Mayor & City Council

WHITEFISH CITY COUNCIL December 5, 2022 SPECIAL SESSION AT 5:20 P.M. 1) Call to Order The meeting was held in-person in the Council Conference Room. Mayor Muhlfeld called the meeting to order. Councilor present were Davis, Qunell, Feury, Norton and Caltabiano. Councilor Sweeney was absent. Staff present were City Manager Smith, City Clerk Howke and Planning and Building Director Taylor. 2) Interview Council interviewed Grant Hughes for the Architectural Review Committee, John Middleton for the Whitefish Planning Board, and incumbent Chuck Stearns for the Impact Fee Advisory Committee. 3) Public Comment None 4) Appointment Councilor Qunell made a motion, seconded by Councilor Norton to appoint Grant Hughes to the Architectural Review Committee to complete the term ending 5/31/2025. The motion carried. Mayor Muhlfeld appointed John Middleton to the Whitefish Planning Board for a two-year term. Council ratified. Councilor Feury made a motion, seconded by Councilor Qunell to re-appoint Chuck Stearns to the Impact Fee Advisory Committee. The motion carried. Mayor Muhlfeld appointed Dakota Whitman to the Climate Action Plan Committee for a two- year term Council ratified. Dakota was interviewed during the November 21st Special Session. The applicant that was to be interviewed during this current meeting pulled his application. 5) Adjourn Mayor Muhlfeld adjourned the meeting at 6:55 p.m. and opened the work session. /s/John Muhlfeld Mayor Muhlfeld Attest: /s/Michelle Howke Michelle Howke, Whitefish City Clerk  WHITEFISH CITY COUNCIL December 5, 2022 7:10 P.M. 1) CALL TO ORDER Mayor Muhlfeld called the meeting to order. Councilors present were Qunell, Feury, Caltabiano, Davis, and Norton. Councilor Sweeney was absent. City Staff present were, City Clerk Howke, City Manager Smith, City Attorney Jacobs, Finance Director Gospodarek, Planning and Building Director Taylor, Public Works Director Workman, Parks and Recreation Director Butts, Police Chief Kelch, Fire Chief Page, and Senior Planner Compton-Ring. Approximately 20 people were in the audience and 4 attended virtually. 2) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Muhlfeld asked Montana State Representative Dave Fern to lead the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3) PROCLAMATION a) Proclamation – 2023 Arbor Day Friday April 28, 2023 (p.33) Mayor Muhlfeld read the 2023 Arbor Day Proclamation that is provided in the packet on the website. 4) 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) Dave Fern, Montana State Representative, reviewed a few of the priorities he has for the 2023 Legislative Session starting on January 2, 2023. 1) Resort Tax; a change in the threshold and, an option to add 4% to be utilized for affordable housing. 2) Workforce housing; a reauthorization of coal trust fund money to help do maintenance and repairs of existing affordable housing units. 3) Property tax abatements at the local level, a tool local entities may use to get affordability. 4) Lowering of the tax rate at various business and residential levels. 5) A bill that will expand eligibility and threshold of the homeowners and renters elderly homeowner tax credit to look at various ages in qualifications to offer some opportunity for reductions in taxes based on income. He invited the Council members to come to Helena and see what goes on. It is an interesting process, and he is honored to be serving the people of Whitefish. John Murray, resident of the Lakes Homeowners Association (HOA), addressing agenda item 9b. The HOA has furnished a letter and petitions regarding their concerns about their safety while navigating through “The Lakes” subdivision. The roads are in pretty bad condition with heaving, dips, manhole covers higher than the road, manhole covers lower than road level, etc. He provided photos that have been appended to the packet on the website. They have worked with Director Workman, who has been very cooperative. The HOA asks the Council to schedule at some point in the near future so that their roads will look like Highway 40. 5) COMMUNICATIONS FROM VOLUNTEER BOARDS None 6) 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 21, 2022 Special Meeting (p.35) b) Minutes from November 21, 2022 Regular Meeting (p.36)  c) Ordinance No. 22-16; An Ordinance adding a new Chapter 18, to Title 2, of the Whitefish City Code to establish the Whitefish Sustainable Tourism Management Plan Standing Committee (Second Reading) (p.42) d) Ordinance No. 22-17; An Ordinance amending Ordinance No. 21-17 to correct a typographical error (First Reading) (p.45) Councilor Caltabiano made a motion, seconded by Councilor Norton to approve the Consent Agenda. Councilor Norton had corrections to the November 21, 2022, Special Meeting minutes; Councilors present were Davis, Qunell, Feury, and Councilors Caltabiano., Councilors Sweeney and Norton. were absent. The motion to approve as corrected carried. 7) 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) Ordinance No. 22-__; An Ordinance approving the Depot Park Townhomes (formerly known as “The Snow Lot”) Preliminary Plat and Planned Unit Development to develop an eleven-lot north of Railway Street, east of Columbia Avenue, and south of the railroad tracks, Whitefish (WPP 22- 06/WPUD 22-03) (First Reading) (p.49) Senior Planner Wendy Compton-Ring presented her staff report that is provided in the packet on the website. Staff received nine written public comment since November 30, 2022. Those letters are appended to the packet on the website. Mayor Muhlfeld opened the Public Hearing. Ben Johnson, Whitefish Housing Authority Chair, stated this project was identified by the City, the Strategic Housing Steering Committee, and the Strategic Housing Plan as a catalyst project to provide affordable stable community housing for our Whitefish workers. These are ownership units for community