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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-07-31 Minutes, City Commission, work MINUTES OF THE AGENDA MEETING/WORK SESSION/SPECIAL MEETING . OF THE CITY COMMISSION BOZEMAN, MONTANA July 31, 2000 ***************************** The Commission of the City of Bozeman met in agenda meeting and work session in the Commission Room, Municipal Building, on Monday, July 31,2000, at 3:00 pm, and in special meeting at the Community Room of the Courthouse at 7:00 pm. Present were Mayor Youngman, Commissioner Brown, Commissioner Frost (afternoon session only), Commissioner Smiley, Commissioner Kirchhoff, City Manager Johnson, City Attorney Luwe and Deputy Clerk of the Commission DeLathower. The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence. Aaenda Meetina - for reaular meetina and Dublic hearinas to be held on Auaust 7, 2000 Since this is an agenda meeting, only those issues requiring staff action are contained in the minutes. City Manager Johnson briefly reviewed the background information which was included in the . Commissioners' packets. (3) Commissioner Brown asked if the City will be paying impact fees on this, to which City Attorney Luwe responded, "Yes". Commissioner Kirchhoff asked how long the city is planning to be at this site. City Manager Johnson replied probably for a very long time. The cost of relocating the shops would be high. He stated the purpose of this building is to slow the depreciation of expensive equipment that currently sits outside. Commissioner Kirchhoff then asked what the landscaping requirement is going to address. Assistant Planner Berger replied it will be used to screen the fenced area. City Manager Johnson suggested the Commission needs to talk about water conservation; will the lawns on city property be green or brown? That is an issue that the Commission will need to address shortly. Commissioner Kirchhoff inquired if the Commission can put a condition on this application requiring this site to be cleaned up. City Manager Johnson replied that was possible. Director of Public Service Arkell noted the abandoned vehicles stored there belong to the Police Department, and she has asked to have them moved. The evidence vehicles will be moved to a fenced area. She also noted the dying trees have been there for a number of years and will be removed. Ms. Arkell stated the city is considering moving the two southernmost buildings and perhaps then moving this proposed building closer to Rouse Avenue to screen the yards and also be in closer proximity to sewer and water services. . She mentioned the steel-sided building proposed is in compliance with the Rouse Avenue entryway corridor guidelines. 07-31-2000 __..___._ .__________'m.._.__ ------ - 2 - (5) Commissioner Kirchhoff asked what analysis the planning office used to determine the . need for more land in the city limits zoned M-1, R-O, and R-3. Assistant Planner Berger replied the original staff report was written by former staff members, and there wasn't a land-use study regarding how much industrial property there is in the city limits to refer to. Commissioner Kirchhoff then asked how do the Commissioners determine they should want to bring more acreage into the city with these zoning designations. Assistant Planner Berger reminded him this application has been preliminarily approved; and his Question would, therefore, need to be referred to the legal staff. A land-use study would probably need to be conducted in order for the Commissioners to make that determination. Planning staff is in the process of updating the land-use study at this time. Commissioner Brown stated he views this as a defensive measure, stating it is better to have development inside the city limits rather than in the county. City Attorney Luwe inquired if the zoning had gone through already. Assistant Planner Berger replied it had, contingent upon annexation. Mr. Luwe reminded the Commissioners their directive to staff was to prepare the annexation agreement. If the Commission decides it is not in the best interest of the City and its citizens, they do not have to approve the annexation. Commissioner Kirchhoff asked how the Commission determines when it is an appropriate time and place to annex. City Attorney Luwe replied the City has an annexation policy that Planning staff reviews according to the criteria and then evaluates annexation requests based on that. Commissioner Frost Questioned if it is appropriate to have light manufacturing and schools in the same area. Senior Planner Skelton asked if the Commissioners were more concerned about the land- use patterns or the annexation. Part of the original North 19th Avenue plan was that North 27th Avenue would not be relocated and would be the demarcation boundary, a transition area to R-O zoning. The . realignment of North 27th Avenue is now triggering these issues, although it is still the demarcation area. Commissioner Brown pointed out that when North 27th Avenue was moved it was in the county, not in the city limits. Mayor Youngman proposed the Commission figure