Mayor & City Council

WHITEFISH CITY COUNCIL November 15, 2021 7:10 P.M. 1) CALL TO ORDER Mayor Muhlfeld called the meeting to order. Councilors present were Qunell, Feury, Hennen, Davis, Sweeney, and Norton. City Staff present were, City Clerk Howke, City Manager Smith, City Attorney Jacobs, Finance Director Dahlman, Planning and Building Director Taylor, Public Works Director Workman, Parks and Recreation Director Butts, Interim Police Chief Kelch and Fire Chief Page. Approximately 7 people were in the audience, and one attended via Webex. 2) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Muhlfeld asked Nathan Dugan 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) Caitlin Overland, 840 11th Street East, Kalispell, is an applicant for the Interim Municipal Court Judge and is scheduled for an interview November 16, 2021. She is a Montanan native and has practiced law in the Flathead Valley for 10-years. She has served as a prosecuting attorney and has worked for the Flathead County Advisory, the local government on civil matters. This combination of experience gives insight into how a criminal court room can operate effectively as well as how a court fits into a local organizational structure of a local government. It would be a great honor of hers to serve in the role of Municipal Court Judge. It is a position she would approach with both enthusiasm and diligence. Giuseppe Caltabiano, 2075 Lion Mountain Loop Road, spoke towards the Consent Agenda. He has three suggestions concerning section b of the proposed Ordinance No. 20-17. He suggests eliminating the phrase “and addressed on the same street as”; “pursuant to stay low” is unclear what part of that sentence does it condition, and he suggests it be deleted; he suggests adding Central Avenue south of second street to prohibit marijuana facilities. Rhonda Fitzgerald, 412 Lupfer Avenue, spoke towards Ordinance No. 21-17 that is on the Consent Agenda. She stated the zones in our community have purpose and intent and are distinguished from each other. The WB-2 zone is intended for retail sales characterized by the need for large display and large parking areas. The WB-3 zone is all retail. The Mountain Mall was existing before the zoning went into place, small retail a permitted in the mall. That is a way to get retail on the strip. Otherwise, it has been agreed on by the community that we would not encourage small retail because that is how you get strip malls and sprawl. She suggests the Council do more fine tuning on this Ordinance. Clarify that retail sales of marijuana are not permitted in the WB-2. It does not meet the definition of that zone. She provided a map that is appended to the packet. The map provided in the ordinance restricts along 2nd Street because it is the entrance to the Middle School, people thought that was restrictive and there wasn’t much room in the WB-3 in order to have marijuana sales. She marked all the block faces in the WB-3 where you could have marijuana sales retail sales. There is a lot of available real estate. We are trying to encourage a shopping loop in the Railway District. She would think that is the very logical location and could be a stimulus for other retail in the area. She suggests Council pull this off the Consent Agenda, do more work to make it a better ordinance. Once you allow something, you can’t take it back. 4) COMMUNICATIONS FROM VOLUNTEER BOARDS  CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 15, 2021 None 5) CONSENT AGENDA (The consent agenda is a means of expediting routine matters that require the Council’s action. Debate does not typically occur on consent agenda items. Any member of the Council may remove any item for debate. Such items will typically be debated and acted upon prior to proceeding to the rest of the agenda. Ordinances require 4 votes for passage – Section 1-6-2 (E)(3) WCC) a) Minutes from November 1, 2021, Regular Session (p.13) b) Ordinance No. 21-17; An Ordinance amending Title 1, Zoning Regulations, Chapter 2 – Zoning Districts, Chapter 3 – Special Provisions, Section 34 - Medical Marijuana, and Chapter 9 – Definitions, of the Whitefish City Code (WZTA 21-02) (Second Reading) (p.22) c) Resolution No. 21-45; A Resolution amending Resolution No. 20-05, and Resolution No. 21- 10 to extend the duration of the Parking Permit Implementation Committee through October 31, 2022 (p.34) d) Resolution No. 21-46; A Resolution declaring certain property to be unneeded and obsolete and authorizing the disposal of such property (p.35) Councilor Sweeney pulled agenda item 5b, Ordinance No. 21-17 from the Consent Agenda for further discussion. Councilor Sweeney believes Council should remove marijuana sales from the WB- 2 and is in opposition to the concept that we should be allowing these things as an administrative CUP. Councilor Sweeney made a motion, seconded by Councilor Norton to pull Ordinance 21-17 and direct staff to amend it to remove WB-2 as a permitted zone for marijuana facilities and remove as administrative CUP. Councilor Norton feels better to do full CUPs until we get the hang of it. It can always be changed later to administrative CUP if things are not problematic. Discussion followed, to hold a second Public Hearing as a Second Reading for December 6, 2021. The motion carried. Councilor Sweeney made a motion, seconded by Councilor Hennen to approve the Consent Agenda as amended. The motion carried. 