[0:11] I, Stacy Bloomberg,
>> do solemnly swear
[0:14] » do solemnly swear
>> that I will support, protect, and defend
[0:18] » that I will support, protect, and defend
>> the Constitution of the United States,
[0:23] » the Constitution of the United States,
>> and the Constitution of the State of
[0:26] Montana,
>> and the Constitution of the State of
[0:29] Montana,
>> and that I will discharge the duties
[0:33] » and that I will discharge the duties
>> of my office of city councilor
[0:37] » of my office of city councilor
>> with fidelity, so help me God.
[0:41] » with fidelity, so help me God.
Thank you.
[1:14] » All right. Moving on, we have a
volunteer firefighter appointment. We'll
[1:18] go to the fire chief.
>> Councilman Chase Conway put his
[1:22] application in
almost two months ago now,
[1:25] and since then he's attended every
training, he's came and helped us at the
[1:27] practice.
And I'm really going to be a great
[1:31] addition, so I'd recommend him.
He's sworn in as a probationary member.
[1:35] » All right. Thanks to you.
>> [clears throat]
[1:37] » Swear him in.
[1:52] » Raise your right hand. Repeat after me.
I, Chase Conway,
[1:55] » I, Chase Conway,
>> do solemnly swear
[1:58] » Do solemnly swear
>> That I will support protect and defend
[2:01] » That I will support protect and defend
>> The constitution of the United States
[2:05] » The constitution of the United States
>> And the constitution of the state of
[2:08] Montana
>> And the constitution of the state of
[2:10] Montana
>> And that I will discharge the duties of
[2:13] my office
>> And I will discharge the duties of my
[2:16] office
>> As a probation probationary volunteer
[2:19] fireman
>> As a probationary volunteer fireman
[2:22] » With fidelity so help me God
>> With fidelity so help me God
[2:54] » All right Is there any other business is
there any public comment?
[2:58] If you're not on the agenda you can uh
address council
[3:02] I would
>> [clears throat]
[3:06] » Uh
Kyle Slaughter uh 626 7th Avenue West
[3:12] was just curious if there was any
updates on the road construction
[3:15] um
I haven't
[3:17] looked into it so I apologize if there's
information that's out there
[3:21] but just hearing a lot of frustrated
uh
[3:25] community members so just
was curious if there's any official
[3:30] update on what the heck is going on in
this mess up there
[3:35] » The I I believe we're looking at an
update when you get to the manager's
[3:40] report
[3:43] No I didn't see it's in manager's report
I didn't see it on the agenda so that
[3:47] would be uh
We're in the meeting
[3:52] See the manager's report
Okay see
[3:56] Okay, that on his agenda.
Anyone Anyone else who wishes to address
[4:02] council?
[4:07] You're ready.
Seeing none.
[4:12] We'll move on.
Uh
[4:14] next is continuing our efforts
concerning the uh
[4:19] the budget for 2023.
With this year
[4:23] and coming year
we'll go to city manager.
[4:42] The mayor and council are extending the
uh
[4:46] the budget hearing and shifting it to
the final budget uh process.
[4:51] Uh today we'll talk through the
different mill levies and the different
[4:54] tax collection uh collections and also
give some education on the new tax code
[4:59] uh and overview
for the council and residents.
[5:07] Reminder of the mission statement and
budget message
[5:11] and the council priorities that are in
the packet and available for everybody
[5:15] to review.
So, the 2025 legislative session uh
[5:20] there were significant changes to the
property tax system for tax year 2025
[5:24] and tax year 2026. Those tax years
uh
[5:28] are related to fiscal year 2026 and then
fiscal year 2027 revenues for the city.
[5:34] So, in 2025 uh tax year, the graduated
tax rate will be replaced with a
[5:39] standard 1.35%
uh standard tax rate for all all um
[5:45] all residential properties.
And in 26, they uh uh
[5:51] um voted to break that down into a more
graduated system. Um those are
[5:56] displayable for right now.
