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03/27/06 SP City Council Minutes [1]A SPECIAL MEETING [11 OF THE KALISPELL CITY COUNCIL WAS HELD AT 7:00 P.M., MONDAY, MARCH 27, 2006, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS AT CITY HALL IN KALISPELL, MONTANA. MAYOR PAMELA B. KENNEDY PRESIDED. COUNCIL MEMBERS JIM ATKINSON, KARI GABRIEL, BOB HAFFERMAN, BOB HERRON, RANDY KENYON, TIM KLUESNER, DUANE LARSON AND HANK OLSON WERE PRESENT. Also present. City Manager James Patrick, City Attorney Charles Harball, City Clerk Theresa White, Public Works Director Jim Hansz, Parks and Recreation Director Mike Baker, Senior Planner Sean Conrad, and Recording Secretary Judi Funk. Mayor Kennedy called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance. A. AGENDA APPROVAL Larson moved approval or the Agenda. The motion was seconded. There was no discussion. The motion carried unanimously upon vote. B. PUBLIC COMMENT Darla Harmon, 32 Willow Drive, Evergreen, read a letter from Greg Barkus in favor of sewer service in Evergreen. (Letter is attached hereto and made a part hereof). She also stated she is the president of Evergreen Community Partners and said her group feels Cottonwood has a good plan for a quality subdivision which will include a bike path. Harrison said they would like to see the City cooperate with the County. Eric Mulcahy, Sands Surveying, stated he has been working with Cottonwood Estates on what he feels will be a quality development. He said the only obstacle left is sewer service and asked that Resolution 5103 be approved. Henry Oldenberg, PO Box 2, Kalispell, spoke in favor of preserving the 300 foot limit for casinos. He also spoke against the airport affected zone because he is concerned with the possibility of micro jets flying into the airport and residents not having any recourse. Oldenberg stated if this is the case, this is a serious taking issue with other people's properties. Mark Lalum, 615 Country Way, spoke in support of the sewer resolutions, stating cooperation between the City and the County is very important. He said the sewer issue is not going to go away and he thanked the City for taking the first step forward. Steve Middlesworth, 153 Wedgewood Lane, realtor, stated he represents Gerald Gilbert and Bernard's Park. He explained that even though the property is surrounded by the RSID on all four sides, he cannot hook up to sewer. He said Gilbert is just looking for service for four lots and the property will have to remain undeveloped if he can't get the service. Kalispell City Council Special Meeting Minutes (Evergreen) March 27, 2006 Page 7 Flathead County Commissioner Gary Hall,1227 2nd Avenue West, Columbia Falls, spoke in favor of the sewer extension to Cottonwood and Bernard's Park. He said the interim policy makes good sense and is a good solution until a long term solution can be found. Hall also commented that Herron's memo made a good point; the EPA grant was for a wastewater treatment plant for the City and County, not just the City. Joanne Nieman, 735 4th Avenue East, said she doesn't object to the Hilton hotel, but she does object to another casino in the area. Doug Siderius, 737 Egan Road, thanked those who spoke in favor of sewer service and thanked the Council for their consideration for Cottonwood Estates. C. REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUBSEQUENT COUNCIL ACTION C11. RESOLUTION 5103 — INTERIM POLICY — EVERGREEN SEVER SERVICE This resolution establishes an interim policy setting the terms for using the Evergreen sewer system by properties located outside the Evergreen RS1D 132. Herron moved Resolution 5103, a resolution establishing an interim 2006 policy setting forth the terms of usage of the Evergreen Sewer conveyance system by properties outlying the Flathead County Sewer District No. 1 RSID No. 132. The motion was seconded. Patrick gave a staff report and stated the concern is that we are rushing into this, adding it's premature to decide on a plan of action without first seeing the facilities plan update. Herron stated he does not believe we are rushing anything because we have been dealing with this issue since he has been on the Council. He said this is the right thing for the community and we have to cooperate with our neighbors because the aquifer is very important to the valley. Herron said like it or not, Evergreen is our neighbor and they are still willing to put money into the upgrade of the treatment plant right now. Dlson said he's concerned that 150,000 gallons a day is too much and suggested limiting the amount to those subdivisions that want to hook up right now and asked if we know what that amount is. Herron answered the best conservative guess is that