out a way to have an appropriate mix of the different zoning areas. They need to talk to staff and make a determination, if the Commissioners can get more solid answers on this issue. Commissioner Kirchhoff stated this request doesn't make any sense to him, and he cannot support the annexation of this property without further information. Commissioner Brown then wanted to clarify there is a break between this property and the school district property. Assistant Planner Berger verified the Davis property, which has an annexation application still in progress and is separate from the SANDAN request, lies between the two. (6) City Attorney Luwe told the Commissioners he has received a request from Mr. White to move this discussion to August 2 P\ as Mr. White will be out of town on August 7th. Also legal staff received some revised language from Mr. White today, and this would allow them time to modify some of that language. All Commissioners agreed to move this item to the August 21 st agenda. (7) Commissioner Brown noted there appears to be some inconsistencies in the language of this ordinance. Staff Attorney Day-Moore responded she will double-check all of the titles used in . this ordinance before next week to make sure they are consistent. Commissioner Brown then Questioned the size of the Board, saying he is concerned the Board is getting too large. Staff Attorney Day.Moore noted there was a Question last time whether or not the Commission wanted to limit 07-31-2000 --- ...---- ----. ...--... -."....-...--. -. ...--.-- ~ 3 ~ membership to one liaison from every business or group that has its place of business there or just one . liaison. Ms. Day~Moore stated, therefore, she drafted it to be one from every entity working out of that building. Commissioner Brown said he thought there was only going to be one liaison, total. Mayor Youngman added this gives the groups the choice to have their own liaison or to have one for the entire group. Commissioner Brown then stated he believes the maintenance of the buildings and the grounds could be handled through Superintendent of Facilities and Public Lands Goehrung, and the Commission doesn't need to be involved in that. He then questioned whether Section 2.06.010, line 4, pertaining to the Bozeman Senior Citizens' Advisory Board acting as the advisory board to the City Commission, needs to be included in the ordinance at all. Commissioner Brown said this phrase is creating some hard feelings among Board members. Commissioner Smiley responded she believes this point needs to be clarified with all the City's boards; it needs to be made clear they have a relationship with the Commission, and she believes this phrase should remain in this ordinance. Mayor Youngman suggested the Commission deal with this issue next week, in order to give them time to weigh the pros and cons; and that should be done with members of that Board and with Superintendent of Facilities and Public Lands Goehrung. Staff Attorney Day~Moore repeated the Board's primary focus has been on the management of the buildings and grounds; they haven't been advising the Commission on senior citizen issues and activities in town. Mayor Youngman acknowledged there seems to be some confusion as to the role of this board. Staff Attorney Day~Moore added the management agreement is two years old and has not been renewed recently, so they still operate under that old agreement. (11 ) Responding to a question regarding what will appear on the November ballot, City . Attorney Luwe replied that Section 1 is what will appear on the ballot. The ballot doesn't allow sub. options to be put on it; there is a wording limit on ballot issues and the ballot statement must be limited to that number of words. Other communities have not put the whole charter on the ballot; it is the responsibility of others to education the community. City Attorney Luwe stated this is a draft ordinance, and he has not yet had a chance to review it. There may be some modifications made to it after legal review. The only new item that Assistant City Manager Brey didn't address when he went through the checklist for Section 2 with the Commission is the community councils. Mayor Youngman noted this is not the wording the Commission suggested last week. There are two choices as to how the neighborhood councils can be created; creation by ordinance or election. Creating by ordinance would mean the structure would be more flexible, but both options need to be weighed to see which makes the most sense. With this wording, the councils are allowed, but not required. City Manager Johnson noted Great Falls has neighborhood councils that are elected, and City Attorney Luwe added Great Falls has a ward system. Commissioner Smiley said she would like to see Great Falls' language and how they have these set up. City Attorney Luwe asked the Commissioners what their language preference is for the first reading; community councils selected by election or created by ordinance. Commissioner Kirchhoff responded his preference is community councils created by election. Commissioner Frost indicated he prefers creation by ordinance and finds the term "community" troubling, as opposed to neighborhood. City Attorney Luwe replied the current language removes legal questions. Mayor Youngman asked if the wording could include "neighborhood representation on the community council". Mr. Luwe . answered the statute says "community council". The Commission reached consensus that for the first reading their choice would be for a community council created by ordinance. 