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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAugust 9, 2010 Minutes.pdf1 of 11 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CITY COMMISSION BOZEMAN, MONTANA August 9, 2010 ********************** The Commission of the City of Bozeman met in the Commission Room, City Hall at 121 North Rouse on Monday August 9, 2010. Present were Mayor Jeff Krauss, Commissioner Cyndy Andrus, Commissioner Sean Becker, Commissioner Chris Mehl, Commissioner Carson Taylor, City Manager Chris Kukulski, Finance Director Anna Rosenberry, City Attorney Greg Sullivan and Deputy City Clerk Aimee Kissel. * Please refer to the audio recording of this meeting for additional detail. 0:00:01 A. Call to Order - 6 p.m. - Commission Room, City Hall, 121 North Rouse Mayor Pro-tem Becker called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. with information that Mayor Krauss would be arriving shortly. 0:00:06 B. Pledge of Allegiance and a Moment of Silence 0:00:41 C. Changes to the Agenda Mayor Pro-tem Becker asked City Manager Chris Kukulski if there were any changes to the agenda. 0:00:45 Chris Kukulski Mr. Kukulski said there were no changes to the agenda. 0:00:52 D. Minutes - June 14, 2010 Executive Session Minutes and June 21, 2010 Regular minutes 0:00:56 Motion and Vote to approve the June 14, 2010 executive session minutes and the June 21, 2010 regular meeting minutes. It was moved by Cr. Mehl, seconded by Cr. Andrus to approve the June 14, 2010 executive session minutes and the June 21, 2010 regular meeting minutes. Those voting Aye being Crs. Mehl, Andrus, Taylor and Mayor Pro-tem Becker. Those voting No being none. The motion passed 4-0. 35 Bozeman City Commission Minutes, 8-9-10 2 of 11 0:01:14 E. Consent 1. Authorize Payment of Claims (LaMeres) 2. Authorize City Manager to sign Professional Services Agreement with Advanced Insulation Solutions Inc., for insulation at the T.B. Story Mansion (Gauley) 3. Authorize City Manager to sign the Bogert Place Sidewalk and Miscellaneous ADA Ramp Installations Notice of Award (Kerr) 4. Approve Depository Bonds & Securities as of June 30, 2010 (Clark) 0:01:18 Public Comment Mayor Pro-tem Becker opened public comment for Consent Items 1-4. No person commented. Mayor Pro-tem Becker closed public comment. 0:01:30 Motion and Vote to approve consent items E. 1-4. It was moved by Cr. Andrus, seconded by Cr. Taylor to approve consent items 1-4. Those voting Aye being Crs. Andrus, Taylor, Mehl and Mayor Pro-tem Becker. Those voting No being none. The motion passed 4-0. 0:01:52 F. Public Comment Mayor Pro-tem Becker opened general public comment. 0:02:24 Patricia Henninger, Public Comment Ms. Henninger of 5244 Cimmeron Drive spoke regarding her frustration with the differences in city assessments in a buffer zone creating a much higher cost for taxes. She owns property at 59 North 25th Street and several other properties. She pays up to four times more for the property assessment within the buffer zone. She would request the Commission consider looking at properties within the buffer zones and within various zoning areas and how they are assessed. 0:05:58 Lisa Kirk, Public Comment Ms. Kirk of 227 East Olive Street spoke as a resident of the downtown neighborhood regarding the idea of rerouting the circulation of downtown traffic and reorienting Babcock and Mendenhall traffic flow. Drivers have been re-routed into the residential areas north and south of Babcock and Mendenhall during construction downtown, building of the library, etc. and impose a higher flow of traffic that is inconsistent with the residential zoning of the neighborhood. The availability of free on street parking, makes the narrow street very crowded with drivers going high speeds. Ms. Kirk urged the Commission to consider the influence changing traffic patterns may have on the adjacent neighborhoods. She would also like to see 36 Bozeman City Commission Minutes, 8-9-10 3 of 11 traffic calming measures such as stop signs, speed bumps, etc. in these areas regardless of what decisions are made with Mendenhall and Babcock. 0:09:28 Public comment closed. Seeing no further public comment, Mayor Pro-tem Becker closed general public comment. 