Kelsey and Cottonwood combined will use approximately 50-55,000 gallons a day. Atkinson stated when the treatment plant was built, Evergreen came to the Council and convinced the members that they had to have sewer service. He said Evergreen agreed to annexation, and then sued when annexation was attempted. Atkinson said City residents are paying for the upgrade of the sewer treatment plant, not Evergreen, and asked why the taxpayers should pay to extend City sewer when the City will receive no benefit from it. Atkinson said we have a responsibility to the citizens in the City, not the County. Hafferman commented he was Public Works Director when expansion plans were started for the WWTP. He emphasized the money was given to Kalispell for an area plant, not just exclusively for Kalispell City Council Special Meeting Minutes (Evergreen) March 27, 2006 Page 2 the people in the City of Kalispell. He said the only reason Evergreen wasn't mentioned at the time was because they were talking about building a separate facility. Hafferman said sewer plants are built to protect the environment and that's what the City needs to do. Kluesner stated he believes we need to focus on cooperating with the community and the County, adding these people will be ratepayers. He said the developers will be paying for the sewer extension, not the City taxpayers. Kluesner commented this will not hurt the City and is the responsible thing to do. Mayor Kennedy said she has concerns with the 150,000 gallons per day and she would like to see factual information before a policy is set. In addition, the City is working with the State on TMDL (total maximum daily load) issues which could have a huge impact. She suggested that the Council move forward with Cottonwood and Bernard's Park, but noted she would feel more comfortable if the resolution read 100,000 gallons per day. Kenyon agreed that it has been long journey for Cottonwood, but he would be more comfortable waiting until the facilities plan update is complete before making a decision. He said a policy is based on facts and we don't have sufficient facts at this time. Kenyon said the City needs an overall policy rather than dealing with these requests piecemeal. Herron stated he would like to make a change in the resolution concerning the mention of annexation districts. He said annexation districts are uncertain and with the recent Supreme Court rulings, waivers of protest are adequate. Herron moved to amend Section 1, Number 3, by striking "and to further agree, if required by the City Council, to enter into an annexation district". The motion was seconded. Kluesner said he supports the amendment because he feels annexation districts are very open-ended, ties our hands, and requires a decision within ten years. Mayor Kennedy stated she cannot support the motion whatsoever. She noted it doesn't tie our hands at all, it simply gives the Council the flexibility of developing an annexation district agreement as a possibility in the future. Larson disagreed. He said some areas will need to be annexed in the future, but others will never be financially feasible to annex. He said the way he reads the law an annexation district requires annexation within ten years, and he doesn't feel the City will ever want to annex Cottonwood. Mayor Kennedy pointed out this resolution doesn't specify Cottonwood. Gabriel stated she will not support the amendment, or the resolution, because this is premature, it's a band -aid approach, and she doesn't like the precedent it sets. Gabriel added she also fears for the legal ramifications. The motion to amend carried upon roll call vote with Hafferman, Herron, Kluesner, Larson, and Olson voting in favor, and Atkinson, Gabriel, Kenyon, and Mayor Kennedy voting against. Kalispell City Council special Meeting Mlinutes (Evergreen) March 27, 2006 Page 3 Herron moved to amend "150,000 gallons" to "1.00,000 gallons" wherever referenced in the resolution. The motion was seconded. The motion to amend carried upon roll call vote with Hafferman, Herron, Kluesner, Larson, Olson, and Mayor Kennedy voting in favor, and Atkinson, Gabriel, and Kenyon voting against. Atkinson explained that TMDL means "total maximum daily load" and said the Department of Environmental Quality is considering lowering that number. He said if that happens, the City will not be able to grow, and this action is just giving away our capacity. Larson said he was on the Council when Evergreen was given sewer service and he still believes it was the right thing to do, stating we need to protect the aquifer. The main motion as amended twice carried upon roll call vote with Hafferman, Herron, Kluesner, Larson, Olson, and Mayor Kennedy voting in favor