07.31.2000 .. ---..--".- - 4 - (18) Commissioner Frost asked if the City has the authority to not allow any alcohol signage. . All Commissioners agreed to have staff draft conditional language disallowing alcohol signage before next week's meeting. Commissioner Brown questioned if it is going to be a problem for the restaurant to determine when school is in session, per condition no. 2. Commissioner Smiley pointed out there is a school calendar prepared every year that they can refer to if in doubt. (20) City Attorney Luwe told the Commissioners they cannot proceed on this application because this parcel is not contiguous. Mayor Youngman asked what the Commission can do to expedite this application for the school district. City Attorney Luwe responded the Commission will need to pass a new resolution of intent. The quickest way, however, may be for the school district to petition for annexation. Mayor Youngman added if this wording was staff's suggestion, she would suggest the city bear the review costs incurred by the school district to make the change. (22) Mayor Youngman inquired if there are Planning Board minutes to cover the history of this property. Senior Planner Skelton asked, in view of the annexation issue. if the plan is still to hold the public hearings on the zone map amendment and the master plan amendment. City Attorney Luwe advised the hearings should be held: the Commission can approve them contingent upon annexation. Work Session. (A) Presentation of budaet for the City-County Health Department for Fiscal Year 2000- 2001 - Health Officer Stephanie Nelson; (B) Presentation re plannina charette - Associate Planner Chris Saunders; and (C) Staff reDort re status of Bozeman 2020 Growth Plan (A) Presentation of budget for the City-County Health Department for Fiscal Year 2000.2001 . Health Officer Nelson . Included in the Commissioners' packets was a copy of the budget for the Health Department for Fiscal Year 2000-2001. Health Officer Nelson reviewed the budget stating it was based on recommendations by staff. priorities set by the Board of Health. and work done by a finance subcommittee. No new tax revenues will be needed to fund this budget. This has been presented before the entire Board of Health and approved and was also presented to the County Commission and received preliminary approval. Ms. Nelson noted there will be some minor revisions upcoming because of personnel changes. The Department has streamlined administrative activities to have a central administrative budget to share costs and to shift those costs according to needs. Health Officer Nelson presented an overview of both the Environmental Health and Human Services' accomplishments of the past year. highlighting the following areas. Environmental Health staff made changes to the Health Code. which has been a positive step in bringing food establishments into compliance. Significant progress was made in resolving old septic issues and addressing future ones. They have also been partnering with GIS to bring data bases together for water quality district data. The Human Services staff has expanded their outreach to create programs to increase breast and cervical cancer screenings. secured a grant to provide health insurance programs to cover children, created a lead-screening campaign. and taken on case management services for HIV positive individuals. Break 4: 50 om . Mayor Youngman declared a break from 4:50 pm until 4:56 pm in accordance with Commission policy. 07-31-2000 - 5 - (B) Presentation re planning charette - Associate Planner Saunders . Associate Planner Saunders stated the materials have not yet been received from Jim Pepper, planning consultant; and there is nothing else to report until that information is received. (C) Staff report re status of Bozeman 2020 Growth Plan Associate Planner Saunders told the Commissioners that since their last update, staff is beginning to draft the objectives, taking the good range of public comment received into account. The VIST A volunteers are working on a neighborhood organizing project and letting people know about the growth plan and showing them a draft of the goals. The goals and objectives should be completed by the end of August. Associate Planner Saunders presented the following timetable for completion of this project. In August they will complete the drafting process; September will be devoted to text writing and convening the focus groups; October will feature a formal open house for the public, presenting the goals and objectives; in November the public hearings will be held; and in December and January the Commission