06-26-17 City Council Work Session MinutesKALISPELL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES
JUNE 26, 2017
View the minutes attached to the audio of the meeting at:
http://kalispell.com/mayor and city council/Streaming AV.php
A WORK SESSION OF THE KALISPELL CITY COUNCIL WAS HELD AT 7:00 PM ON
MONDAY, JUNE 26, 2017, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS AT CITY HALL IN
KALISPELL, MONTANA. MAYOR MARK JOHNSON PRESIDED. COUNCIL MEMBERS
JIM ATKINSON, SANDY CARLSON, KARI GABRIEL, CHAD GRAHAM, PHIL
GUIFFRIDA, TIM KLUESNER, ROD KUNTZ, AND WAYNE SAVERUD WERE
PRESENT.
Also present: Public Works Director Susie Turner, Budget Resource Manager Terri Loudermilk, and
Parks Director Chad Fincher.
Guests included the Business Improvement District Board of Directors and Pam Carbonari.
Mayor Johnson called the work session to order.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
1. Downtown Business Improvement District Budget Discussion
Russell introduced the topic and turned the discussion over to the BID Board to present the new
work plan and budget.
Jon Fetveit, BID Board Chair, explained the new Board's process so far and described their
priorities.
Fetveit went over the BID's budget by line item and answered questions.
Carbonari also answered questions regarding the flower baskets on Main Street.
There was discussion regarding the differences between the Kalispell Downtown Association and the
Business Improvement District.
There was further discussion.
Mayor Johnson remarked that he appreciates the BID sticking with the lengthy update process and
noted the new board members seem to be working out well.
Public Comment
None.
Kalispell City Council Work Session Minutes
June 26, 2017
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2. Urban Forestry Assessment Discussion
Russell introduced the topic, stating that several work sessions have been held and new calculations
have been done in order to establish the desired level of service.
Fincher described the different scenarios and answered questions.
There was discussion regarding the caps and the value of the urban forest.
Kuntz commented that the city could throw money at it for the next two years and double the
residential fee and cap. He said that would let the city deal with the problems and make it fair across
the board.
Russell reiterated the assessment should increase at the same rate and balance between the general
fund and the mill levy. He said it will be fine tuned in time for the July 17 meeting.
Public Comment
Tom Rygg remarked that very few residential properties get to the cap but that a large number of
commercial properties do. He said seeing the actual expenses in the presentation would have been
helpful.
3. Stormwater Utility Assessment Discussion
Russell noted the impact of different levels of rate assessment that otherwise would have been paid
by impact fees would be presented so the funding mechanism can be adjusted.
Turner presented the different level of service options with the five year assessment increase method.
She noted that Option 1 would be the preferred method and answered questions.
Kluesner suggested reducing the impact fees on single family residences and leaving commercial and
multi family development fees in place.
Kuntz remarked he has a philosophical issue with raising rates to manage growth.
Guiffrida commented that large commercial developments don't care about impact fees but single
family residences and small square footage places do. He said he would prefer a fixed rate to fund
the stormwater utility rather than using speculative impact fees.
There was discussion regarding increasing the assessment component while decreasing the impact
fees and shifting from impact fees to rates.
Council consensus was to choose Option 3 (50% reduction impact fee offset) as the preferred option
and adopt a 5 year rate schedule.
Public Comment
Kalispell City Council Work Session Minutes
June 26, 2017
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Tom Rygg remarked that the information is not in a user-friendly layout and the public should be
able to understand the assumptions without any trouble.
MAYOR/COUNCIL/CITY MANAGER REPORTS
Russell noted the public hearing on the budget will be held during the July 3 meeting.
ADJOURN
The work session was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
Attest:
Aimeb Brunckhorst, CM
City Clerk
Prepared by:
C
Judi Funk
Deputy City Clerk
Kalispell City Council Work Session Minutes
June 26, 2017
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