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. 21-47; A Resolution approving changes to the business license structure and an increase in business license fees and the short-term rental application fee (p.38) Finance Director Ben Dahlman presented his staff report that is provided in the packet on the website. Mayor Muhlfeld opened the Public Hearing. Vincenzo Siravo, 1013 Wisconsin Avenue, currently owns three short-term-rentals that would be affected by this increase. The rentals have been almost persecuted for causing issues in the town. He is not sure how increasing a licensing fee per unit is going to help the illegal rentals. There are dozens of people who are not zoned properly that are on Airbnb and VRBO and are making money. Owners like himself who are legitimate and legal are paying the cost. He supports it if the money is going towards mitigating the illegal rentals. It has been a failed attempt so far. He doesn’t see how it is going to be possible to find these people and fine them or make them stop. It is a rat race. He also asked if the hotels in town pay the licensing fee in the same manner. A hotel that has 30 rooms, 30 units do they pay $400 per unit? If each home is considered an individual unit his home is no different than a hotel room. Shouldn’t they be paying the same amount to generate money to help mitigate the issues of illegal rentals? Rhonda Fitzgerald, 412 Lupfer Avenue, stated this is a great step forward and she commends staff. She looked at Airdna AirDNA two weeks ago and the numbers have increase. This is a problem that is going to keep getting worse, but this is a great step in the right direction. If it generates enough funds for a 2  CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 15, 2021 dedicated employee, that will be great because there are cheaters out there and it is hard to catch them when you don’t have anyone keeping an eye. This is a good step. There being no further public comment, Mayor Muhlfeld closed the Public Hearing and turned the matters over to the Council for their consideration. Councilor Qunell made a motion, seconded by Councilor Norton to approve Resolution No. 21-47; A Resolution approving changes to the business license structure and an increase in business license fees and the short-term rental application fee. Councilor Qunell Asked and Director Dahlman stated hotels are regulated by the state differently and are not the same type of business. Hotels pay a business license fee according to the gross square footage of the hotel. The motion carried. b) Resolution No. 21-48; A Resolution amending Resolution No. 21-12 to extend the duration of the parking permit pilot program and fee for parking permits to December 31, 2022 (p.44) City Clerk Michelle Howke presented her staff report that is provided in the packet on the website. Mayor Muhlfeld opened the Public Hearing. Giuseppe Caltabiano, 2075 Lion Mountain Loop Road, suggested charging out of state license plates more for parking. That will allow more spaces in town and alleviate this issue. The tourists he talked to state the fine for overtime parking is cheap, so they pay the fine and park all day. Nathan Dugan, 937 Kalispell Avenue, feels this is a regressive program for people working in the downtown area. We are asking the lowest paid employees to pay the parking. It is obvious in the summer that parking downtown is entirely too cheap. We should be charging the tourists for the parking. There being no further 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 Sweeney to approve Resolution No. 21- 48; A Resolution amending Resolution No. 21-12 to extend the duration of the parking permit pilot program and fee for parking permits to December 31, 2022. Councilor Sweeney suggests listening to the downtown businesses if we start charging out of state or visitors to park and shop downtown. That might damage their business and they may not like that as much. This program has proved to be useful to us and so he is in support of it. Councilor Qunell asked and staff will look into the limit of a parking fine. The motion carried. 7) COMMUNICATIONS FROM PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR a) Consideration to authorize staff to proceed with a Request for Proposals to select a Consultant and nominate a Council member to serve on the Consultant Selection Committee for the Viaduct Improvement Project (p.91) Public Works Director Craig Workman presented his staff report that is provided in the packet on the website. Councilor Hennen made a motion, seconded by Councilor Norton to authorize staff to proceed with a Request for Proposals to select a Consultant and nominate Councilor Norton to serve on the Consultant Selection Committee for the Viaduct Improvement Project. The motion carried. 