0:09:37 G. Action Items 0:09:39 1. Provisional Adoption of Ordinance No. 1791, Adopting the 2009 International Fire Code as adopted by the State of Montana, Amending Ch. 15.36.010 BMC, and allowing continual adoption of subsequent versions (Shrauger) 0:10:04 Jack Coburn, Fire Marshall, City of Bozeman Mr. Coburn gave the staff presentation on this item. 0:10:34 Cr. Mehl Cr. Mehl began questions for staff. 0:10:43 Mr. Coburn Mr. Coburn described the most significant changes made to the latest version of the International Fire Code. These include a lower sprinkler threshold for E occupancies and changing the threshold for specific business occupancies used for health care and medical facilities. 0:12:33 Cr. Andrus Cr. Andrus continued questions for staff asking why changes are being made to the code. 0:13:55 Cr. Taylor Cr. Taylor asked about the issue of requiring residential fire sprinklers. 0:16:11 Mayor Pro-tem Becker Mayor Pro-tem Becker continued questions for staff. 0:18:44 Public Comment Mayor Pro-tem Becker opened public comment. No person commented. Mayor Pro-tem Becker closed public comment. 0:19:13 Motion and Vote to provisionally adopt Ordinance No. 1791, adopting the 2009 International Fire Code as adopted by the State of Montana, amending Chapter 15.36.010 of the Bozeman Municipal Code and allowing continual adoption of subsequent versions. It was moved by Cr. Taylor, seconded by Cr. Mehl to provisionally adopt Ordinance No. 1791, adopting the 2009 International Fire Code as adopted by the State of Montana, amending Chapter 15.36.010 of the Bozeman Municipal Code and allowing continual adoption of subsequent versions. 37 Bozeman City Commission Minutes, 8-9-10 4 of 11 0:19:44 Mayor Pro-tem Becker Mayor Pro-tem Becker said he would like to see the entire document, not just a summary of significant changes. 0:20:04 Vote on the motion to provisionally adopt Ordinance No. 1791, adopting the 2009 International Fire Code as adopted by the State of Montana, amending Chapter 15.36.010 of the Bozeman Municipal Code and allowing continual adoption of subsequent versions. Those voting Aye being Crs. Taylor, Mehl, Andrus and Mayor Pro-tem Becker. Those voting No being none. The motion passed 4-0. 0:20:20 Mayor Krauss arrived at the meeting and took the gavel from Mayor Pro-tem Becker. 0:20:25 2. Budget Work Session - Mandeville Farm Property, and other Fiscal Year 2011 Budget items (Rosenberry) 0:20:46 Anna Rosenberry, Finance Director Ms. Rosenberry began the staff presentation on this item, (Mandeville Farm property) explaining that City Attorney, Greg Sullivan would be assisting with the presentation. She announced that the City is utilizing an online, live, feedback forum and explained how to use the forum. Ms. Rosenberry's presentation included historical information regarding the Mandeville Farm property and the related preliminary plat. 0:25:31 Greg Sullivan, City Attorney Mr. Sullivan provided a presentation regarding the Mandeville Farm judgment and the current status. 0:28:02 Ms. Rosenberry Ms. Rosenberry reviewed possible alternative funding sources if the courts determine the City, not MMIA should pay the $3 million judgment 0:32:43 Mr. Sullivan Mr. Sullivan explained the declaratory judgment process. 0:35:25 Ms. Rosenberry Ms. Rosenberry explained some staff recommendations regarding what should be done with the Mandeville Farm property itself and recommendations relating to paying the judgment if that becomes necessary. 0:37:58 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss began questions for staff regarding the Snow Fill property and other City owned properties beginning a discussion on the possibility of selling some land assets. 38 Bozeman City Commission Minutes, 8-9-10 5 of 11 0:40:42 Mr. Sullivan, City Attorney Mr. Sullivan responding to a question from Mayor Krauss, spoke regarding the Cities authority to utilize a judgment levy. 0:42:21 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss asked questions regarding whether the City requiring ourselves to put up a performance bond on the preliminary plat for the Mandeville property is a policy decision of the Commission. 0:43:02 Mr. Sullivan Mr. Sullivan stated staff could look further into the Commission's discretion on requiring the bonding. 0:43:44 Cr. Mehl Cr. Mehl continued questions for staff. 0:44:31 Mr. Sullivan, City Attorney Mr. Sullivan began answering questions regarding the timeline of information regarding the judgment. 