 15, 2026. Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There was none. Council Member Meis asked if the City would use Sanderson Stewart for the ROW negotiations and if there was a contingency plan in place if the City was unable to obtain the ROW. Uljua confirmed that this project is within Sanderson Stewart' s scope, and the City will have to revisit some features in this project if they cannot acquire the ROW. Council Member Simon asked if Sanbell factored emergency response vehicles into their designs. Uljua confirmed that emergency response vehicles can make all the necessary turning movements and navigate through these intersections. ACTION: Council Member Mattimoe moved to authorize the City Manager to acquire right- of- way and construct the Cruiser Intersection Improvements - Dry Creek to Jackrabbit Project ( WO 22- 03), to execute related agreements and change orders, and establish an initial project budget of$ 8, 225, 824. 70. Council Member Menicucci seconded the Motion. City Manager Cardwell asked the Council if they would like a groundbreaking ceremony for this project. The Council unanimously agreed there should be one. Mayor Nelson asked if there is a possibility to utilize eminent domain if the right- of-way negotiations prove too difficult to obtain. Cardwell answered that, while it is legal for the City to utilize eminent domain, he strongly discourages it. Mayor Nelson called for a vote. All voted aye, Motion carried unanimously. Discuss and Consider Resolution 2025- 14 Calling for Charter Amendment Modifying the Mayor' s Term of Office City Attorney Murray explained that extending the term of the Belgrade City Mayor has been a goal of the City, and to do so the Belgrade City Charter must be amended to allow that. Page 4 of 7 Thus, the City is putting forth this resolution to allow Belgrade' s voters to determine whether those elected as Belgrade City Mayor will serve a two- year or a four-year term. If Council approves this resolution, the matter will be placed on the upcoming November ballot. Mayor Nelson called three times for public comment. There was none. Mayor Nelson asked if there was any public education on this question. Cardwell confirmed that Montana' s rules allow council members, as individual citizens, to campaign for an issue like this one. They must simply make it clear they are representing their own opinions, not the opinions of the City as a whole. Cardwell further answered that the City can also help educate the public on this matter. Additionally, Cardwell said he wanted to clarify that the proposed term change in this resolution would not take effect until the 2028 term. Thus, anyone running for Belgrade City Mayor this term would still be running for a two- year term. ACTION: Council Member Meis moved to adopt Resolution 2025- 14 calling for the City of Belgrade to place on the November ballot whether to amend the City Charter to modify the Mayor' s term of office from two years to four years. Council Member Simon seconded the Motion. Mayor Nelson called for a vote. All voted aye, Motion carried unanimously. REPORTS Mayor Nelson had nothing to report City Attorney Murray had nothing to report. City Manager Cardwell advised that it was Public Works Week and thanked all Public Works employees for the behind- the- scenes work that they do. He thanked them for keeping the City clean and functioning. Cardwell then announced that Belgrade is being named the Chapter of the Year by the International Code Council Board of Directors. In October 2025, Big Sky Country Montana IICC President Van Abby and Vice President Lucas Sobeck( Belgrade' s Chief Building Official) will be traveling to accept the award, along with other board members, at the International Code Council Meeting in Cleveland, Ohio. Cardwell expressed that this award is an honor, and the City is grateful to be recognized on a national and international level. Page 5 of 7 FOR YOUR INFORMATION Council Member Mattimoe made a motion to bring Ordinance 2025- 6 Zone Text Amendment back to the Council by public hearing. Council Member Meis seconded the Motion. There was a roll call vote. Motion carried 5- 1. Council Members voting " aye": Guffey, Meis, Simon, Bell, Mattimoe. Council Members voting " no": Menicucci. Council Members Absent: None. Council Member Bell had nothing to report. Council Member Menicucci reported that the Local Water Quality/ Gallatin Health Board has had meetings on different days and times recently and she will keep Council updated. Council Member Simon attended the Fire Board meeting, where he said they had a nice ceremony for outgoing board member Ty Elliot. He noted Elliott is resigning from the Board after 12 years of service. Simon stated the Board also decided to appoint Darren Wilkin as the Chairman of the Board in Elliot' s place and they swore Ramy Blakeman in to fill the vacancy on the board. They also prepared their preliminary budget to submit to the County and released a draft of the strategic plan. Simon noted he has a copy of that plan if anyone would like to read it. Simon also reported on Central Valley Fire Captain Anderson, who recently had a medical emergency. He noted the Central Valley firefighters performed lifesaving maneuvers and got Anderson to the hospital, where he is currently recovering. Council Member Meis reported that the Urban Transportation District Board' s next meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 3: 30 p.m. at the HRDC building. Council Member Guffey had nothing to report City Manager Cardwell mentioned that the City will close on the land exchange on Wednesday, May 21. 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. Page 6 of 7  The meeting was adjourned at 7: 52 p. m. 714: r------ Agjir,_ Mike Meis, Deputy ayor Attest: jowl/ A Camilid- Gregory, ' ity 1 - rk r ,... 1 f, l v Page 7 of 7