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NURB Meeting – June 2, 2015 1
Northeast Urban Renewal Board (NURB)
Regular Meeting
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
The Northeast Urban Renewal Board met in regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June
2, 2015, in the Conference Room, Professional Building, 20 East Olive Street, Bozeman,
Montana.
Present: Absent:
Voting Members:
Tom Noble, Chair Erik Nelson
Daniel Doehring Jeanne Wesley-Wiese
Robert Pavlic
Non-Voting Members:
John Usher
Commissioner Liaison:
I-Ho Pomeroy
Staff:
Brit Fontenot, Economic Development Director
Robin Sullivan, Recording Secretary
Guests:
Call to Order – Chair Tom Noble called the meeting to order at 6:42 p.m.
Public Comment – Chair Noble reiterated the concerns he had previously voiced about the
amount of money the GVLT is charging for kiosks along the Front Street trail, stating he feels
this Board has enough expertise to build the type of kiosk it desires rather than paying the
GVLT.
Economic Development Director Brit Fontenot stated he talked to Kelly Pohl, Gallatin Valley
Land Trust, and forwarded the Board’s full support for the trail extension and it’s heartburn
over the overhead cost for the kiosk. He noted she appreciates the support and financial
contribution and indicated she has no problem with the Board installing its own kiosk.
Bob Pavlic stated he heard Kenyon-Noble has moved its fence.
Consent Items –
Approve minutes from May 5, 2015 meeting. It was moved by Bob Pavlic,
seconded by Dan Doehring, that the minutes of the meeting May 5, 2015, be approved as
submitted. The motion carried on a 3-0 vote.
NURB Meeting – June 2, 2015 2
Discussion/Action Items –
Presentation from KLJ Engineering regarding conservation overlay districts.
Chair Noble delayed this presentation since the consulting engineer was not present. He
requested that this item be placed on next month’s agenda as an update.
Economic Development Director Brit Fontenot noted that some of the guidelines for the
conservation overlay district currently conflict with the requirements for historic districts and
don’t always align with the guidelines in other planning documents. This engineering firm has
been retained to identify where the guidelines conflict and to propose possible options for
removing those conflicts.
Update on street lights within district. Chair Noble stated Liz Galli-Noble has
continued her discussions with NorthWestern Energy and has made a list of the lights that
are privately and publicly owned and maintained. He noted that five of the street lights are
privately owned while the City pays the power and maintenance for ten of them. He stated
that, before any more steps can be taken, an application for new service must be completed,
and questioned whose name should be on the application.
Economic Development Director Brit Fontenot stated he assumes the City of Bozeman
should be the applicant, since it is the one paying the bill. He then offered to complete the
application, noting he feels the City’s sustainability team should have an opportunity to
provide input on the lighting standard.
Chair Noble gave the Economic Development Director a transcript of the e-mails between Liz
Galli-Noble and NorthWestern Energy. He then stressed that he is not interested in
encountering a situation where the City staff is insisting on lighting fixtures that NorthWestern
Energy cannot provide; rather, he is interested in a change that results in a better lighting
situation. He recognized that down the line, a lighting district will need to be formed;
however, that is not the solution the Board is seeking at this time.
Update regarding RFQ process for engineering services. Economic
Development Director Brit Fontenot stated that staff received seven responses to its request
for qualifications for engineering services; and the screening committee has reviewed and
ranked those seven responses. He distributed copies of the compiled evaluations, noting the
Board’s next step is to choose which firms to interview. He proposed that the Board give
them a specific amount of time for their presentations, followed by a time for responding to a
set of questions that has been prepared prior to the interviews. He stressed that the resulting
contract is not for a specific project; rather, it is for a relationship that will last three years. As
a result, expertise in road, stormwater, curbs and gutters is important but not as critical as the
team members the firm is bringing to the table and what they will bring besides their
engineering expertise. He concluded by suggesting that the Board select three firms to
interview at their July meeting.
NURB Meeting – June 2, 2015 3
Chair Noble suggested that the Board interview Morrison-Maierle, CTA and KLJ, which are
the top three ranked firms based on the screening committee’s evaluations.