0:49:57 Mr. Sullivan Mr. Sullivan explained that if the ruling goes against us, the agreement with MMIA for repayment has a provision that interest begins to accrue on what we would owe MMIA at the time a judgment was issued by the District Court. 0:50:31 Mr. Kukulski Mr. Kukulski said there is a provision that gives the City 24 months to pay the judgment if necessary. 0:52:19 Cr. Becker Cr. Becker asked staff how this is related to this year’s budget. 0:55:52 Cr. Becker Cr. Becker began questions regarding a gap plan. 0:57:55 Mr. Kukulski Mr. Kukulski explained staff's impetus for this discussion now. 1:02:08 Cr. Andrus Cr. Andrus asked how much money has been spent on the (Mandeville) project in addition to the purchase price of the land. 1:03:45 Mr. Sullivan Mr. Sullivan responding to a question from Cr. Taylor, explained that the interest rate is not fixed in the agreement and would need to be determined later. 39 Bozeman City Commission Minutes, 8-9-10 6 of 11 1:05:44 Cr. Taylor Cr. Taylor asked questions about how a judgment levy would work. 1:11:36 Public Comment Mayor Krauss opened public comment. 1:11:45 Daryl Schliem, Public Comment Mr. Schliem spoke as a member of the Economic Development Council. The EDC would recommend filing an extension on the preliminary plat at this time. As a board member, seeking a purchaser may be the right thing to do, but paralleling that we could look at a public / private partnership to retain a third of the land for business expansion. As the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Schliem spoke about the prime nature of the property as a distribution center. 1:14:55 Stuart Leidner, Public Comment Mr. Leidner from the Prospera Business Network spoke as a member of the Economic Development Council. The EDC will continue to look into the alternative uses for the property. He said this is very valuable property in the sense of economic impetus in the community; however the city will need to look at what partnerships are available. 1:17:11 Public comment closed. Seeing no further public comment, Mayor Krauss closed public comment and opened discussion. 1:17:31 Cr. Mehl Cr. Mehl would direct staff to file an extension to the preliminary plat. He would also like to have city staff study which portion of the property would be most valuable to the City if a public / private partnership was established. He does not want to pursue a judgment levy and does not feel the solid waste enterprise funds would be a viable source of judgment funds. 1:19:30 Cr. Andrus Cr. Andrus would also recommend an extension of the plat and thinks keeping a portion of the property would be good. She also likes the idea of a public / private partnership. 1:20:12 Cr. Becker Cr. Becker thanked the Economic Development Council for their work. He would look to staff to examine the possibility of selling public land. He would like clarity regarding a gap plan and would like the preliminary plat extended. He began discussion regarding judgment levies as compared to reducing services. 1:25:40 Cr. Taylor Cr. Taylor thanked the Economic Development Committee for their work. While Cr. Taylor appreciates the idea of looking at the use and value of the Mandeville property now along with a contingency plan for a possible judgment. Cr. Taylor said he would not proceed with any actions 40 Bozeman City Commission Minutes, 8-9-10 7 of 11 based upon the idea that we may need to pay the judgment. He would like staff to proceed with an extension of the preliminary plat. 1:30:07 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss said his expectation is that MMIA who picked and supervised the attorney and made all the decisions will cover this judgment. Under no circumstances would he support a judgment levy or an increase in taxes. The Mayor sees the bigger policy question is whether or not we can exempt ourselves from the one year extension. He also spoke about the value of this property as commercial because of the available rail spur and how accessible and nearby all forms of transportation are. Mayor Krauss also spoke regarding the possibility of bonding for infrastructure because of the industrial TIF located there. He does feel the general fund is a potential source for a judgment, as well as selling city land. 1:43:38 Break Mayor Krauss called for a ten minute break. 