City Commission Meeting

Livingston City Commission Agenda January 06, 2026 5:30 PM City – County Complex, Community Room https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85691692940?pwd=6Pio5UFRgHCg1LKDrdOozBbVW7e0E6.1 Meeting ID: 856 9169 2940 Passcode: 074105 1. Call to Order 5:33 pm Chair Schwarz called the meeting to order. 2. Roll Call  Chair Schwarz  Vice Chair Nootz  Commissioner Kahle  Commissioner Lyons  Commissioner Willich  Commissioner Daniels  Commissioner Wilcox  Commissioner O’Neill City Staff Present  City Manager Grant Gager  Chief of Police Wayne Hard  Policy Analyst Greg Anthony  City Clerk Emily Hutchinson  Assistant Chief of Police Andrew Emanual  Detective Jason Gunderson  Sargent Eric Daniels 3. Pledge of Allegiance "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Chair Schwarz asked the room to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. 4. Public Comment Individuals are reminded that public comments should be limited to item over which the City Commission has supervision, control jurisdiction, or advisory power (MCA 2-3-202) Public comment was offered by:  Linda Mahr suggested that public comment be allowed after everything has been presented at the meeting. She commented on the WTI presentation from Rebecca at the last meeting.  Vicky Vanbuster acknowledged the Commissioners as public servants and applauded the new Commissioners and thanked the old ones leaving.  Joshua Congleton congratulated the new Commissioners that have been elected. He asked the Commission to consider a ward-style mapping where a certain Commissioner is responsible for certain parts of town. He would also like to see public comment at the end of the meeting.  Rusty Trzpuc welcomed the new Commission, and acknowledged the outgoing Commissioners. He expressed concern about the renovations of the Sport building.  Peggy O’Neill asked about Robert’s Rules of Order when elected Chair and Vice Chair. Chair Schwarz stated that they have public comment at the beginning of the meeting so folks don’t have to sit until sometime around 10 PM to give comment. He reminded everyone that it is simply public comment and it’s not for debate or back and forth, but can questions can be asked and the Commission will always do their best to answer those questions during the meeting. The City Manager stated that wards are a feature of Class 1 cities in Montana, so when the City advances to a Class 1 city, they would cast out all City Commissioners and re-elect based on wards. He also gave a brief update on the Sport and stated that it is being handled appropriately by City guidelines. 5. Consent Items A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM DECEMBER 16, 2025, REGULAR MEETING PG.4 B. APPROVAL OF CLAIMS PAID 12/11/25 - 12/31/25 PG.76 C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM DECEMBER 16, 2026, CLOSED SESSION Consent item C is for a closed session that did not happen at the last meeting, so it is not voted on tonight. Commissioner Kahle motioned to approve Consent items A&B seconded by Commissioner Lyons. Unanimously approved. 6. Proclamations 7. Scheduled Public Comment A. OUT-GOING CITY COMMISSION COMMENTS  Commissioner Lyons stated it has been a great pleasure and honor to serve the community over the last 4 years. He appreciates the community and fellow Commissioners for learning and growing with him over the last 4 years. Commissioner Kahle stated it has been an honor and privilege to serve the citizens of Livingston for the last 4 years. She stated it has been a difficult but fulfilling job and she is proud of the work this Commission has accomplished. She is thankful for the City staff and getting to know them through the years. She is really excited that this Commission is given the opportunity to be sworn in to office in front of their family and friends, she recalled that she was not able to do this when she was elected, but thinks it is great to do going forward. Chair Schwarz stated they have come a long way in the 10 years he has served on the Commission. He thanked the voters for electing him twice to serve and stated it has been an honor and a joy. He stated one of the best things they ever did was hire City Manager Gager. He expressed feeling great about going out with how great of shape the City is in, and feels the future looks very bright. Commissioners Schwarz, Kahle and Lyons left the table. 8. Action Items A. OATH OF OFFICE FOR NEWLY-ELECTED CITY COMMISSIONERS PG.92 Commissioner Nootz administered the oath of office to Cindy Daniels, Jessica Wilcox, and Kemp O’Neill B. ELECTION OF CITY COMMISSION OFFICERS FOR 2026 PG.99 The City Manager stated that per LMC the officers are elected among the members of the Commission, so there is a process where members of the Commission can engage in discussion, then at some point one of the members could make a motion to elect somebody as Chair and Vice Chair. He clarified that it could be the same motion or separate motions, and a motion that receives a second shall be voted on. Commissioner Willich motioned to elect Commissioner Nootz as Chair and Commissioner Willich as Vice Chair, seconded by Commissioner Wilcox. Unanimously approved. Chair Nootz assigned seats for the Commission and it will go: Chair Nootz, Vice Chair Willich, Commissioner Daniels, Commissioner Wilcox, Commissioner O’Neill. C. APPROVAL OF 2026 LIVINGSTON CITY COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING SCHEDULE PG.101 The City Manager stated this is the adoption of the regular City Commission meeting calendar and historically the City Commission meets on the first and third Tuesdays of every month at 5:30 pm in the Community Room at the City/County Complex. He stated in 2026 there is only 1 conflict with that schedule and that occurs on November 3rd, which in is a state holiday in even-numbered years as it coincides with Election Day. Vice Chair Willich reminded everyone that August 4th is National Night Out and wondered if they want to have a meeting that day.  