members making between 80 and 150% of the AMI; 80 to 150% AMI for an individual is about $44,000 to $83,000 yearly income, which is about $22-$40 an hour; a family of four, 80% AMI is $63,000 and 150% AMI is $119,000 yearly income. The target is for individuals working and invested in our community to help fill the housing gap. The resale value of these townhomes is capped at a small appreciation rate. These are not units that people can purchase for a “discount” and resell on the open market for a large profit. These have to be owner occupied and have to be the owner’s primary residence. These units cannot be rented or subleased by the owner. The initial project was 24 units and but was reduced to 22 units because they were not able to secure an access from Somers Avenue. They also wanted to help complement the neighborhood by reducing the loss of view shed and achieve an affordable housing project in close proximity to schools, the downtown and other city amenities to promote transportation that reduces traffic impacts on these areas. He thanked their partners, Jenn Clary with Encompass Architect, and David Sands with Montana Construction Management. Councilor Qunell also asked if there was a CAP on how much savings a person can have rather than just looking at income, for example a trust fund. Ben stated a trust fund would be counted as income. Councilor Caltabiano is disappointed that the units were decreased to 22 units. If the ratio were to be one parking spot per unit, another four to six units could be built and make the project viable. David Saenz, Great Falls, Montana Construction Management, the Construction Manager for this project. In the city of Whitefish, there is not enough housing for the demand that is needed for the resort destination community that it is. The Depot Park Townhomes are designed by EDHI Architects that meets the needs for workforce housing class. This project serves as an infill project. It ensures that a variety of housing types are met specifically high density residential. It is cited close to schools, parks, and community services. It supports the needs for those on limited income such as workforce or senior citizens. It is designed with affordability in mind and yet, has the character as a market rate home. This project approved provides a clear community benefit to the city of Whitefish by increasing the inventory of affordable housing. These homes are designed to meet and exceed the minimum building standards. They will be built with high quality workmanship, and 100% sold as deed restricted affordable housing units between 80 to 150% AMI. They will help to strengthen the community of Whitefish both socially and economically. Jenn Clary, Encompass Architect, presented a few videos of the project. Those videos can be viewed on the City of Whitefish YouTube Channel, December 5, 2022 City Council meeting, at 44:13. Councilor Norton asked, and Jenn stated they have a sound engineer performing a sound assessment right now. They anticipate increasing the thickness of the windows and walls for those units adjacent to the railroad. Jenn also stated the snow will be pushed into the open space. Shane Axhelm, 811 Railway, does not support the project. It will destroy his viewshed and devalue his property. There is no other maximum density housing in this neighborhood. This is unprecedented. Brett Cooper, 1400 Wisconsin Avenue, stated Whitefish has been struggling for a long time with affordable housing. This project somewhat meets the criteria. He is concerned there is not enough parking. He thinks it is a good project. It needs to be seriously considered. It does address what the city has been trying to do. Travis (no last name or address given) is on the waiting list, and he supports the project. Rhonda Fitzgerald, 412 Lupfer Avenue supports this project. This is the most important thing we can do. She hopes the Council approves this. Lindsey Gardner, East Second Street, supports this project. This is a vital development proposal that will allow for the continued strength of the Whitefish community for years to come. Kate Berry, 1489 East Second Street, supports this project. Affordable housing has the power to transforms people’s lives. When there is money in the bank for people, they spend money back in the community, so it all gets reinvested in where we live. Nathan Dugan, 937 Kalispell Avenue, Shelter WF President, supports this project. This is the hardest market to serve, especially the ownership market. Malory Phillips, 937 Kalispell Avenue, Shelter WF Co-Founder, supports this project. It is in a prime location that will allow folks to walk to schools, grocery stores, snow stops and more. Marijke, 500 Boot Jack Lake Road, attending virtually, supports this project. It is important for people like her who could possibly afford a home. There being no further public comment, Mayor Muhlfeld closed the Public Hearing and turned matters over to the Council for their consideration. Councilor Davis made a motion, seconded by Councilor Qunell to adopt Ordinance No. 22-18, the Findings of Fact, and the conditions as recommended by the Planning Board. Councilor Qunell stated he is an advocate for workforce housing in this community. The people who built this town were workforce people. If we lose that segment of our population, we are going to become just like any other ski town. This is a good step and can bring some hope that we can get this done. Councilor Caltabiano stated this year this Council has made a lot of important decisions, and this is one of them. Councilor Davis stated some thanks are due to some folks who have stuck around to see this through. The design is reflective of the community, the neighborhood, and the very important need in our community. Councilor Norton made a motion to add Condition #18, trees on Railway will be placed at the apex of the home to block the view of the mountains from the south. The motion failed for a lack of a second. Councilor Norton made a motion to add Condition #18, incorporate sound proofing and mitigation into all units. The motion failed due to a lack of a second. Councilor Norton thanked Lori Collins and Addie Brown-Testa who worked hard to get this done. The original motion to approve carried. 8) COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITY MANAGER a) Written report enclosed with the packet. Questions from Mayor and Council? (p.371) None b) Other items arising between November 30th through December 5th Manager Smith has reached out to the Lodge at Whitefish Lake to hold the Council retreat, but she has not heard back from them. c) Consideration to award contract for 2023 Montana Legislative Session lobbying services (p.376) Manager Smith presented her staff report that is provided in the packet on the website. Councilor Qunell made a motion, seconded by Councilor Norton to award the contract for 2023 Montana Legislative Session lobbying services to Robin Turner of Turner Strategies, PLLC in the amount of $23,000. The motion carried. 9) COMMUNICATIONS FROM MAYOR AND CITY COUNCILORS a) Consideration of appointment to volunteer boards and committees not made during the Special Session preceding tonight’s meeting During the Special Session prior to this meeting, Councilors appointed Grant Hughes to the Architectural Review Committee; and re-appointed Chuck Stearns to the Impact Fee Advisory Committee. Mayor Muhlfeld appointed John Middleton to the Planning Board, and Dakota Whitman to the Climate Action Plan Standing Committee. b) Letter and petition from the Lakes Master HOA Board of Directors addressing their concerns about their safety while navigating through “The Lakes” subdivision (p.383) Councilor Davis asked, and City Manager Smith stated staff has met with the HOA subcommittee. There are two intersections that were severe, one is complete and the other will be completed in the spring. Council budgeted $100,000 to improve those areas along with some other minor work The road has been in disrepair for a long time. It was originally installed through the development. The challenge that we see is funding to replace a road like that for a neighborhood. A funding source could be a Special Improvement District (SID) for us to reconstruct the road through their subdivision. The road does not have a great rating compared to other roads. It is considered a newer road when you look at roads that we have had for 30 years that have not been reconstructed. Director Workman stated the Lakes is a series of several different subdivisions that began the platting process in the late 90’s. The engineers that worked on the project did the best they could with the technologies they had at the time. The installation of the water, sewer, and storm sewer, and all the different building foundation have created a myriad of different preferential pathways for groundwater to move. Every year you have seasonal fluctuations, and it expresses itself most vividly in the roadways that we drive. The ultimate solution is fairly significant reconstruction that we don’t have the current budget capacity for. He thinks a SID is the fairest way to go about this. We have other roadways in the city that haven’t been touched since well before these roadways were even built. It does the taxpayers a disservice to all of a sudden dedicate four or five years of funding to reconstruct these roads. The City did reconstruct the intersection of Portage and Tumblehome, which was the largest safety issue. He would like to go through and evaluate some of what he knows are the shallower utilities in that subdivision that could likely be excavated. Overall reconstruction of the roads is going to be extremely expensive. Councilor Feury stated the HOA met with the Resort Tax Committee. The Committee discussed there are projects on the list from when these roads were built and to push this ahead of those on the list is not right. If it is a super safety hazard, we should fix it. There are a lot of streets in town that have needed reconstruction much longer than the Lakes roads, that we have been paying street assessments on for a long time. Council Comments Councilor Qunell gave a shout out to the Glacier Nordic Club for getting the golf course open with minimal coverage, but still good enough. He asks to follow the rules; the ski trails are not for walking or walking your dog, they are for skiing. Follow the dog guidelines on the trails on the mountain. Councilor Feury acknowledged Katie Williams for all her hard on the Depot Park Townhomes. Councilor Caltabiano asked, and Manager Smith stated the City has no jurisdiction over the Under the Big Sky event The event organizers have been really good about including our Police Department and Fire Department in the incident action planning portion. The City was able to give a lot of feedback to them regarding the garbage issues. She imagines they will be meeting with staff come the new year. Councilor Norton thanked Chris Schustrom and the Whitefish Shines for putting up the Christmas decorations. She mentioned if people have extra money and they want to help with affordable housing, donation can be made to Housing Whitefish through the Whitefish Community Foundation. Councilor Davis was selected for jury duty in Municipal Court last week. He thought it was very professional and well run. Judger Overland and Prosecutor Fairchild did a great job at what they do. Mayor Muhlfeld extended condolences to Councilor Sweeney and his family for the passing of his younger brother. 10) ADJOURNMENT (Resolution 08-10 establishes 11:00 p.m. as end of meeting unless extended to 11:30 by majority) Mayor Muhlfeld adjourned the meeting at 9:08 p.m. /s/John Muhlfeld Mayor Muhlfeld Attest: /s/Michelle Howke Michelle Howke, Whitefish City Clerk