Mayor & City Council

WHITEFISH CITY COUNCIL February 18, 2020 SPECIAL SESSION 5:45 TO 6:00 PM 1) CALL TO ORDER Mayor Muhlfeld called the meeting to order. Councilors present were Feury, Hennen, Sweeney, Norton, and Qunell. Councilor Hartman was absent. City Staff present were, City Clerk Howke, City Manager Smith, and Parks and Recreation Director Butts. 2) INTERVIEW Mayor Muhlfeld and City Council interviewed Carrielynn O’Reilly for the Board of Park Commissioners. 3) PUBLIC COMMENT None 4) APPOINTMENTS Mayor Muhlfeld appointed with full Council ratification, Carrielynn O’Reilly to the Board of Park Commission, term ending May 1, 2021. Mayor Muhlfeld adjourned the Special Session at 6:00 pm and opened the work session. WHITEFISH CITY COUNCIL February 18, 2020 7:10 p.m. 1) CALL TO ORDER Mayor Muhlfeld called the meeting to order. Councilors present were Feury, Hennen, Hartman, Sweeney, and Norton. Councilor Qunell was absent. City Staff present were, City Clerk Howke, City Manager Smith, City Attorney Jacobs, Planning and Building Director Taylor, Public Works Director Workman, Parks and Recreation Director Butts, Sergeant Veneman and Fire Chief Page. Approximately 11 people were in the audience. 2) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Muhlfeld asked Chris Schustrom to lead the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3) COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC – (This time is set aside for the public to comment on items that are either on the agenda, but not a public hearing or on items not on the agenda. City officials do not respond during these comments but may respond or follow- up later on the agenda or at another time. The Mayor has the option of limiting such communications to three minutes depending on the number of citizens who want to comment and the length of the meeting agenda) Chris Schustrom, Whitefish Shines Chair, invited Council, Staff and Citizens to help take down the holiday decorations on Sunday February 23rd. Those who are interested should meet at the intersection of 3rd and Central at 8:45 a.m. A complimentary lunch is offered at the Great Northern after. Chuck Overcast, 124 Somers Avenue, is concerned with the truck loads of logging trucks coming through town. Trees are falling with the substantial wind because there is no protection for the trees. He would like to see Council take a stand and save what we can in town. 4) COMMUNICATIONS FROM VOLUNTEER BOARDS  CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 18, 2020 Councilor Sweeney reported the Ice Den is doing very well. They are looking to build a mezzanine level, through fundraising with the Whitefish Community Foundation Great Fish Challenge. Councilor Norton reported the Strategic Housing Committee reported there is funding for affordable housing through grants and loans. She was excited to hear one can be used to help rehab existing homes. 5) CONSENT AGENDA a) Minutes from February 3, 2020 Regular Session (p.19) b) FY20 Second Quarter Financial Reports (p.22) Councilor Norton made a motion, seconded by Councilor Hartman to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. The motion passed unanimously. 6) PUBLIC HEARINGS (Items will be considered for action after public hearings) (Resolution No. 07-33 establishes a 30-minute time limit for applicant’s land use presentations. Ordinances require 4 votes for passage – Section 1-6-2 (E)(3) WCC)) a) Resolution No. 20-06; A Resolution updating the City of Whitefish’s Rules and Regulations for Water, Sewer, and Garbage Utilities (p.30) City Manager Dana Smith gave her staff report that is provided in the packet on the website. Mayor Muhlfeld opened the Public Hearing. Ben Cavin, 2100 Houston Drive, is opposed to paying monthly for his garbage bill. He stated if the reason for the including the garbage inhouse is due to the rentals, he suggested doing a split between rentals and ownership. There being no further public comment, Mayor Muhlfeld closed the Public Hearing and turned the matters over to the Council for consideration. Councilor Feury made a motion, seconded by Councilor Sweeney to approve Resolution No. 20- 06; A Resolution updating the City of Whitefish’s Rules and Regulations for Water, Sewer, and Garbage Utilities. The motion passed unanimously. b) Resolution No. 20-07; A Resolution revising fees charged for City utility services(p.117) City Manager Smith gave her staff report that is provided in the packet on the website. Mayor Muhlfeld opened the Public Hearing. There being no public comment, Mayor Muhlfeld closed the Public Hearing and turned the matters over to the Council for their consideration. Councilor Norton made a motion, seconded by Councilor Hartman to approve Resolution No. 20- 07. The motion passed unanimously. c) Resolution No. 20-08; A Resolution to establish a fee for team recreation programs (p.120) Parks and Recreation Director Butts gave her staff report that is provided in the packet on the website. Mayor Muhlfeld opened the Public Hearing. There being no public comment, Mayor Muhlfeld closed the Public Hearing and turned the matters over to the Council for their consideration. Councilor Sweeney made a motion, seconded by Councilor Hennen to approve Resolution No. 20- 08; A Resolution to establish a fee for team recreation programs. Councilor Sweeney stated the Park Board reviewed this and questioned it only in the fact to make sure that we were competitive with the other communities. Director Butts has done a great job. The motion passed unanimously. 