hearings will be conducted. Mr. Saunders continued, saying the GIS program has updated parcel maps showing the boundaries of parcels, and there is now a land-use map that corresponds with those parcels. There is also an electronic version of the zone map for land-use analysis. A good map of existing trails has been developed, in cooperation with the transportation plan, and a proposed trail network has been completed. . Commissioner Kirchhoff asked what staff is doing to help the Commission to have a fair, reasonable model for determining when it is appropriate to designate land one thing or another. He also asked if there is any work afoot to draft mixed-use zoning regulations. Associate Planner Saunders replied the City does have an historic mixed-use zone, which has not been used in ten years, but is in place. Also, major zoning revisions are envisioned in the process following the master plan. Several chapters will apply to the mixed-use idea, land use, and land-use patterns. Mr. Saunders pointed out that the map that has been adopted looks at the location of uses and their distribution on the landscape. Planning Director Epple addressed these issues as well, telling the Commissioners a land-use plan will be a product of the 2020 Growth Plan. Earlier this year, the Planning Board approved a planning boundary map which generalized the area around the city that will see urbanization over the next 20 years. The land-use plan will show the preferred land~use designations for those areas when they come into the city, which can be directly influenced by the City. That plan will be prepared in October. Commissioner Kirchhoff asked who is the group determining the land-use classifications? Planning Director Epple answered it is a committee comprised of Planning Board members working with staff. They are looking at Jim Pepper's work, but it is anticipated there will not be any dramatic changes from the 1990 plan. Commissioner Kirchhoff stated he would like to see real mixed-use projects happening in Bozeman, and he would favor encouraging maximal. mixed-use land uses. Mr. Epple reminded him mixed use can be accomplished through the current PUD process. . City Manager Johnson asked if the Commissioners feel they have had enough input in the planning to date; and if not, how would they like to be involved in the future? Mayor Youngman stated she feels the Commissioners need to go back to the list of goals they put together and shared with the 07~31-2000 - 6 - Planning Department to see if those goals are being reflected in the new language, and then provide . Commission input now rather than in December and January. Commissioner Frost agreed the Commission needs to look at their goals in order to have some feel for the direction the Planning Board is going. He stated he would like to review the goals and the first set of objectives because the objectives define the goals. Associate Planner Saunders assured the Commissioners the Planning Board committee was specifically looking at the Commission goal list to insure their ideas were addressed. All Commissioners agreed to look at the Planning Board's progress on this in early September, to provide input on the draft goals and objectives. Commissioner Frost expressed concern that the Associate Planners were being pulled off the 2020 Growth Plan project in order to review other planning proposals, thus delaying completion of the Growth Plan. Planning Director Epple assured him the Associate Planners are not being assigned any new projects, they are simply following up on projects they had previously started and are now in the process of wrapping up. Commissioner Kirchhoff expressed his opinion the 1990 master plan has not been the best, and the City needs something more aggressive and proactive from the 2020 plan. He said he also hopes this new plan will follow through with what the community has been saying. Commissioner Frost stated this is a very aggressive and innovative plan, and he believes the Commission will be happy with the final product. Discussion - FYI Items City Manager Johnson presented to the Commission the following "For Your Information" items. . (1 ) Memo from the Subdivision Review Committee of the Recreation and Parks Advisory Board, dated July 20, announcing that they had reached an agreement on location of the linear trail adjacent to Allison Subdivision, Phase II. (2) Letter from Michael Delaney, dated July 20, requesting a scheduling change for his Downtown 777 Project. (3) Copy of a letter from First Security Bank to the Planning Office, dated July 26, expressing concern about rezoning of the City property on South Bozeman Avenue. (4) Memo from Mayor Youngman to the Commissioners, dated July 25, forwarding suggestions for better decision making. (5) Letter from Molly Macdonald, 11 Hoffman Drive, asking that grass be seeded along the sides of the new sidewalk in that area. (6) Copy of an e-mail message from Robin Moretz voicing his concerns about how a parking ticket had been handled. (7) Copies of additional questions and input regarding the landfill operations from County Commissioner Phil Olson, Mayor Youngman and Denny Klewin. . (8) Copy of a letter from Planning Director Epple to the Montana Cultural Trust regarding grant application sponsorship. 