3  CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 15, 2021 8) COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITY MANAGER a) Written report enclosed with the packet. Questions from Mayor and Council? (p.99) Councilor Norton asked and City Manager Smith provided an update on the Impact Fee Audit progress. Staff is in the process of looking back through building permits through 2019 regarding the fixture count issue that was identified. Those refunds will be issued to the property owners. An FAQ has been provided to the Realtors Association and to those who are interested. The City’s external auditors will look at the impact fees as part of their audit. Refunds amounts are dependent on the fixtures per the building plans provided at time of permit. Councilor Davis asked and Manager Smith stated litigation has been threatened and the Consultant’s will not release a formal statement unless the City hires them to. b) Other items arising between November 10th through November 15th Manager Smith had a request from the Greater Valley Health Center, formerly known as the Flathead Community Health Center. They are applying for a grant and asked the City to provide a letter of support. Manager Smith would like to issue a letter of support with the Councils consent since they provide a service to our community and the greater Flathead. Whitefish received MMIA’s award for Loss Control Achievement for Second-Class cities for FY2021 in the Workers Compensation Program. Whitefish has the lowest incurred dollars in the Workers’ Compensation program for the past five years when compared to other Second-Class Cities’. Manager Smith reported Jessica Nymark has joined the Planning Office as Planner I. The planner positions are now filled and are now in the process of hiring a Building Inspector/Code Compliance Officer. As we look towards the fees for short-term rentals, those new rates go into effect with the January 1 renewals. She will recommend in the FY23 budget to add a full-time Code Compliance position unless Council directs that to occur sooner. 9) COMMUNICATIONS FROM MAYOR AND CITY COUNCILORS Council Comments Councilor Norton asked Director Taylor stated staff is in communications with Town Pump’s Architect to clear up an issue regarding the exterior lights on the building. She also asked and Manager Smith stated she is the point of contact for the Council for issues occurring after hours and during holidays. Councilor Norton would like to address a few options to use the American Rescue Plan Act funds; North Valley Food Bank to purchase equipment to process fresh produce for distribution in the winter months; funding animal resistant refuse/recycle containers residents along the river and lake; and to mitigate the risks of wild animals contagious with COVID and their interaction in the city. Manager Smith stated she reviewed the preliminary budget for the Snow Lot and there is adequate padding that they won’t need the full $2 million, but we don’t know where they market is going to go over the next few months. Food and security are part of the American Rescue Plan Act. If Council is going to rescind dedicating up to $2 million of ARPA funds for the snow lot public input would be required. We are still going to collect $120,000 more than the $2 million and is still up for the Council to identify. Manager Smith stated staff is meeting with FWP and Republic Services to discuss how to work on bear management and garbage. In general, they are looking at a solution, where animal resistant could be an option for mandatory, but it might not be the only option. Councilor Qunell congratulated Councilors Feury and Davis for re-election and newly elected Giuseppe Caltabiano. Councilor Sweeney in addition to that congratulations, gave a shout out to Phil Boland for his continued support of the Council after not being elected. 4  CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 15, 2021 Mayor Muhlfeld stated he, Karin Hilding, Craig Workman, Dave Taylor, Dana Smith, and Angie Jacobs met with MDOT on the Downtown Highway project earlier. They came to consensus for right now to table the study for up to one year until they get a better understanding of what’s included in the infrastructure bill. MDOT has to complete the study and they will be indicating that it was the preferred alternative. In the executive summary they will clearly articulate that consensus was not reached by the community or by the City with MDOT. Our letter will also be included with the study. In the interim we can anticipate an overlay and chip seal project on Spokane Avenue. 10) ADJOURNMENT Mayor Muhlfeld adjourned the meeting at 8:36 p.m. /s/John Muhlfeld _______________________________ Mayor Muhlfeld Attest: /s/Michelle Howke ______________________________ Michelle Howke, Whitefish City Clerk 5