2  CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 18, 2020 7) COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITY MANAGER a) Written report enclosed with the packet. Questions from Mayor or Council? (p.125) Councilor Feury asked and Manager Smith clarified, the Quarterly Financial Report page 22 of the packet, General Fund in column b, 2018 should be $1,950,639. b) Other items arising between February 12th and 18th City Manager Smith stated the Wave celebrated 15 years this last weekend. She reported she offered the Finance Director position to Ben Dahlman, of Colorado, and he accepted the position today. His first day will be April 6th. She has spoken to Lisa the Winter Carnival event organizer regarding the confetti on the streets from the parade. Lisa assured Manager Smith next year they will make sure that confetti is not thrown from any float. The Public Works Department has been trying hard to get it cleaned up. The Strategic Housing Committee will be coming forward at the next work session to hear the plan moving forward for the Snow Lot and the financial feasibility of the project. 8) COMMUNICATIONS FROM MAYOR AND CITY COUNCILORS Councilor Comments Councilor Sweeney suggested he would like to start negotiations with the Mountain Mall for the central recycling site. He is concerned if near the High School it would add additional traffic to the area. The location at the Mountain Mall can be screened and should not have an impact on the surrounding neighborhoods. Councilor Norton would like Manager Smith to look at both options. The area near the Mountain Mall will be dense and the lake is a natural lake. She would like to see what the school is doing since the old Muldown School will be used for storage. Councilors Sweeney, Hartman and Hennen are in agreeance to start negotiating with the Mountain Mall. Councilor Feury agrees with Councilor Norton to look into both locations, but also prefers Mountain Mall. The consensus is for Manager Smith to start negotiations with the Mountain Mall to expedite the contract with Republic Services and keep in mind the school location for the Council goals to look for further options. Councilor Feury mentioned he would like to see some idea of the savings if doing the viaduct improvements with the bypass for a percentage savings. He would also like to see a priority list of what we will be spending with the urban dollars from MDT. After some discussion Council agreed unanimously the size of the underpass to be 20’x12’, use large block, and have the architecture lighting, as discussed and reviewed during the work session prior to the meeting. Councilor Feury gave a moment for Edwin Fields, who passed away recently. Councilor Feury served with Edwin on the Council and was instrumental in the foundation of the original Lakeshore Protection Committee. He was a good person and a good community member, and he will be missed by many. Councilor Norton was contacted by a local radio station who would like to interview Councilors. If anybody is interested, please contact her. Dylan Boyle with the Convention and Visitors Bureau sent her information regarding a grant for historic preservation. The grant is due within the next 10 days. She will be meeting with Manager Smith regarding this. She mentioned Representative Dave Fern has legislatedion passed for Affordable Housing funding, and he is also working on the septic leachate with Hilary Hanson. She commented per the communications from Chuck Overcast, the City does have an arborist on staff and an urban forest. Mayor Muhlfeld stated he was fortunate to spend time this weekend with Ben Dahlman the incoming Finance Director. He quickly rose to the top of the interview pile, he is a class act, very personable. What resonated with Ben was the staff and how much respect and teamwork staff has created. He felt very 3  CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 18 , 2020 highly of Manager Smith and her capabilities. Ben will be a wonderful addition to what is already the best executive team since his serving on Council. He also asked and Director Workman stated the wayfinding sign that is located near the new Samarah Art Studio will be relocated. He also mentioned Mike Cronquist passing. He was an outstanding individual and served as the City 's owner representative for the construction of City Hall and Parking Structure. He sends his condolences to Mike ' s family. 9) ADJOURNMENT (Reso lution 08 -1 0 establishes 11 00 p.m. as end of meeting unless extended to 11 30 by majority) Mayor Muhlfeld adjourned the meeting at 8:02 p.m. Attest: 'fY\.1.dJL,~~W :±b,.JJ,.,,() Michelle Howke, Whitefish City Clerk 4  PUBLIC HEARINGS PLEASE SIGN IN TO SPEAK ON A SPECIFIC PUBLIC HEARING 2-18-2020 A B C D E 6a) Resolution No. 20- _; Rules and 6b) Resolution No . 20 6c) Resolution No . 20- Regulations on _; Revising fees _; Establish a fee for Water, Sewer and charged for City team recreation 1 NAME AND ADDRESS Garbage Utilities utility services programs 2 'elllflLF5 tJJ'Jf~;?~rr ~.r/otfJ111~ . 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Please return to Michelle * CUP=Conditiona l Use Permit