Mayor & City Council

WHITEFISH CITY COUNCIL April 1, 2024 SPECIAL SESSION AT 5:30 PM 1) Call to Order Deputy Mayor Sweeney called the meeting to order. Councilors present were Qunell, Caltabiano, Sweeney, Feury, Davis, and Norton. Mayor Muhlfeld was absent. Staff present was City Manager Smith, City Clerk Howke, Planning and Building Director Taylor, Planner Nelson, and Housing Coordinator Sponable. 2) Interview The City Council interviewed Jill Davis for the Whitefish Community Housing Committee, and Chuck Martin for the Whitefish Lake and Lakeshore Protection Committee. 3) Public Comment 4) Appointment a) Whitefish Community Housing Committee – City Clerk Howke received a letter of interest after the agenda was published. Mayor Muhlfeld will make appointments at a later date. b) Whitefish Lake and Lakeshore Protection Committee – Councilor Feury made a motion, seconded by Councilor Norton to appoint Chuck Marting to the Whitefish Lake and Lakeshore Protection Committee to complete the term ending December 31, 2024. The motion carried. 5) Adjournment Deputy Mayor Sweeney adjourned the Special Session at 6:00pm and opened the Work Session. /s/Francis J. Sweeney Deputy Mayor Sweeney Attest: /s/Michelle Howke Michelle Howke, Whitefish City Clerk  WHITEFISH CITY COUNCI April 1, 2024 7:10 P.M. 1) CALL TO ORDER Deputy Mayor Sweeney called the meeting to order. Councilors present were Qunell, Feury, Caltabiano, Davis, and Norton. Mayor Muhlfeld was absent. City Staff present were, City Clerk Howke, City Manager Smith, City Attorney Jacobs, Finance Director Gospodarek, Planning and Building Director Taylor, Engineering & Sustainable Project Manager Hilding, Parks and Recreation Director Butts, Police Chief Kelch; Fire Chief Hadley, Human Resources Director Baccaro, Planner Loring, Senior Planner Compton- Ring and Plans Examiner Langellier. Approximately 22 people were in the audience and 1 attended virtually. 2) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Deputy Mayor Sweeney asked Rhonda Fitzgerald to lead the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3) PRESENTATION a) Annual review and consideration of approval for Whitefish Convention and Visitors Bureau Marketing Plan and Budgeting for FY25 (p.28) Whitefish Convention and Visitors Bureau Chair, Mariah Joos presented the Marketing Plan and FY25 Budget. Councilor Qunell made a motion, seconded by Councilor Norton to approve the annual Whitefish Convention and Visitors Bureau Marketing Plan and Budgeting for FY25 at $266,000. The motion carried. b) Consideration of approval for the Wage Market Study presented by Communications & Management Services, LLC (CMS) (p.81) Human Resource Director Sherri Baccaro presented her staff report that is provided in the packet on the website. Jim Kerins with Communication and Management Services reviewed the Wage Market Study Report that is provided in the packet on the website. Councilor Norton made a motion, seconded by Councilor Feury to accept, and approve the FY24 Wage Market Study Report as submitted. Councilor Qunell made a motion, seconded by Councilor Norton to include as an appendix, data on the total compensation package that is offered and compare to national averages. The motion carried. The original motion to accept and approve carried. 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) Katie Williams, Housing Whitefish Chair, reported in the packet is a development agreement between Housing Whitefish and the City of Whitefish. She is available for questions. They are excited to be here and asking for $1 million, to develop Alpenglow II. They are also excited for all the partnership opportunities  CITY COUNCIL MINUTES April 1, 2024 with Explore Whitefish. Their contributions have allowed Housing Whitefish to grow quickly and effectively. They just issued their first checks for the Whitefish Rental Assistance Program. 5) COMMUNICATIONS FROM VOLUNTEER BOARDS Councilor Qunell reported the Community Development Board held their monthly meeting. They were updated on the Growth Policy and mentioned the artwork that is in the lobby of City Hall from Whitefish High School art students. 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. a) Minutes from March 18, 2024, Regular Meeting (p.143) b) Resolution No. 24-16; A Resolution to annex within the boundaries of the City approximately 34.20 acres of land known as Government Lot 3 of Section 1, Township 30 North, Range 22 West, P.M., M., Flathead County, Montana, for which the owner has petitioned for and consented to annexation (p.147) c) Consideration of a recommendation for confirmation of Police Officer Ben Wiersma pursuant to MCA §7-32-4113 (p.159) d) Consideration of a recommendation for confirmation of Firefighter Robert Sharp pursuant to MCA §7-33-4106 (p.160) Councilor Davis made a motion to remove item 6b) from the Consent Agenda for further discussion. Councilor Caltabiano made a motion, seconded by Councilor Norton to approve the Consent Agenda. Councilor Caltabiano congratulated Officer Wiersma and Firefighter Sharp for their confirmation. The motion carried to approve the Consent Agenda. Councilor Davis addressed agenda item 6b). He is confused procedurally for annexations. He