1:58:40 Meeting called back to order. Mayor Krauss called the meeting back to order at 8:35 p.m. 1:58:46 3. Resolution No. 4267, Tree Maintenance Annual Assessments (Shannon) 1:58:48 Ms. Rosenberry, Finance Director Ms. Rosenberry gave the staff presentation on this item. 2:02:52 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss recused himself from the tree discussion as his son has a summer job with the tree department. Mayor Krauss passed the gavel to Mayor pro-tem Becker. 2:13:01 Public Comment 2:13:15 Jim Screener, Public Comment Mr. Screener of 951 North 15th Avenue spoke against increasing the Tree Assessment and encouraged the Commission to remember the high cost of housing in Bozeman. Mr. Screener also spoke regarding Walton Park and who will pay for the dead trees that have been there several years. Priority for what the tax will be spent on. Committee of residents regarding how money should be spent. 2:17:44 Public comment closed. 2:17:53 Debbie Arkell, Public Works Director Ms. Arkell spoke to the public comments provided tonight. 2:25:20 Motion to approve Resolution No. 4267, Tree Maintenance Annual Assessments, contingent on the final FY 2011 budget offsetting these costs. 41 Bozeman City Commission Minutes, 8-9-10 8 of 11 It was moved by Cr. Mehl, seconded by Cr. Andrus to approve Resolution No. 4267, Tree Maintenance Annual Assessments, contingent on the final fiscal year 2011 budget offsetting these costs. 2:25:46 Cr. Mehl Cr. Mehl began discussion on the motion explaining his intent. 2:27:29 Cr. Taylor Cr. Taylor continued discussion on the motion. 2:30:03 Cr. Andrus Cr. Andrus continued discussion on the motion. 2:34:07 Mayor Pro-tem Becker Mayor Pro-tem Becker explained why he would be supporting the motion. 2:35:09 Vote on the motion to approve Resolution No. 4267, Tree Maintenance Annual Assessments, contingent on the final FY 2011 budget offsetting these costs. Those voting Aye being Crs. Mehl, Andrus, Taylor and Mayor Pro-tem Becker. Those voting No being none. The motion passed 4-0. 2:35:49 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss rejoined the meeting. He then announced that the live streaming of the meeting on the web that normally occurs during the meeting was not working. 2:36:05 4. Resolution No. 4268, Street Maintenance Annual Assessments (Shannon) 2:36:07 Ms. Rosenberry, Finance Director Ms. Rosenberry gave the staff presentation on this item. 2:38:37 Cr. Andrus Cr. Andrus began questions for staff. 2:41:22 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss continued questions for staff. 2:43:15 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss asked whether the street department maintains the alleys. 2:43:25 Mr. Van Delinder, Street Superintendent Mr. Van Delinder responded to Mayor Krauss' question explaining that the City does maintain the alleys and provided details. 42 Bozeman City Commission Minutes, 8-9-10 9 of 11 2:45:23 Public Comment Mayor Krauss opened public comment on this item. No person commented. Mayor Krauss closed public comment. 2:45:36 Discussion, Motion and Vote 2:45:52 It was moved by Cr. Andrus to consider approving Resolution 4268, street maintenance annual assessment, but would like to see that number reduced from 5% to 3%. 2:46:19 Motion failed for lack of second. 2:46:23 Motion to approve Resolution No. 4268, street maintenance annual assessment. It was moved by Cr. Taylor, seconded by Cr. Mehl to approve Resolution No. 4268, street maintenance annual assessment. 2:47:04 Amendment to the main motion that we approve 4268, contingent on the final fiscal year 2011 overall budget offsetting these costs. It was moved by Cr. Mehl, seconded by Cr. Taylor to amend the main motion that we approve 4268, contingent on the final fiscal year 2011 overall budget offsetting these costs. 2:48:31 Cr. Taylor Cr. Taylor began discussion on the amendment to the motion. 2:49:53 Cr. Mehl Cr. Mehl continued discussion on the amendment to the motion. 2:50:19 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss continued discussion on the amendment to the motion. 2:53:44 Vote on the amendment to the main motion that we approve 4268, contingent on the final fiscal year 2011 overall budget offsetting these costs. Those voting Aye being Crs. Mehl, Taylor, Becker and Mayor Krauss. Those voting No being Cr. Andrus. The motion passed 4-1. 