And then commercial and industrial at
[6:01] the bottom. Um but we're seeing
significant tax savings. Uh for
[6:07] residential, there's tax savings up to
about 2.5 million dollars. Yes, there's
[6:11] tax savings up until that point. And
then after that, it's actually tax
[6:15] increasing.
Uh the significant increase you'll see
[6:19] in is second homes, uh which will be
taxed at a 1.9% rate, which is the same
[6:25] as the 1.5 million dollars or above
rate. A significant increase in taxes
[6:31] for those second homeowners.
Uh the the difference if the home is a
[6:37] long-term rental, they still get the
primary residential rate. Um so this is
[6:41] only for short-term rentals or truly
second homes. That we're not a long-term
[6:47] Long-term rentals are taxed at the same
rate as uh
[6:50] primary residence.
Any questions on that uh
[6:54] statement? I have one until we uh
>> You You live here as a year-round deal
[6:59] for 6 or 7 months and you're not there.
Is that considered a
[7:03] second home or is that still your
primary residence even if you're living
[7:07] in a camper trailer?
[7:13] » I I can't speak with absolute certainty
on that scenario, but you I know you
[7:18] can't Your primary residence is well
identified by Department of Revenue. Um
[7:23] but if that
second home is being used as a either
[7:28] second home or a cabin or something like
that, and/or VRBO, then it would be at
[7:34] the 1.9%
only if you have a long-term tenant in
[7:38] that home, would you have the
residential rate is my understanding.
[7:43] » Okay.
>> you.
[7:45] » I and I do believe the Department of
Revenue says 7 months or more to to
[7:50] qualify for
our our room city tax.
[7:54] » There was some question if the house is
on the long-term market
[7:58] and it's not rented, how's that work?
And is there loopholes for that? You
[8:04] know, there's so many different
scenarios that people are looking
[8:07] through and
I'm sure CPAs are advising their
[8:11] clients accordingly.
But
[8:15] that's my understanding of the tax code.
[8:22] So,
city received a certified tax values a
[8:25] week ago.
Our total
[8:28] taxable valuation has doubled from
fiscal year '21 from 8.3 million to 16.6
[8:34] million.
And then our tax increment financing
[8:37] districts, which reminder is one block
on each side of New Place
[8:41] and then two blocks on each side of
Highway 2 and also the Cedar Palace
[8:47] Medical Center area. Um that incremental
growth and incremental growth reminder
[8:53] is uh
the amount of growth that happened from
[8:57] the base year of all our different tax
increment districts or any tax increment
[9:02] financing districts. So, that's what an
increment of growth is. So, from my 2014
[9:06] to 2021, we had an incremental growth of
about 635,000.
[9:10] And in these last 6 years, the growth
has been another 3 million dollars worth
[9:15] of taxable growth in that district.
[9:19] Um
>> [clears throat]
[9:21] » So,
another thing in the legislation
[9:25] 25 expanded the levy authority this year
um which will allow us to tax uh raise
[9:31] our tax revenue to full rate of
inflation. It used to be limited to half
[9:35] the rate of inflation.
Um, but it also removes 75% of new lit
[9:41] taxable class four properties, which
pretty much all our properties are class
[9:45] four properties. So, we actually, as a
growing city, actually
[9:50] are losing
in this new formula
[9:53] uh for growth.
Um, so, we'll we'll see what the impacts
[9:57] of that are. We're trying to run some
calculations, but um
[10:01] um but a reminder uh property tax
revenue is a minor part of our overall
[10:06] budget. Um,
less than 6% of all our revenue gained
[10:11] across the city. And if you take out the
grants,
[10:15] um it's less than 10% of our entire
revenue that runs the city is property
[10:20] taxes. So, it's minor in the grand
scheme of things.
[10:24] Uh the the 2.97%
full inflation factor, uh you know,
[10:28] increased our tax revenue by $35,000
total.
[10:32] So, it's a minor
[10:35] Uh also, highlight the average inflation
comparisons uh for the last 10 years.