07-31-2000 -. - 7 - (9) Agenda for the Development Review Committee meeting to be held at 10:00 am . on Tuesday, August 1, at the Professional Building. (10) Agendas for the Zoning Commission meeting to be held at 7:00 pm and the City Planning Board meeting to be held at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, August 1, in the Commission Room. (11 ) Agenda for the Gallatin County Commission meeting to be held at 9:00 am on Tuesday, August 1, in the Courthouse Community Room. ( 12) Memorandum from Director of Public Service Arkell regarding street lights and Street Lighting Districts. City Manager Johnson submitted the following FYI item: He will be out of the office next week, so Assistant City Manager Brey will be in charge. Mayor Youngman, during her FYI, submitted the following: (1) David Smith, Executive Director of the Bozeman Area Chamber of Commerce, was here this afternoon to talk to the Commission about business partnerships; but due to the late hour, he had to leave. The Commission will need to reschedule his presentation during an upcoming afternoon session. (2) Mr. Delaney's request to move his 777 East Main Street project to the September 4th agenda should be honored. City Manager Johnson reminded the Commissioners there has been some discrepancy about how late the Commission wants to continue on Monday evenings. He has discussed with the Mayor the possibility of having regular meetings every Monday night when there are a lot of projects to review in order to move them along. (3) The Commissioners all have a copy of her decision-making process letter, and that needs to be put . on a future agenda for discussion. Commissioner Frost submitted the following FYI items: (1) He believes the idea presented in a recent "Letter to the Editor" column to move the City offices to the East Willson school building and tear down that "ugly building downtown" is a great idea. It would be a beautiful place to be. He asked if the City is seriously considering that. (2) The information Associate Planner Saunders e-mailed the Commissioners on the incentives for building and living in the city need to be advertised to the people of the community. The public needs to know these things, and it would be a good public relations item for promoting development within the city. Commissioner Smiley mentioned the letter from Robin Moretz, expressing his displeasure with the handling of his parking ticket, during her FYI, as well as the letter from Molly Macdonald, regarding the lack of grass along Mason Street, South Black Avenue, and South Tracy Avenue following the sidewalk installation. Commissioner Kirchhoff asked when the Commission is going to address the issue of the houses on South Bozeman Avenue during his FYI. City Manager Johnson replied it is in the planning process just like all other projects and will be coming forward in the near future. Mayor Youngman reminded the Commissioners they have not yet put together a joint list of legislative concerns to present at the evening's discussion with the county and other cities and towns. She prepared an initial list and asked for Commissioner input. The Commission agreed the following list, . with nine issues suggested by the Mayor and a tenth by Commission Brown, should be submitted at the joint meeting: 1) revision of annexation statutes; 2) victim witness payment arrangements; 3) local option tax; 4) economic development; 5) smart growth; 6) housing trust fund; 7) Montana Department 07-31-2000 ----- -..-------. .-..--. . - 8 - of Transportation; 8) library issues; 9) impact fee enabling legislation; 10) power company re-regulation. . The Commission also agreed a Montana League of Cities and Towns memo, which includes additional legislative issues should be distributed at the meeting. Recess - 5: 54pm Mayor Youngman recessed the meeting at 5:54 pm, to reconvene at 7:00 pm for the purpose of conducting the special meeting. Reconvene - 7 :00 pm Mayor Youngman reconvened the meeting at 7:00 pm at the County Courthouse for the purpose of conducting the special meeting. SiQninQ of the Notice of Special Meeting Each Commissioner, in turn, signed the Notice of Special Meeting, except for Commissioner Frost, who was absent. Work Session (continued) - {DI Joint meetina with County Commissioners and representatives of other City aovernments in Gallatin County re {1 I leQislative issues and (2) possible ballot issues and mill levies County Commissioner Olson opened the meeting, stating the purpose of this meeting is to discuss bond issues and legislative issues. The discussion will begin with bond and mill levy issues. . Those also present at the meeting were Alice Meister and Ron Farmer, representing the Bozeman Public Library, Darrel Behrem, Gene Townsend, Mayor of Three Forks, August Orr, Three Forks Alderman, Eleanor Mest, Mayor of Manhattan, County Commissioner Olson, County Commissioner Mitchell, Joe