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1a. Council Minutes - Regular Meeting October 15, 2001A REGULAR MEETING OF THE KALISPELL CITY COUNCIL WAS HELD AT 7:00 P.M. MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2001, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS AT CITY HALL IN KALISPELL, MONTANA. MAYOR WILLIAM E. BOHARSKI PRESIDED. COUNCIL MEMBERS JIM ATKINSON, DON COUNSELL, DALE HAARR, RANDY KENYON, DUANE LARSON, FRED LEISTIKO, RON VAN NATTA AND CITY MANAGER CHRIS KUKULSKI AND ACTING CITY ATTORNEY CHARLES HARBALL WERE PRESENT. Mayor Boharski called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance. AGENDA APPROVAL Haarr moved approval of the Agenda. The motion was seconded by Van Natta. There was no discussion. The motion carried unanimously upon vote. CONSENT AGENDA APPROVAL 1. Council Minutes - Regular Meeting October 1, 2001 2. Approval of Claims per Payables Register - $257,117.84 3. Pledged Securities as of September 30, 2001 4. Award Bid - Police Patrol Vehicle - Police Department One Bid was received for a Crown Victoria patrol vehicle. Staff is asking the contract be awarded to DePratu Ford in the amount of $23,570.00. 5. School Resource Officer Grant Council is being asked to formally accept a COPS grant in the amount of $125,000 for one additional School Resource Officer. 6. Proclamation - Red Ribbon Week/October 21 - 27 Atkinson moved approval of the Consent Agenda. The motion was seconded by Counsell. There was discussion. Van Natta asked for a correction on Page 1 of the Minutes where it states he moved for approval of the Consent Agenda and then seconded the motion. Kalispell City Council Minutes October 15, 2001 There was no objection to the correction. Haarr commented the Limited Slip option should be added to the Police Patrol vehicle for $85.00. Police Chief Frank Garner said he would look into it. The motion carried unanimously upon vote. HEAR THE PUBLIC Fred Hammel, 505 7th Avenue West, said he recently attended a Flathead Coop meeting concerning rate increases and he was upset there were only a few people from Kalispell. He said he's tired of subsidizing the rural areas. Mayre Flowers, CFBF, reminded Council members that with all the commercial proposals recently, the existing Kalispell Center Mall has potential for expansion and showed the Council an architectural rendition of what could be possible. Pat Farris, 507 Birchwood Court, stated he is officially a write-in candidate for City Council Ward 4 and said he feels the citizens need an opportunity to choose between two candidates. Suzanne Johnson, 680 Stone Street, said she is not opposed to the proposed mall in Evergreen but agreed with Flowers that it would be better to locate it at the KCM location. Don Scharfe, Rocky Mountain Outfitter, said the downtown is doing better than it has in the past 25 years and also asked the Council to consider the proposed mall very carefully and defend downtown Kalispell. Paula Alley, 810 3rd Avenue East, said the Kalispell Center Mall is a beautiful connection to the downtown where people can walk to everything. She asked the Council not to destroy it with a new mall in Evergreen. Bob Hafferman, 1337 3rd Street West, said he's a candidate for Ward 1 and proposes to eliminate the parking commission. He said he has several ideas how to improve downtown parking and one is to designate undesirable parking sites as free parking for employees. Kristi Personett, Columbia Falls, said she supports the new mall and feels the fears are unfounded. She said a lot of people shop elsewhere and she feels the mall will benefit the entire valley. Kalispell City Council Minutes October 15, 2001 Page 2 of 11 Jean Johnson, Stokes & Associates, said for the past two years, Wolford Development has tried to address the Council on a proposed mall and for the fifth time, the issue has been pulled from the agenda. He said all they are asking is an appearance before the Council. Jayson Peters, 936 6th Avenue East, said he's also a candidate in Ward 4 and stated he feels there's a solution to getting the mall and keeping it downtown. PUBLIC HEARING - MODIFICATION OF DOWNTOWN URBAN RENEWAL PLAN Council received comments regarding two proposed amendments to the Downtown Urban Renewal District; 1) the relocation of the Fire Station and remodeling of City Hall and; 2) assisting in the building of a Health Department Facility. Boharski opened the public hearing. Bill Goodman, 50 2nd Street East, stated he has read the original development plan for the downtown urban renewal district and neither of these projects qualify under the goals and objectives. He said the money should be dedicated to the streetscape project. Joe Unterreiner, President of Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, said Chamber members conducted a survey of Chamber members in October and streetscape received the highest rating as the best use of urban renewal funds. Doug Denmark, FBIA, said the urban renewal money should be spent on streetscape and the Council should push to get the bypass completed. Diane Conradi, CFBF, she said