asked and Attorney Jacobs stated because the applicant is proposing zoning that is not comparable with the County, the streamline process of zone change upon annexation does not apply. The zoning is required to go through the public process, in which annexation needs to occur first. The zone change application will be before the Council at the next public hearing scheduled for April 15th. The Council is only voting on the annexation this evening. Councilor Davis made a motion, seconded by Councilor Qunell to adopt Resolution No. 24-16; A Resolution to annex within the boundaries of the City approximately 34.20 acres of land known as Government Lot 3 of Section 1, Township 30 North, Range 22 West, P.M.,M., Flathead County, Montana, for which the owner has petitioned for and consented to annexation. The motion carried 5- 1 with Councilor Norton voting in opposition. 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. a) Consideration of a request from Lake Park Lane, LLC for a Preliminary Plat for a nine (9) lot subdivision located at 270 Lake Park Lane, zoned WR-2 (Two-Family Residential District) (WPP 24-04) (p.162) Planner Nelson Loring presented his staff report that is provided in the packet on the website. Staff received one written letter that appended to the packet. 2  CITY COUNCIL MINUTES April 1, 2024 Deputy Mayor opened the Public Hearing. Nathan Basford, 235 Lake Park Lane, asks that the development happen in a modern way as well as embraces Whitefish’s outdoor values. He has concerns for the need for open space in the neighborhood. Whitefish designated parks are not within reasonable walking distance on the west side of town. He requests the Council to dedicate open space to this development. His other concern is outdated infrastructure on Lake Park Lane. He asks the Council to consider updating the old power poles, and fire hydrants in the neighborhood. Neil Lovering, 725 Icehouse Road, is generally in favor of the project, but has some questions. 1) What are the actual lot sizes? 2) Is the proposal for duplex on each lot? Will each lot have two dwellings? 3) Will the lots be sold individually, or will the developer build out the whole concept? 4) Do we know the price range of the homes? Deputy Mayor Sweeney asked Planner Loring to address the questions. Planner Loring stated 1) The lots are 16’ x 120’. 2) The lots can be developed up to two dwellings per lot. 3) That was not indicated on the application. 4) That was not indicated on the application. Lindsay MacDonald, 240 Lake Park Lane, stated he owns five lots that face Salmon Run. Half of Salmon Run is paved. There is a new development proposed on Salmon Run but there are no new utilities. The utilities are only on the paved portion of Salmon Run. Why are those utilities not extending all the way down Salmon Run? Why is the subdivision being required to build to city standards, but Salmon Run will be determined in the future? Patton Lane and Lake Park Lane do not have sidewalks. There is a lot of foot traffic on the Lake Park Lane. Lake Park Lane is a narrow road, he has concerns of emergency vehicles especially if there is off street parking. Erin Meeks, 240 Lake Park Lane, asked if the Lake Park Lane could be re-evaluated to be improved for emergency access. Deputy Mayor Sweeney asked Planner Loring to address the comments. The ten-foot dedication on the north side of the property, on Lake Park Lane, will have a sidewalk installed. The City can not legally require the developer to install utilities along Salmon Run because it will not serve the purpose of the development. There being no further public comment, Deputy Mayor Sweeney closed the Public Hearing and turned the matters over to the Council for consideration. Councilor Norton asked, and Parks and Recreation Director Butts stated the open space on State Park Road is not big enough to develop into a parkland and there is no available space to allow for parking to access it. At this time there is no designs or budgeted funds to develop that space as parkland. Councilor Davis moved, seconded by Councilor Norton to approve the request for a subdivision at 270 Lake Park Lane. The motion carried. 8) COMMUNICATIONS FROM PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR a) Consideration to award a construction contract for the Karrow Avenue Reconstruction Project (p.284) Engineering & Sustainability Project Manager Karin Hilding presented Director Workman’s staff report that is provided in the packet on the website. 3  CITY COUNCIL MINUTES April 1, 2024 Councilor Qunell made a motion, seconded by Councilor Caltabiano to award the construction contract for the Karrow Avenue Reconstruction Project to Watson Excavating, in the amount of $2,396,350.30. The motion carried. 9) COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITY MANAGER a) Written report enclosed with the packet. Questions from Mayor and Council? (p.290) None b) Other items arising between March 26th and April 1st Councilor Norton asked Manager Smith regarding adding wrapped outhouses in the downtown area. The public restrooms are closed early in the evenings because of vandalism. She remembers the Judges report and the amount of people who are urinating in public. We have a lively downtown, and she finds it odd that we don’t have open public restrooms beyond 10:00pm. Manager Smith stated people that are downtown between 10:00 pm and 2:00 am, are at bars/restaurants. Those facilities have restrooms for their customers. The challenge with late nights is it is darker, you can’t see people accessing the restrooms, and vandalism is occurring. It is pretty standard seeing restrooms close fairly early from a public restroom standpoint. The cost to address the vandalism or to monitor those restrooms would be a problem. Councilor Norton stated we have high visitation and feels that we need to find a way to address this, rather than have people urinating in public. c) Consideration of approval for the Development Agreement with Housing Whitefish for the Alpenglow II project (p.291) Manager Smith presented her staff report that is provided in the packet on the website. Councilor Caltabiano made a motion, seconded by Councilor Qunell to approve the Development Agreement with Housing Whitefish for the Alpenglow II project. The motion carried. 10) COMMUNICATIONS FROM MAYOR AND CITY COUNCILORS a) Consideration of a request from Northwest Montana Community Land Trust to release the deed restriction on 508 Trailview (p.303) Kim Morisaki, Executive Director of Northwest Mondana Community Land Trust stated the Council agreed to release the deed restriction on three homes in Trailview Subdivision. Another home has come up for sale and needs to be sold in May. She is requesting the City release the deed restriction on that home as well so that NWMTCLT can purchase it and add it to the Land Trust inventory. She also is asking for the Council to transfer the $30,000 approved for 307 Trailview Way to 508 Trailview Way so that it can be purchased in May. Manager Smith stated staff supports the request and will articulate the transfer of $30,000 in the agreement with NWMTCLT. Councilor Caltabiano made a motion, seconded by Councilor Qunell to approve the agreement as presented. The motion carried. b) Letter from Michael Jamison requesting to amend WCC 11-3-29c(5)(b), Water Quality Protection Regulations (p.304) 4  CITY COUNCIL MINUTES April 1, 2024 Councilor Norton directed staff to look at it more in depth and then bring back to the Council for consideration. The Council showed support in her direction. c) Letter from Jane Metzmaker regarding Deer Management Plan (p.305) Manager Smith stated this will be discussed at the Council goal setting session. It has been a Council goal; we have worked on it, and we have the next step which would be to hire a consultant. Council Comment Deputy Mayor Sweeney asked Manager Smith if she has enough direction from the discussion from the work session prior to the meeting pertaining to the Memorandum of Understanding with Whitefish Housing Authority for the Depot Park Townhomes project. Manager Smith stated Jerry Dunker mentioned that the estimated AMI ranges that are shown in Figure 2 of Associate Executive Director Getts report, is going to be very difficult. You have such a small group that you are looking for in each price range. You might not find somebody within such small price ranges. When these come available, if they don’t have a buyer and it is because of our AMI restrictions, WHA has a loan carrying interest, trying to make payments on that. We want them to be able to sell these. Her thoughts are to group the price as $300,000 to $350,000, people from a 100 – 120% AMI can apply, but the priority is provided to those with the lowest income qualifying, and so forth. Councilor Davis stated he is glad we have this MOU in place. The project changed in a couple year period. The Council’s goal is not to micromanage what is happening in this project. If the project fundamentally changes it should come back to the Council. We should also provide the latitude for the WHA to figure out the right way to put the right people in the right homes. He thinks it would be good to have built in flexibility for the WHA to establish policies about who gets the homes in a way that is fair and equitable. Councilor Norton is delighted to see it penciling. It has been a long process. There has been a lot between when we started and where we end up. It is time to get to the groundbreaking. Deputy Mayor Sweeney stated this project becomes a success for this community when we begin to house the people that need this housing. Councilor Feury stated there is an economic reality, regardless of what we want to make ourselves feel good with. Setting a range that we are going to hit without additional funding beyond what we are already have budgeted is not doable. To Councilor Caltabiano’s point, we are going to average out at $375,000. That is half the cost of the cheapest home in Whitefish. That is getting something done. We are not going to solve this entire problem with this single project. That is the message we need to send to people. 11) ADJOURNMENT (Resolution 08-10 establishes 11:00 p.m. as end of meeting unless extended to 11:30 by majority) Deputy Mayor Sweeney adjourned the meeting at 9:35 p.m. /s/Francis J. Sweeney Deputy Mayor Francis J. Sweeney Attest: /s/Michelle Howke Michelle Howke, Whitefish City Clerk 5