13 Jul WorkshopHi Jane:
It was good talking to you yesterday afternoon. I hope you got what you wanted from it. If you need to talk again just let me know.
Last night we had a workshop with the council so I will give you a short report on what happened ..at least from my perspective (which is the only one I have).
On-Street Parking and Emergency Access:
This subject came from some complaints made to CM Larson from a person who lives near the Flathead HS stadium. When the school has an event there they park all over the place and block
emergency access. As I looked more into it I could see a larger issue that I related in my memo to the council. Like so often happens a few of the council members leaped into the weeds
and stayed there just talking about the one issue around the stadium rather than the larger issue I wanted guidance on. Some other members got us out of the weeds and accepted my suggestion
for looking at all gathering places in the city and emergency routes to them. Then a member mentioned that the first high school football game is at the end of August so solving the
stadium issue is now an immediate issue.
Action: I will direct the fire and police chiefs to look at key gathering places in the city and evaluate routes to see if some of them should have parking changed. We will start with
the stadium. If we do decide to restrict parking we will need a public notice process so we don't irritate anymore citizens than we need to.
City Airport and Monk Property:
Several years ago the city designated a tax increment district with the city airport as the center piece. The district has been very successful. Development has occurred and the district
is in very good financial shape There is a piece of property right next to the runway that also encompasses the southern end of the airfield that has come available for purchase. The
TIF district has the $$ to do this and it makes a lot of sense to buy this property so we have control over the land next to the runway. Enter local politics. Some very loud citizens
do not understand that some city funds can be in good financial condition while others are not and oppose any purchase because they think the city cannot afford it. Two of the council
members have tapped into this and oppose any improvement of the airport. The other seven seem kinda lukewarm.
Action: I will talk to the council members and tell them that they need to figure out what they want to do with the airport. Do we just want to keep it the way it is or improve it. I
will also talk to the Interlake reporter about city finances for the education of the electorate. Wish me luck.
Budget Update:
We talked to the council about the same things we talked to you about. No reaction to speak of. At the next workshop on 27 Jul we have better year end numbers and it will probably be
a mixture of the good, bad and ugly. There will also be two presenters that will pitch to the council about using some of the Westside TIF money for improvement projects. One of the
projects may be worth something the other is a total loser- IMHO. But we may get a better idea of what the council would like to do with the Westside TIF$$
Have a good day.
Myrt