Menicucci, City Manager of Belgrade, Bozeman Fire Chief Holst, SWMBIA Representative Mark Evans, Jeff Krauss, County Treasurer, Bill Ranard, and Glenda Noyes, County Commission Secretary. Bond and Mill Levv Issues Bozeman Library Trustee Ron Farmer opened the discussion by presenting a history of the library building expansion plans, characterizing the existing building as totally inadequate. The library proposes expanding its current facility to 49,000 square feet, with parking area to accommodate 196 cars. Adjacent property owners have been contacted and have indicated an interest in selling their property. The appraisals have been completed, and the responses are favorable. The Library Board wants to put the bond issue to public vote in June, 2001. County Commissioner Olson asked how much the bond would be. Mr. Farmer replied $5.8 million; Ms. Meister added the library hopes to raise the remainder of the money through a capital campaign. Mr. Farmer noted they would like to expand the library from its present site on East Lamme Street over to Mendenhall Street. Ms. Meister said there is a display of the sketches and all the studies are also available for public review at the library. Mayor Youngman asked if the Library Board is hoping both the city and the county will put . this issue on the ballot together; both using their bonding capacities. Ms. Meister replied she was not asking for any bonding capacity from the county; she just wanted both entities to be in agreement to putting this issue on the ballot next June. County Commissioner Olson stated it will be important to 07-31-2000 .-..----- ---.-.------.- --- ---- - 9 - know how many other entities are planning to also be on the ballot. . Mayor Youngman said it is hoped there could be some equitable way to work out sharing the costs with the County; not only for Bozeman, but for all other communities as well, as they all are growing. She suggested consideration of some form of capital costs sharing, which would be a good thing to talk through tonight since most communities are represented. Mayor Youngman also noted the City's Capital Improvements Program Citizen's Review Panel recommended that the County share costs for services that benefit county residents as well as the city's. County Commissioner Olson said it would be good for all libraries in the county to work together to come up with a plan. Ms. Meister responded the libraries are doing that; they are sharing a card catalog system, using the Bozeman library's computer system to run that as a benefit for all county residents, and there is a courier service operating between the Belgrade and Bozeman libraries. They envision this service will soon include West Yellowstone, as well. County Commissioner Olson told Ms. Meister and Mr. Farmer that the County Commission would need a request from their group, specifically stating their request. Ms. Meister responded she did send a letter to Ed Blackman asking to be included in the County's capital improvements program. Commissioner Smiley stated this expansion should be a joint venture between the City and the County, since it benefits residents of both. County Commissioner Olson stated the 9-1-1 levy proposal should be forthcoming within the next 18 months; it will be a county-wide levy. Mayor Youngman asked for a time and amount projection. City Manager Johnson replied the 9-1-1 Administrative Board was ready to move ahead now, but the County Attorney said that would not be possible at this time. County Commissioner Olson asked if the issue would be ready for the June ballot. City Attorney Luwe responded he didn't believe so; it would be very unlikely. Three Forks Mayor Townsend asked if the 9-1-1 levy would be assessed every year. County Commissioner Olson responded yes, although it would take away the expenditures . the cities now have paying into 9-1-1; it would be totally funded by this bond issue. Mr. Olson then asked if anyone knew the price figure for the bond. City Manager Johnson replied 12 mills to cover current operating costs, or $1.3 million. Mayor Youngman noted there will not be a county-wide election for two years after November and asked if this would this be a special election. City Manager Johnson answered it could be a mail ballot. Belgrade City Manager Menicucci stated they will have a bond issue for a new sewage treatment plant upcoming in the not too distance future. He asked if there will be a bond issue for the new detention center. County Commissioner Olson replied there will have to be, but it won't be sooner than 1 2 months from now. Mayor Youngman noted that could be three bond and mill levy issues coming forth in one year. Three Forks Mayor Townsend stated groups are considering asking for bond issues to acquire open space and recreational land purchase, as well. County Commissioner Mitchell acknowledged the County Commission has already approved putting a $10 million levy on the ballot in November. County Commissioner Olson noted there is talk within the County Commission of paving county roads, although there is nothing in the works that would compete with any of these proposed projects. County Treasurer Krauss said the bonding capacity of the county is $15 million, with the jail having another capacity beyond that. The $10 million open space bond will shrink that figure right down. County Commissioner Olson asked what would happen if one bond passes, and then something else would come up, and then an emergency would arise? County Treasurer Krauss replied the bonding . limit constrains what can be done; the last project to want to borrow is out; but emergencies supercede other projects, even if a bond project is already approved and underway. 