and Atkinson, Gabriel, and Kenyon voting against. Cf2. RESOLUTION 5104 — EVERGREEN SEWER AND WATER CONNECTION — COTTONWOOD ESTATES Resolution 5104 authorizes Cottonwood Estates to connect to the Evergreen Sewer District pending, several conditions. Herron moved Resolution 5104, a resolution regarding the development of Cottonwood Estates and provision of municipal sewer services thereto. The motion was seconded. Herron moved to amend "1.50,000 gallons" to 1,1100,000 gallons" wherever referenced in the resolution. The motion was seconded. There was no discussion. The motion to amend carried upon vote with Hafferman, Herron, Kluesner, Larson, Olson, and Mayor Kennedy voting in favor, and Atkinson, Gabriel, and Kenyon voting against. Herron moved to amend Section I, Number 4, by striking "and to further agree, if required by the City Council, to enter into an annexation. district". The motion was seconded. There was no discussion. The motion to amend carried upon vote with Hafferman, Herron, Muesner, Larson, and Olson voting in favor, and Atkinson, Gabriel, Kenyon, and Mayor Kennedy voting against. The main motion as amended twice carried upon roll call vote with Hafferman, Herron, Kluesner, Larson, Olson and Mayor Kennedy voting in favor and Atkinson, Gabriel and Kenyon voting against. Kalispell City Council Special Meeting Minutes (Evergreen) March 27. 2000 Page 4 CI3. RESOLUTION 5105 — EVERGREEN SEWER AND WATER CONNECTION — BERNARD'S PARK SUBDIVISION Resolution 5105 authorizes hots a and portions of Lots 4, 5, and 6 of Bernard's Park Subdivision to connect to the Evergreen Sewer District pending several conditions. Herron moved Resolution 5105, a resolution regarding the provision of municipal sewer services to Lots 3 and portions of Lots 4, 5 and G of Bernard's park Subdivision. The motion was seconded. Herron moved to amend "150,000 gallons" to "100,000 gallons" wherever referenced in the resolution. The motion was seconded. There was no discussion. The motion to amend carried upon vote with Hafferman, Herron, Kluesner, Larson, Olson, and Mayor Kennedy voting in favor, and Atkinson, Gabriel, and Kenyon voting against. Herron moved to amend Section I, Number 4, by striking "and to further agree, if required by the City Council, to enter into an annexation district". The motion was seconded. There was no discussion. The motion to amend carried upon vote with Hafferman, Herron, Kluesner, Larson and Olson voting in favor, and Atkinson, Gabriel, Kenyon, and Mayor Kennedy voting against. There was further discussion and Patrick answered questions. The main motion as amended twice carried upon roll call vote with Hafferman, Herron, Kluesner, Larson, Olson and Mayor Kennedy voting in favor and Atkinson, Gabriel, and Kenyon voting against. D. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Parnela B. KenrOdy Mayor ATTEST. Theresa White City Clerk Kalispell City Council Special Meeting Minutes (Evergreen) March 27, 2006 Page 5 March 27, 2006 To: Kalispell City Council From: Greg Barkus, City of Kalispell Resident and Montana State Senator District 4 (the city of Kalispell and Evergreen) Subject; Evergreen Sewer District Conveyance System Please accept my apologies for not being there in person, but a severe cold bug has caught hold of me and won't let go. Thanks to Darla for reading this statement to the Council this evening. Having been a resident of Evergreen for over 20 years, I have witnessed several attempts to bring the entities of Kalispell City and Evergreen together to provide quality sewer and water services to the area. 1 to have known the anxieties associated with those that face the possibilities of annexation into the city, often without regard to the benefits that the process will yield. A recent move into the City has left me with a good perspective of the situation. With regard to the Sewage Conveyance System, it now appears that there rnay be some agreement to the issue and hopefully you, the City Council, the City Manager, the County Commissioners and all other interested parties in this area will come to agreement to support the resolutions that will provide the necessary services to those improving the area, while protecting the quality of the shared aquifer we all enjoy. 1 know that there is much work to do to arrive at a consensus, but it appears that the resolutions before you tonight will go a long way towards solving the long term problems, which will balance the infrastructure needs of our community with the financial needs of the City. Please give the resolutions your positive consideration and take a positive step toward unifying our communities. Thank you for your consideration. Greg Barkus 184 Fairway Boulevard Kalispell, Mt. 59901