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09/20/99 City Council Minutes1514 A REGULAR MEETING OF THE KALISPELL CITY COUNCIL WAS HELD AT 7:00 P.M. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1999, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS AT CITY HALL IN KALISPELL, MONTANA. MAYOR WILLIAM E. BOHARSKI PRESIDED. COUNCIL MEMBERS JIM ATKINSON, NORBERT DONAHUE, JOHN GRAVES, DALE HAARR, DUANE LARSON, GARY NYSTUL, DOUG SCARFF, RON VAN NATTA AND CITY ATTORNEY GLEN NEIER AND CITY MANAGER CHRIS KUKULSKI WERE PRESENT. Mayor Boharski called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance. AGENDA APPROVAL Haarr moved approval of the Agenda with Consent Agenda Item #3 being removed and placed on an Agenda in October. The motion was seconded by Nystul. There was no discussion. The motion carried unanimously upon vote. CONSENT AGENDA APPROVAL 1. Council Minutes -Regular Meeting September 7, 1999 2. Approval of Claims per Payables Register-$122,051.96 3. Proclamation - Red Ribbon Week (Removed) Atkinson moved approval of the Consent Agenda. The motion was seconded by Graves. There was no discussion. The motion carried unanimously upon vote. HEAR THE PUBLIC None RESOLUTION 4507 - PEDESTRIAN/BIKE PATH EASEMENT Parks Director Mike Baker explained the easement from the DNRC is for a bridge over the Stillwater River in Lawrence Park to connect a bike/pedestrian path between North Main and Whitefish Stage Road. Atkinson moved Resolution 4507, a resolution by the City Council of the City of Kalispell, Montana, committing to use for a public purpose the proposed easement applied from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation for a bridge over the Stillwater River in Lawrence Park. The motion was seconded by Graves. There was discussion. Donahue inquired whether the Coast Guard was notified. He said the Coast Guard has jurisdiction over any "navigable waters of the United States" and they should be informed. Baker said he understood that the DNRC is now in charge of the navigable waters in Montana, but he would check with the Coast Guard. Boharski stated he's concerned about the elevation of the bridge. Baker stated the bridge has to be four feet above the high water mark. Boharski said he'd like to see the design comments and Nystul asked for a detailed drawing of the bridge plan. 1515 The motion carried unanimously upon roll call vote. RESOLUTION 4508 - INSTALLATION OF STOP SIGN Graves moved Resolution 4508, a resolution approving the placement of a stop sign in the north and south bound lanes on 2nd Avenue East at its intersection with 13th Street and declaring an effective date. The motion was seconded by Scarff. There was no discussion. The motion carried unanimously upon roll call vote. RESOLUTION 4509 - ANNUAL BUDGET TRANSFERS This resolution for the Fiscal 1999 Budget is required to transfer appropriations to line items with overdrafts from line items with surpluses. Scarff moved Resolution 4509, a resolution to approve a transfer among appropriations within a general classification of expenditures as adopted by the City of Kalispell Budget for 1999 Fiscal Year. The motion was seconded by Larson. There was discussion. The motion carried unanimously upon roll call vote. RESOLUTION 4510 - RESOLUTION OF INTENT TO PROHIBIT ON -STREET PARKING ON MAIN STREET/SUNSET BOULEVARD FROM IDAHO STREET TO ARIZONA STREET Boharski explained this is simply a resolution of intent and doesn't have an effective date. He said in order for the Montana Department of Transportation to move forward with turn lanes in that area, it needed a commitment from the Council to limit the on - street parking when the project is completed. Van Natta moved Resolution 4510, a resolution declaring an intent to prohibit parking on Main Street/Sunset Boulevard between Idaho Street and Arizona Street. The motion was seconded by Scarff. There was discussion. Haarr said the Department of Transportation has been doing a good job of keeping the business owners in that area informed of their plans, and even though people are concerned about the loss of parking, at least they're aware of what's happening. Nystul commented the City needs to be prepared to help mitigate the loss of parking and suggested one way to do that would be to pave the alley between Washington and Oregon to provide access to the rear of the businesses. The motion carried unanimously upon roll call vote. ORDINANCE 1335 - ZONE CHANGE REQUEST - 2ND READING The Nurturing Center has requested a proposed zone change from RA-2 to B-4 for properties located at the northwest and northeast corners of Third Avenue West and Second Street West. At the last meeting, Council voted for a zoning designation of RA-3. Larson moved Ordinance 1335, 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 Lot 6, Block 49 and Lot 9 and the West 60 feet of Lots 7 and 8, Block 48, Kalispell Original Townsite, Kalispell, Flathead County, Montana, previously zoned RA-2, (High Density Residential Apartment) to RA-3 (Residential Apartment/Office), in accordance with the City -County Master Plan, and to declare an effective date. The motion was seconded by Nystul. 1516 There was discussion. Rex Boller, Nurturing Center Board member, said the Board still prefers the B-4 (Central Business) designation and doesn't understand why the Council wants to place an RA-3 designation on a "little pocket" that's surrounded by RA-2 and B-4. He asked the Council to reconsider and zone the area B-4. Atkinson moved to amend the ordinance by striking the RA-3 (Residential Apartment/Office) designation and inserting B-4 (Central Business). The motion was seconded by Van Natta. There was discussion. Nystul said the B-4 designation contains 73 permitted uses and doesn't require setbacks which he feels would significantly affect the neighborhood which has primarily single family and multi -family residences. He said the RA-3 meets all of the needs of the applicant at this time, and the zone can always be adjusted in the future if the needs change. Donahue said he's also opposed to the amendment. He said the on - street parking could become "horrendous" with a B-4 designation, but with RA-3, that can be controlled. Atkinson said he can understand the arguments, but half of two lots are in two different zones now and he would like to see a cleaner map with the B-4 designation. In