07-31-2000 --. --- --- - - --.. ..----- - 10- Commissioner Smiley suggested it is very confusing and time consuming for developers to . try to determine if their projects should go through the City or the County Planning offices, particularly in the doughnut area. She suggested staff from both the city and the county should get together and develop a checklist delineating proper authority and order for issuing permits, determining jurisdictional area, and other related tasks for developers to follow. The County Commissioners agreed, and County Commissioner Mitchell noted they have just hired a new Planning Director who did this type of thing previously in Billings and who could get the ball rolling immediately to design such a system. County Commissioner Olson told those in attendance of the County's plan to create a solid waste district, which would encompass the entire county. All municipalities must be willing to participate and want to be involved; inclusion would not be mandatory. This district would be created by resolution by the County and would be run by a board that would be appointed. Any city or town involved in the district must have a representative appointed to that board. The board would make all decisions governing the district and would employ a full-time manager. At this time, the timeline for its creation is uncertain, possibly by the end of the year at the soonest. County Commissioner Mitchell asked if there is any interest from any of the communities, and Manhattan Mayor Mest indicated she likes the idea and would be interested in more information. Three Forks Councilman Orr inquired about the amount of control the board would have. County Commissioner Olson responded it would have as much control as it was given; the management style could go a lot of different directions, depending upon the manager hired. Commissioner Kirchhoff asked if the County Commission has taken any preliminary steps to begin formation of this district. Mr. Olson replied the County Attorney has started the paperwork. The county plans to go ahead with this project, and then the determining factors will be who else wants to be involved. Commissioner Kirchhoff then asked if the county has enough solid waste capacity to do this on their own. County Commissioner Olson answered yes, adding West Yellowstone has already created their own district. . Ms. Meister asked what would be the next step for the library; how does the Library Foundation proceed from here to bring their bond issue to the June ballot? County Commissioner Olson stated they haven't had a chance to talk about it yet to see if they want to be involved or not. If the Commission has further questions, they will contact the Foundation. County Commissioner Mitchell noted the Local Water Quality District was reformed, with all the cities and towns having representation and one additional person was appointed. A new Water Quality District Manager has been hired; however, attendance at the meetings has been poor. The meetings are held once per month and only last one hour. It is very important there be a full board present, and attendance by all members would be greatly appreciated. County Commissioner Olson stated he has attended some clean cities meetings, investigating alternative fuels. It seems to him there is a lot of push to get something going to use alternative, clean fuels in greater volume. It appears there will be money available to convert or buy vehicles using alternative fuels. The next meeting will be held August 16th. If any communities are interested in this idea, they are encouraged to attend the meetings to find out more. Leaislative Issues Mayor Youngman noted that several years ago the Gallatin Council of Governments was . formed to let legislators know what stance the communities and county had taken on important issues. It was an informal process, usually done by telephone, and wasn't very successful. She is proposing the communities might want to band together and try the process again. Input should be given to the 07-31-2000 - 11 - candidates before the election heats up, otherwise they have already run their races and taken their . stances. This year is a good opportunity to rekindle this idea because there are so many people running for their first term. Mayor Youngman suggested having a candidates' forum at the beginning of the fall, rather than later. She proposed the communities have their ideas pulled together for a September meeting with the candidates. She