The City Manager stated National Night Out is a great way to honor first responders and also build a bridge between the community and first responders, so he sees the benefit of canceling that meeting. Vice Chair Willich motioned to approve the 2026 calendar with the amendment that August 4 th is canceled, seconded by Commissioner Daniels. Unanimously approved. D. APPOINTMENT OF CITY COMMISSIONERS TO ADVISORY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS PG.105 The City Manager stated there are 5 seats to be divided up among City Commissioners for the Consolidated Land Use Board, City/County Health Board, City/County Library Board, Urban Renewal Agency Board, and Livingston Trust Board. Chair Nootz stated she has a conflict of interest with the Library Board. Vice Chair Willich stated he would like to stay on the Board of Health. Commissioner Daniels stated that daytime meetings would be better for her and she is interested in the Library Board. Commissioner Wilcox stated she was on the LUB before becoming a Commissioner and would be happy to let another Commissioner serve on that board. She is interested in daytime meetings and brought forward a potential conflict with the Livingston Trust Board that she asked whether it would not be a conflict with her current day time job. She would be okay to serve on the Trust Board, Library Board, or the URA. Commissioner O’Neill stated he would like to try the URA or Health Board. Chair Nootz expressed that the LUB is the board she spent the most time on, and she feels it’s important to spread those out so one Commissioner doesn’t dominate one space. She highlighted what the LUB will be working on coming up. Commissioner Daniels stated she would be fine to take the LUB. Commissioner Daniels and Chair Nootz asked Commissioner O’Neill if he had interest in the LUB or Livingston Trust. Commissioner O’Neill stated he is more comfortable on the Livingston Trust Board. Chair Nootz read the boards and seats as: Commissioner Daniels on LUB, Vice Chair Willich on the Health Board, Commissioner Wilcox on Library Board, Chair Nootz on URA, and Commissioner O’Neill on the Livingston Trust. Commissioner Wilcox motioned to appoint Commissioner Daniels to the LUB, Vice Chair Willich to the Health Board, Commissioner Wilcox to the City/County Library Board, Chair Nootz to URA Board, and Commissioner O’Neill to the Livingston Community Trust Board, seconded by Commissioner Daniels. Unanimously approved. E. UPDATE ON GROWTH POLICY IMPLEMENTATION PG.109 The City Manager gave a brief presentation of the Growth Policy. Vice Chair Nootz explained that this item is an update and there is no associated action where the Commission needs to vote on anything, and for these update items they do not typically open them to public comment. She stated these items are to inform the Commission about what staff have been up to, and to give the Commissioners a chance to ask the City Manager questions. Commissioner Wilcox thanked the City Manager for the hard work on this item. She stated she has had the privilege of being able to be part of the original Growth Policy process. She commended the City for how much they have accomplished so far, and stated that it feels very impressive. She asked what the vision is for the update process, and asked if they are considering a consultant again, and whether is there funding for that. The City Manager stated that the FY2026 budget includes funding for consultant work to support the effort, and stated it is about a $50,000 effort, and that $25,000 has been appropriated for the current year for that. Commissioner Wilcox asked if this new Growth Policy would be similar to the old one in the sense of having a schedule and public engagement workshops and focus groups. Vice Chair Nootz asked the City Manager to explain how the City works when they hire contractors for things that come through the Commission. The City Manager stated that it begins with the creation of a scope of work, and the creation of a request for proposals that is put out. After review of proposals, depending on the dollar amount, the City Manager has spending authority up to $50,000, but with a project of this magnitude he would likely bring the contract for approval from the Commission. The Commission has the final authority on awarding that contract. Then the project begins, and it kicks off with a scoping meeting internally with the contractor that lays out the schedule, then comes public outreach. After public outreach there is a period to distill public outreach into a set of recommendations, then the recommendations are reviewed with the public in some way, and a draft report is made, then eventually approved through the Commission. He stated that is just a general process, but the Growth Policy update would include, as part of the public outreach process, several meetings at the Consolidated Land Use Board. He stated that it is a function of state law that is required for a growth policy update. He stated he typically allows 6-months for the procurement process, and when he talked about this process with Planning Director Severson, they realized that time frame lines up with the Farmers Market for public outreach and this is the time frame they are looking at. Vice Chair Nootz asked what if the Commission wants to influence any of the contract or public outreach, and what does that look like. The City Manager stated that before they take the request for proposals out for a project like this they would have a discussion with the Commission to help do a visioning process. Commissioner Wilcox thanked the City Manager and stated she feels this is good for the public to know that this is coming and there will be opportunity for public engagement. Chair Nootz reflected on the last 5 years and stated that most of this has been implemented since City Manager Gager has been here. She expressed feeling grateful to the staff for all the hard work.  