Responding to Bob Pavlic, the Economic Development Director confirmed that the contract
with the engineering firm will include the abutments and appropriate permits for the
pedestrian bridge.
John Usher noted that, after participating on the screening committee, he agrees with
interviewing the top three ranked firms, even though not all of them were his top choices.
Update regarding engagement of Dorsey Whitney as bond counsel. Economic
Development Director Brit Fontenot stated that Dorsey Whitney is ready to serve as bond
counsel to this Board whenever it is ready to proceed with a bond issue. He stressed the
importance of waiting until the new reappraisal figures have been released to determine if the
issuance of bonds is the appropriate thing to do, particularly since those values may drop as
much as 20 percent for commercial properties.
North Wallace Avenue improvements meeting. The Economic Development
Director turned his attention to North Wallace Avenue and the discussions about the creation
of a special improvement district to fund those street improvements. He noted it appears
that, based on the amount of traffic that uses the street, property owners will be asked to pay
15 percent of the costs while the City will pay 85 percent of the costs. He announced that a
meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow night to discuss the proposed improvements to
that street. He forwarded Director of Public Service Craig Woolard’s request that a Board
member attend the meeting and engage in that conversation.
Chair Noble reminded everyone that the proposal to improve North Wallace Avenue came
from the Director of Public Service and not this Board; and it is his perception that Director
Woolard wants this district to participate in funding the costs of those improvements.
Economic Development Director Fontenot noted it would be good to have a Board member
present to provide this Board’s perspective on the improvements.
Bob Pavlic stated the paving on North Wallace Avenue is not that bad, although he
recognizes that the intersections are bad. He noted that the intersections of North Wallace
Avenue with East Peach Street and East Tamarack Street have already been addressed with
the engineering designs for those streets. He then stated that parking on both sides of North
Wallace Avenue is what currently causes the most problems.
Dan Doehring responded that parking is allowed on both sides of the street because that is
what the residents wanted in an effort to slow the traffic; however, he does not believe it is
working well.
NURB Meeting – June 2, 2015 4
Responding to Director Fontenot, Chair Noble stated this Board approached the Director of
Public Service with the list of streets it wishes to have improved; and he came back with the
North Wallace Avenue improvements even though that was not part of the package this
Board had been considering.
Responding to questions from Dan Doehring, John Usher stated that the North Wallace
Avenue improvements were broached at the NENA meeting; however, Director of Public
Service Woolard did not have any cost estimates at that time. He then noted the Director is
concerned with what is under the street more than its surface, particularly the drainage.
Economic Development Director Fontenot stated more details on the project should be
available at tomorrow night’s meeting. He then reminded the Board that Director of Public
Service Woolard looks at the road network for the entire community, and not just this
neighborhood.
Chair Noble and Bob Pavlic indicated they will try to attend the meeting tomorrow night.
Set agenda for July 7, 2015 meeting or cancel meeting. Chair Noble asked
that the three presentations from the engineering firms be placed on the agenda, followed by
an action item to make a decision on the firm to be selected. Each firm is to be given twenty
minutes to make its presentation and then ten minutes for follow-up questions. The firms are
to be scheduled in at half-hour increments. He then asked that no other items be placed on
the July meeting, and that the update on the conservation overlay district and the discussion
with the railroad representatives be scheduled for the August meeting.
Responding to John Usher, Director Fontenot offered to draft out three to five questions for
the Board to consider. He then stressed the importance of asking the same questions to all
presenters.
Neighborhood News. John Usher noted that gophers have become a problem
in the area.
Bob Pavlic agreed, noting that Mrs. Edgerley's property has a lot of gophers on it. He then
stated his concern revolves around unleashed dogs that are allowed to run everywhere.
Chair Noble noted he is waiting for the remodeling work to be done on the old furniture shop.
Adjournment – 7:35 p.m. There being no further business to come before the Board at this
time, Chair Noble adjourned the meeting.
NURB Meeting – June 2, 2015 5
Tom Noble, Chair
Northeast Urban Renewal Board
City of Bozeman