passed out an overview of the Montana League of Cities and Towns prepared list of issues affecting cities and town that the legislature is likely to consider this next year, as well as a list of initial ideas from the Bozeman City Commission. Some of these issues the Council of Governments had previously taken a stand on. It would be helpful if this group could choose the process they want to use to define issues and identify new ones soon. County Commissioner Olson recommended processing the timeline immediately and then getting back together later to work on the issues. County Commissioner Mitchell agreed meeting with the candidates early is the way to go, saying by the time the candidates are elected in November they are swamped by the issues before them. Unanimous interest was expressed in meeting with the candidates early in the fall. Mayor Youngman noted people will need to add issues to the lists distributed and also mark their agreement or disagreement with those issues. If the group doesn't want to meet again, this will need to be accomplished by two mailings. After the lists are prepared from the information submitted, they will be sent out to each town for them to check off their agreement or disagreement. Mayor Youngman asked if the group wanted to meet again or do this by mail. The unanimous consensus was to use the mail method. There was also unanimous consent to meet with the candidates in September. Mayor Youngman questioned how much information needs to be included in the mailings in order for the municipalities to determine if they support an issue or not. Some of these issues are so . broad they need to be narrowed down. One issue Mayor Youngman presented is that the municipalities and communities need to do more to support the existing businesses, raise wages, and recruit new businesses; so they should want to get rid of the legislative impediments to business growth in their communities. Another issue was with the victim witness program. Currently the state is keeping 50 percent of the money for this program, even though the victims and witnesses are being served locally. City Manager Menicucci stated he would like to see a cabinet position created at the state level which would bring all the players to the table for issues that have more than one state government agency involved. Currently it is very difficult to accomplish anything because there are so many individuals involved. Ideally, this will prevent unneeded roadblocks at the state level. This idea was unanimously supported by the group. Manhattan Mayor Mest stated she would like to see the money from the bed tax made available for community planning. County Commissioner Mitchell said County Commissioner Murdock had left a list of ideas to be discussed and one of them was there needs to be a clarification of annexation issues. An example would be to have the county roads annexed along with the land. County Commissioner Olson added reimbursement from the state for health inspections, . specifically citing reviews of septic systems, and changes in the weed laws and the consequences for infractions to the list of issues the County Commission would like to see addressed. He also suggested changes to Title 7, which would change the way the law functions, making it work better for everyone. 07-31-2000 - 12 - County Commissioner Mitchell also suggested remedying the problems with the multi- . jurisdictional mill levy, making it more equitable and fair across the county. Mayor Youngman then asked after the group meets with the legislators in September and explains their issues, do they want to encourage the candidates to take a stand on those issues on the spot, or do they prefer to follow up with a survey? Unanimous consensus was to pin the candidates down on the spot if possible; and if there are those who say they need more time, they can be followed up with a survey. The timeline for this process was established as follows: additional legislative issues should be submitted by the end of August, the list of issues will be compiled and sent back out for immediate response to determine which issues the governing bodies agreed to take stands on, then the list will be recompiled, and elected officials will meet with the candidates in late September. The meeting with the candidates will be scheduled now so both groups can plan ahead and reserve the date. All agreed to retain the name Gallatin Council of Governments. The County agreed to take care of mailing and compiling lists and scheduling the meeting. Adjournment - 8:22 om There being no further business to come before the Commission at this time, it was moved by Commissioner Kirchhoff, seconded by Commissioner Smiley, that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried by the following Aye and No vote: those voting Aye being Commissioner Kirchhoff, Commissioner Smiley, Commissioner Brown, and Mayor Youngman; those voting No, none. . M!!::::U~ ATTEST: ~ J.L~ ROBIN L. SULLIVAN Clerk of the Commission PREPARED BY: ~fLu--j ~ dJ (M-iA-J KAREN DeLATHOWER Deputy Clerk of the Commission . 07-31-2000