2:53:54 Vote on the main motion as amended to approve Resolution No. 4268, street maintenance annual assessment contingent on the final fiscal year 2011 overall budget offsetting these costs. Those voting Aye being Crs. Taylor, Mehl, Becker and Mayor Krauss. 43 Bozeman City Commission Minutes, 8-9-10 10 of 11 Those voting No being Cr. Andrus. The motion passed 4-1. 2:54:41 5. (Re)Appointment to the Bozeman Tourism Business Improvement District Board of Trustees (Kissel) 2:54:48 Cr. Andrus Cr. Andrus recused herself from this discussion as her present employer is the executive director of the Tourism Business Improvement District Board of Trustees. 2:55:18 Motion to reappoint Thomas Stenzel (to the Bozeman Tourism Business Improvement District Board of Trustees). It was moved by Cr. Mehl, seconded by Cr. Taylor to reappoint Thomas Stenzel, (to the Bozeman Tourism Business Improvement District Board of Trustees). 2:55:34 Public Comment Mayor Krauss opened public comment on the motion. 2:55:54 Jeremy Fatouros, Public Comment Mr. Fatouros spoke as one of the applicants for this board position. 2:57:44 Public comment closed. Seeing no further public comment, Mayor Krauss closed public comment. 2:57:45 Vote to reappoint Thomas Stenzel, (to the Bozeman Tourism Business Improvement District Board of Trustees). Those voting Aye being Crs. Mehl, Taylor and Mayor Krauss. Those voting No being Cr. Becker. The motion passed 3-1. 2:58:22 H. FYI/Discussion 2:58:30 1. City Re-Codification Project Update (Sullivan) 2:58:31 Mr. Sullivan Mr. Sullivan provided a brief update on the codification process currently underway. The company performing the codification needs any comments on the draft code back to them by Labor Day. The final edited copy from the codification company will be complete about three months after, with the final draft before the Commission around late December or early January. 3:03:22 Ms. Kissel Ms. Kissel responded to a question from Cr. Mehl that the current Municipal Code can be found under 'Document Center' on the city of Bozeman website. 44 Bozeman City Commission Minutes, 8-9-10 11 of 11 3:05:21 2. Update on South Black (Water Main Break) Situation. Cr. Mehl asked for an update on the South Black situation. :05:27 Mr. Kukulski Mr. Kukulski explained that we have had twelve claims placed with MMIA from property owners in the area and two applicants that have utilized the good will policy. In order to utilize the good will policy they must first here from their personal home owners insurance and then MMIA before they can apply for the good will policy. We will see more good will applications. Some of the property owners have been getting rejection notices from their homeowners insurance and from MMIA. MMIA has stated the city is not negligent in this occurrence, so MMIA will not cover them. Last Monday an Administrative Order was executed to allow for the good will policy. Mr. Kukulski gave details regarding this policy. 3:07:58 Cr. Mehl Cr. Mehl asked questions regarding the cities insurance provider. 3:13:33 3. Request to discuss the assessment cap and the connection between zoning. Cr. Becker stated he would love to discuss at some point the assessment cap and the rational connection with the zoning that may have been lost through rezoning over the course of the past several generations of Commissioners. Cr. Becker felt that Ms. Henninger who spoke earlier in the meeting had a valid point and a more intensive use is being assessed less than her less intensive use for something there should be a nexus on. 3:14:30 4. Request for an update on the status of the possibility of changing the downtown one ways to two ways. Cr. Becker requested an update on the status of two ways after the Downtown Plan which was what Ms. Kirk was addressing during public comment earlier in the meeting. 3:15:25 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss asked staff for a brief update on this item next week. 3:16:06 I. Adjournment Seeing no further FYI item, Mayor Krauss adjourned the meeting at 9:22 p.m. ____________________________________ Jeffrey K. Krauss, Mayor ATTEST: ______________________________________ Stacy Ulmen, CMC, City Clerk PREPARED BY: ____________________________________ Aimee Kissel, Deputy City Clerk Approved on _________________________ 45