there's a broad spectrum of support for the streetscape program and the Council should fully fund it. Patricia Johnson, 714 4th Avenue East, said the Health Department and City offices do not fit under the intent of the plan and the money should be spent on streetscape. Marshall Noice, 647 6th Street East, said the revitalization of the downtown will take several pieces of the puzzle to accomplish, but the one piece the City has control over right now is to support the streetscape project. Jean Agather, FBIA, read a news release from the Montana Department of Transportation stating the MDOT holds a neutral position on the Kalispell City Council Minutes October 15, 2001 Page 3 of 11 streetscape project but asked that the City not push traffic back onto Main Street. She asked the Council, when considering the streetscape project, to not limit the traffic on 1st Avenues East and west. Doug Scarff, 1212 South Main, reminded everyone the health facility is a City -County Health Department and asked the Council to find some money to help support the new building. Tom Maier, Kalispell Center Mall, asked for Council's support of the streetscape project because he feels retail in the downtown core area is vital and this project would contribute to its growth. Pauline Sjordal, 234 3rd Avenue west, said she's seen what a streetscape project can do to save a downtown and encouraged the Council to support it. John Hinchey, 534 4th Avenue East, said the streetscape project is badly needed and feels it would be inappropriate to use the money on City Hall or the Health Department. Joe Russell, City -County Health Department Director, asked the Council to support the new health facility which will have 50+ employees working, shopping and eating in the downtown. Boharski closed the public hearing. ORDINANCE 1402 - ORDINANCE MODIFYING DOWNTOWN URBAN RENEWAL PLAN - 1ST READING This ordinance approves the addition of the two projects listed above as Urban Renewal Projects with a maximum of $2,500,000 for the Fire Station relocation and $500,000 for the Health Department facility. Haarr moved Ordinance 1402, an ordinance relating to the modification of the Kalispell Montana Downtown Urban Renewal Plan (The Urban Renewal Plan) to approve certain projects as urban renewal projects. The motion was seconded by Van Natta. There was discussion. Van Natta said several months ago, both of these projects seemed viable. He said now, however, he feels the Council should remove the fire hall relocation and City Hall remodeling from the ordinance, but still consider the Health Department's request. Kalispell City Council Minutes October 15, 2001 Page 4 of 11 Larson agreed, stating the only City department with a critical space need right now is the Police Department and he feels that problem can be solved without constructing a new building. He said he feels the streetscape project should be funded fully, and with the money leftover, support the Health Department. Atkinson said the Council has a "golden opportunity" to show its willingness to work with the County on various issues by supporting the new health facility. Atkinson moved an amendment to the ordinance by eliminating all references to the relocation of Fire Hall and remodeling of City Hall. The motion was seconded by Counsell. There was discussion. Leistiko said he supports the space needs the City has, but he feels the critical safety needs of the Police Department can be taken care of without this additional money. He said as far as the Health Department, he feels it needs support but the amount needs to be discussed further. Kenyon reiterated his strong support of streetscape and said he hopes the Council funds it in its entirety. He said he supports the amendment and the Health Department but doesn't feel the City Hall remodeling fits "into the whole scheme of things". Boharski said because of the concerns with the Police Department and the maintenance needs of City Hall, he suggested changing the motion to state that Section 2 be changed as follows: a. allocating monies toward the resolution of public health and safety issues in City Hall and; b. allocating funds to the Flathead City -County Health Department. Atkinson said according to Kukulski, those items are still covered and he doesn't see any problem with the motion as originally stated. The amendment carried upon vote with Atkinson, Counsell, Haarr, Kenyon, Larson, Leistiko and Van Natta voting in favor, and Boharski voting against. The motion as amended carried upon roll call vote with Atkinson, Counsell, Haarr, Kenyon, Larson, Leistiko and Van Natta voting in favor, and Boharski voting against. Kalispell City Council Minutes October 15, 2001 Page 5 of 11 PUBLIC HEARING - DNRC PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT Council received comments concerning a request from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation for a Planned Unit Development overlay on Section 36. The PUD addresses the development of four land use areas identified on the section of land which is designated as a specific development pod. Boharski