addition, he said the sale of the property could be affected if a B-4 designation isn't approved. Boharski said he' s opposed to the B-4 designation because of future use in a residential area. He said the property is being used by the Nurturing Center right now, but if sold, a casino could be built. Haarr disagreed, stating he feels this is a logical extension of the Central Business District. He said the Business District needs some "elbow room" to give people an opportunity to look at other areas for development. The amendment failed upon roll call vote with Atkinson, Graves and Haarr voting in favor, and Donahue, Larson, Nystul, Scarff, Van Natta and Boharski voting against. The main motion carried unanimously upon roll call vote. FAIRGROUNDS/LAND SWAP DISCUSSION AND DIRECTION TO STAFF Ron Christiansen, of Christiansen Building Corporation, has offered to relocate the Flathead County fairgrounds to Reserve Drive and Highway 93 North in exchange for the current fairgrounds property. In the proposal, a sports arena would also be built on the new fairgrounds site. Nystul explained he suggested this agenda item because he feels the Council should give direction to the Manager and Staff in the form of a formal motion. He said Council discussed the issue at a workshop last Monday, but the Council' s desires should be stated on the record. Van Natta said his main concern is whether the City can use urban renewal funds to move or replace something that doesn't exist, namely the sports arena. He said he's also concerned that if the present fairgrounds is used for commercial, what will the infrastructure needs be and what will it cost to provide those 1517 needs. Van Natta said he doesn't feel the urban renewal funds should be depleted for one project when there are so many others pending. Donahue agreed, stating it looks like "the City of Kalispell is trying to solve Flathead County's problem". He said the proposal calls for nine million dollars to come from the City's urban renewal funds and nothing from the County. Donahue suggested the City Manager and staff get back to the business of running the City and when a concrete plan is presented, then the Council will consider looking at the proposal further. Atkinson said he has several questions also, but feels it's important to look at the proposal. Atkinson moved the Council direct City staff to proceed with identifying the feasibility of: 1) expanding the Westside Urban Renewal District to include the present fairgrounds; 2) using urban renewal funds to relocate the fairgrounds, and; 3) the proposal for the development of the old fairgrounds property. The motion died for lack of a second. There was discussion. Nystul asked if there are adequate procedures in place to review development proposals. Susan Moyer, PECDD, said the City does have an application process for tax increment financing, but it's not comprehensive enough for this proposal. She said she is in the process of adding a relocation policy to the procedure, but the Council needs to direct Staff to sit down with Christiansen, discuss the financial situation, and then put something concrete together before coming back to Council. Kukulski said he has indicated to Christiansen the City needs a detailed proposal before the staff can get into the "nuts and bolts" of the questions and issues. Nystul commented that without a detailed proposal, the Council has no basis to make a decision. Larson agreed, saying he doesn't know what kind of guidance the Council can give staff at this time without more information from the developer. He asked Kukulski if a motion was given to staff to look into the proposal further, does he feel the developer would come forward with a concrete plan. Kukulski said the first two feasibility questions raised in Atkinson's motion can be researched fairly easily, but more information has to received from Christiansen before the staff can determine the proposal's feasibility. He said he would hope the developer can provide a specific plan because without it, the staff would be at a standstill. Boharski commented the Council needs to take one of two positions. Members need to direct staff to either move ahead with discussions on the proposal, or drop it completely. He said businesses locate outside of Kalispell because the City isn't willing to sit down and work with developers. Boharski said Atkinson's motion is close to what he would like the staff to work on and encouraged members to take a stand one way or the other. Greg Stevens, Planning Board member, said the Master Plan indicates the need for a multi -use facility in the Flathead Valley. He said the proposed site for the fairgrounds and sports arena is a good 1518 one from a planning standpoint and the proposal should be pursued. Atkinson moved the Council direct City staff to proceed in identifying the feasibility of: 1) expanding the Westside Urban Renewal District to include the present fairgrounds; 2) using urban renewal funds to relocate the fairgrounds, and; 3) to proceed with the evaluation of adequately prepared proposals for the development of the old fairgrounds property. The motion was seconded by Nystul. There was discussion. Atkinson commented if the County could find some money to help with the project, it would help alleviate some concerns. He encouraged Council members to vote in favor of the motion and proceed cautiously, but give the developer an opportunity to show what he can do for Kalispell. Scarff said there are still a lot of questions to be answered, but he feels it's important to at least look at the proposal closer. The motion carried upon vote with Donahue voting against. MAYOR/COUNCIL/CITY MANAGER'S REPORTS Kukulski said he will be talking to officials from across the state about the sports arena issues at the Montana League of Cities and Towns Conference this week and he encouraged those Council members attending to do the same. Kukulski informed the Council he has started an information session on television with the first broadcast taped prior to this meeting. He said he is encouraging citizens to write him with questions and he will try to answer them during a five to ten minute television spot twice a month. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m. wm s .baharski Wm. E. Boharski Mayor ATTEST: heresa White City Clerk approved October 4, 1999 1