She stated that staff works very hard to get them really good documents that come before the Commission. Commissioner Wilcox stated the thing she finds most important or timely is the Northside Transportation Plan update and Emergency Response Planning because there is a current railroad crossing survey out and they are looking for feedback from the community. Next, she feels the Technical Zoning Text Amendment (Industrial Uses) needs to be looked at, then the Evaluation of Stormwater Management, then the Annexation Policy. She asked whether the Annexation Policy would be an amendment to the Growth Policy or just a standalone document. The City Manager stated that currently it is a standalone policy, but when they do the update, they do have several plans that will likely be recommended as appendices to the Growth Policy. He stated there are some growth policies that have an annexation policy as an appendix. Commissioner Wilcox also stated that the pest control was on her list of priorities. Vice Chair Willich stated that he knows that the City Manager and staff are aware of all of the pressing issues, but he would really like to see more emphasis put on Wayfinding and Economic Development, and figuring out what ways the Commission can help with economic development. Chair Nootz stated she is interested in updates to get the new Commissioners informed on stormwater because there are some pretty strict state laws about treating the stormwater before it goes back into the Yellowstone River. She stated that waterways are also an important issue. She feels that taking some time to learn about what has happened for the last 3 years since City Manager Gager has been here would be very helpful. She is also really interested in annexation, and seeing what they come up with. Commissioner Wilcox expressed that she felt the Text Amendment was a priority because the previous Commission did include a lot of industrial uses, and she is curious what types of businesses or industries they could bring in that would benefit the community. 9. City Manager Comment The City Manager welcomed the 3 new Commissioners and stated the next 2 years will be fun and he is looking forward to serving them as they serve the community. He reminded them that they can reach out to him anytime, and offered any assistance they might need as they set up new equipment. 10. City Commission Comments Commissioner O’Neill stated he is looking forward to serving and learning. Commissioner Wilcox stated she is looking forward to learning and serving, and reminded that she is available through email or phone. Commissioner Daniels stated is grateful and is looking forward to learning a lot and serving and is really looking forward to working with the community. Vice Chair Willich welcomed the 3 new Commissioners, and stated he is excited that the community chose them to represent the City. He recalled that when was elected, they did not talk about goals early on, and he would like to do that with this Commission. He would like to have a workshop in the conference room at City Hall to get goals talked about and they can work together to accomplish those. Vice Chair Willich motioned to have a work session next week, seconded by Commissioner O’Neill. Commissioner Wilcox asked if that meeting and location would be open to the public. Chair Nootz stated that all meetings are open to the public, except closed sessions that are for legal and personnel matters. She reminded everyone that setup of an agenda is the responsibility of the City Manager and the Commission does not tell him how to set the agenda. The City Manager read the definition of a work session from LMC. He stated that typically work sessions are just the 5 Commissioners discussing an item or a set of items that have been previously on an agenda. Commissioner Wilcox recalled that the City has a strategic plan and wondered about it’s status so it can be reviewed. The City Manager stated the City Commission last adopted a strategic plan on November 1, 2022, so that is the current strategic plan. Chair Nootz clarified that the City Clerk will email with dates and times. She stated that when an email comes from the City Clerk to the Commission that the City Manager will be cc’d, and when they reply to the City Clerk, they need to include the City Manager, and she stated it is done that way because the City Commission cannot direct staff, they only direct the City Manager. She also clarified that they should never reply all on group Commission emails because that would be an illegal meeting. Chair Nootz thanked her fellow Commissioners for working together tonight and their willingness to be flexible. She reminded that if they have any questions to please reach out to the City Manager and that he is available to all of them. She also shared a story from when she and the City Manager visited the high school government class, and they were asked about an additional crossing, she as the only north side Commissioner, said that maybe when they have more north side Commissioners, and now she realizes that north side Commissioners make up the majority of the Commission and she is excited about that. 11. Adjournment 7:20 pm Vice Chair Willich motioned to adjourn, seconded by Commissioner Wilcox. Unanimously approved. Calendar of Events Supplemental Material Notice  Public Comment: The public can speak about an item on the agenda during discussion of that item by coming up to the table or podium, signing-in, and then waiting to be recognized by the Chair. Individuals are reminded that public comments should be limited to items over which the City Commission has supervision, control, jurisdiction, or advisory power (MCA 2-3-202). The Chair shall have the discretion to solicit comments from the public in the following order: (1) residents of the City, (2) business owners or operators in the City, (3) other organizations conducting operations in the City, and (4) residents, businesses or organizations from outside the City. The Chair may limit each person’s comment period to not less than three (3) minutes.  Meeting Recording: An audio and/or video recording of the meeting, or any portion thereof, may be purchased by contacting the City Clerk. The City does not warrant the audio and/or video recording as to content, quality, or clarity.  Special Accommodation: If you need special accommodations to attend or participate in City meetings, please contact the City Clerk at least 24 hours in advance of the specific meeting you are planning on attending.