opened the public hearing. David Greer, DNRC land use planner, gave a brief history of the property and said the PUD is a culmination of several years of work. He said he is concerned, however, with some of the changes proposed by staff, especially the bonding requirements. Greer said this is a zoning PUD and he would like to see the wording changed to require bonding at the time of subdivision review. He asked the Council to support the PUD and take action at the November 5th meeting. Jeannie Holmgren, DNRC Commercial Development Program, said once the property is developed and subdivided, the taxes are estimated to be four dollars a square foot. She said one acre of land at four dollars a square foot, with a 1.5 million dollar building on it, could bring into the City twenty six thousand dollars in taxes. Holmgren said if you multiply that by 400+ acres, that's a lot of money. Jean Agather, FBIA, said the DNRC should be applauded for its efforts to responsibly plan for the development of Section 36. She said the DNRC has been involved in a lengthy public process to develop a plan that is consistent with Kalispell's development philosophy and she urged the Council to approve the PUD. Mayre Flowers, CFBF, read a memo addressed to the Kalispell City Council. (Memo is attached and by this reference is made a part of the official record) Joe Unterreiner, President of Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, read a letter in support of the PUD. (Letter is attached and by this reference is made a part of the official record) Boharski closed the public hearing. Greer answered questions from the Council. Kalispell City Council Minutes October 15, 2001 Page 6 of 11 CITY COUNCIL APPOINTMENT Doug Scarff resigned from the Council effective October 1st and according to State law, the Council must appoint a person to fill the vacancy within 30 days. Boharski explained the 30 days expires at the end of October, one week prior to the City elections. He said the Council has a couple of different options and asked for suggestions. Van Natta inquired as to the penalty if the Council waits to make the appointment until after the election. Harball said if the Council doesn't act within 30 days, then the seat will remain vacant until the first of January. Leistiko moved the Council appoint Jayson Peters to the Ward 4 seat until December 31, 2001. The motion was seconded by Atkinson. There was discussion. Boharski suggested instead of making a motion to appoint, it would be more appropriate procedurally to make a motion to open the floor for nominations. Leistiko said he's hesitant to change the motion because he feels by opening the floor to nominations it puts the Council in the position of holding a mini election and he doesn't want it to influence the general election. Van Natta suggested between now and the end of the month the Council review the qualifications of the two people running for Ward 4 and make a decision at a special meeting. Leistiko withdrew his motion. The second concurred. Boharski asked if there was any interest in accepting applications. Kukulski said he doesn't feel the issue should be complicated any further by accepting applications. Haarr said he doesn't want to have the appearance of making a choice between the two candidates. He said he'd be in favor of holding off until after the election, but since that's not Kalispell City Council Minutes October 15, 2001 Page 7 of 11 possible, he'd like to open it up to applications and see who else is interested. Boharski said the Council could set a deadline of October 25th for applications and then set a special meeting the 29th or 30th. Van Natta said the cut-off date for write-in candidates is October 22nd and he feels the Council should wait until after then before deciding what to do. Leistiko said he still thinks the Council should consider the two candidates that are present and make a decision tonight. Haarr moved the Council open the Ward 4 Council seat to applications with residents of Ward 4 having ten days to apply with a selection to be made prior to October 30th. There was no second. Van Natta moved the Council consider the candidates that have filed for the November 6th election for the Ward 4 seat at a special meeting prior to November 1st. The motion was seconded by Leistiko. There was no discussion. The motion carried upon vote with Haarr and Boharski voting against. Boharski excused himself from the rest of the meeting. President Larson presided. STREETSCAPE DESIGN SURVEY The Public Works Department would like to have a design survey for the downtown Streetscape project at a cost of between $25,000 and $35,000. Atkinson moved the Council authorize the Public Works Department to hire a survey consultant to perform the design survey for the proposed Downtown Streetscape Project. The motion was seconded by Counsell. There was no discussion. The motion carried unanimously upon roll call vote. Boharski was absent. Kalispell City Council Minutes October 15, 2001 Page 8 of 11 RESOLUTION 4665 - RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE US HIGHWAY 93 WEST SIDE BYPASS Kukulski explained the resolution declares the support of the City Council for construction of a truck bypass around Kalispell. He said it has been proposed that local, state and federal agencies consider phasing the project with Phase I including the construction of the bypass from Highway 93 South north to Highway 2, and Phase II covering the construction for the remainder of Highway 2 connecting to Highway 93 North. Atkinson moved Resolution 4665, a resolution to declare the support of the Kalispell City Council for construction of the Highway 93 Transportation Bypass around the City of Kalispell as outlined in the October 1993 Kalispell Bypass Feasibility Study. The motion was seconded by Van Natta. There was discussion. Van Natta said the City is continually faced with the problem of truck traffic on Main Street. He said they should really push for the southern section of the bypass to be built to Highway 2 which would then direct traffic around the downtown. Haarr said he will support the motion, but he doesn't feel it will make any difference. He said the problem is more immediate and he feels the Council should be putting its support behind the Willow Glen Drive alternate route which is affordable and accomplishable. Van Natta said the bypass study was very clear that all of the truck traffic should not be put on Willow Glen Drive. Public Comment Mayre Flowers, CFBF, said she supports the motion and stated Citizens for a Better Flathead has already gone on record opposing the east side connector on Willow Glen. The motion carried unanimously upon roll call vote. Boharski was absent. ORDINANCE 1400 - INITIAL ZONING OF R-4 - GLACIER VILLAGE GREENS PHASES VI AND VII - 2ND READING Phases VI and VII are currently zoned County R-5 with a minimum lot size requirement of 5,400 square feet. The proposed City R-4 allows duplexes and single family residences as permitted uses with a Kalispell City Council Minutes October 15, 2001 Page 9 of 11 minimum lot size of 6,000 square feet. Council passed Ordinance 1400 on first reading October 1st. Leistiko moved second reading of Ordinance 1400, an ordinance to amend Section 27.02.010, Official Zoning Map, City of Kalispell Zoning Ordinance, (Ordinance No. 1175), by zoning certain real property described as the subdivision plats of Glacier Village Greens Phases VI and VII located in Section 32, Township 29 North, Range 21 West, P.M.M., Flathead County, Montana (previously zoned County R-5 (Two Family Residential) to City R-4 (Two Family Residential), in accordance with the City -County Master Plan, and to provide an effective date. The motion was seconded by Counsell. There was no discussion. The motion carried unanimously upon roll call vote. Boharski was absent. ORDINANCE 1401 - SECOND AMENDMENT TO THE COVENANTS OF THE BUFFALO COMMONS PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT - 2ND READING Kalispell Regional Medical Center has requested an amendment to the PUD to allow a maximum building height limit of 60 feet. Council passed Ordinance 1401 on first reading October 1st. Atkinson moved second reading of Ordinance 1401, an ordinance amending Ordinance No. 1226 (Planned Unit Development, Buffalo Commons) by amending the height limit for the Medical/Professional Facilities Pod, and declaring an effective date. The motion was seconded by Counsell. There was no discussion. The motion carried unanimously upon roll call vote. Boharski was absent. MAYOR/COUNCIL/CITY MANAGER'S REPORTS Kukulski explained that a strict interpretation of his contract specifies that before he travels out of State, Council approval is required. He said he has attended Regional Conferences which the Council was aware of informally, but formal approval was never actually given. Kukulski said the most recent conference was in Green River, Wyoming for a GOSCMA conference for which he never turned in a travel slip. He said rather than requesting the City reimburse him for this expense, he has continued to use the City's credit card to fuel his vehicle when traveling outside the area for official City business. Kukulski said he figured when the Kalispell City Council Minutes October 15, 2001 Page 10 of 11 reimbursement due to him equaled $0, he would no longer use the credit card. He explained that the Mayor has asked that as an alternative, a formal motion be made by the Council retroactively approving his trip to the GOSCMA conference. Leistiko moved the Council ratify the City Manager's travel expenses to attend the Regional City Manager's Conference in Green River, Wyoming. The motion was seconded by Counsell. There was discussion. Atkinson said he doesn't feel the Council can make a formal motion under the reports section of the agenda because it hasn't been noticed. Leistiko withdrew the motion. The second concurred. Larson asked that the issue be placed on the agenda for the next regular meeting. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 10:25 p.m. ATTEST: Theresa White City Clerk Wm. E. Boharski Mayor Kalispell City Council Minutes October 15, 2001 Page 11 of 11