[10:41] Um, e- be it consumer price index, the
municipal cost index, or um construction
[10:47] cost index,
clearly the rate of inflation that we're
[10:51] limited by and the fact that we're at at
half the rate of inflation you can make
[10:55] worse
to keep up with the significant cost to
[10:59] run the city and uh with construction.
[11:03] » [snorts]
[11:07] » Uh by statute, we have to uh provide
estimated taxes for three phases:
[11:12] $100,000, $300,000, and $600,000 homes.
We've also included million-dollar homes
[11:17] on this chart um to show how the new
property taxes work. Um
[11:23] it's pretty interesting that um if you
look at the bottom of the screen for
[11:27] fiscal year '25, there's a typo there,
uh to '27 tax comparison,
[11:33] um
primary residents are still paying less
[11:37] in taxes
um over the last couple years.
[11:41] Um
but you can kind of see where that
[11:42] non-primary residency tax
is actually going to pay significantly
[11:47] more taxes over that
a $600 or $558 gain for
[11:53] average home price of $600,000 in the
city.
[11:59] Any questions on that breakdown of
[12:04] average home price to square average tax
value?
[12:08] So, for a tax bill in
um 20 tax bill for tax year 20
[12:13] um
the 2025 tax bill, which is associated
[12:18] with fiscal year 26, so the tax bill
hasn't come out yet.
[12:22] Um gives a representative representative
um distribution of our taxes and where
[12:27] that money goes for a $600,000 home.
Uh the city is about 25% the schools are
[12:34] about 40% the county's state around 16%
and then other being cemetery district
[12:39] and um
conservation district and a few other
[12:43] smaller districts are in the other
portion. And then our city tax breakdown
[12:48] uh you can see where there's this resort
tax relief
[12:51] um
provides
[12:54] um about $212 of relief for a $600,000
home.
[12:59] And then the mental health, lighting
district, and street maintenance. The
[13:02] lighting district and street maintenance
uh changes with each property. The rest
[13:07] of them should stay the same based on
value, but the lighting district is
[13:10] based on how much linear footage you
have uh facing a road that is lit. And
[13:15] then a
um street maintenance is based on the
[13:17] amount I'm pretty sure. So, those
numbers will change based on the
[13:21] individual property.
And then anybody can look up their taxes
[13:25] at find it county.gov and then pull up
there.
[13:31] Are there any questions on this workout
or distribution?
[13:41] » [clears throat]
>> So, the uh determination of tax revenue
[13:45] and mill levy, this is the form that the
state provides us uh and then on the
[13:49] left is our certified tax values. There
are the summaries uh in the top-left
[13:53] corner between last year and this year.
Um
[13:58] we expect to see significant new growth
next year as Stockton Bank gets
[14:02] finished. Uh the hotel probably won't be
finished with the next certified tax
[14:06] value, but there'll be some um some more
businesses that are
[14:12] um
are complete by then. So, we'll we'll
[14:15] see over the next couple of years
uh significant growth in um
[14:20] newly taxable properties.
>> Eric, I have a question for you, though.
[14:25] The new bank that we have uh Parkside
Parkside, has that been our tax revenue?
[14:30] Is that reflected in our taxes here?
>> Uh the Stockton Bank is not. It's not in
[14:35] the mill.
It's There's There's at some rate, but
[14:39] there's not their full, you know, 9 or
10 million dollar, you know, valuation
[14:43] added.
>> Who said it was?
[14:45] I'm I was talking about
Parkside.
[14:47] » Oh, Parkside then, I'm sorry. It's
operational. I'm sorry. I thought you
[14:50] were talking about Stockton, which is
finishing up right now.
[14:54] » Yeah, that's I was going to ask you
about that. Uh
[14:55] we were getting I mean, we needed How I
don't even know how long Parkside's been
[14:59] there. I know it takes but a year and a
half before we started seeing any
[15:03] uh
revenue.
[15:05] » I'm I'm not 100% positive. I would have
to to take a look at what the last
[15:09] couple of years have been for that
property
[15:12] to see where the jump happened.
[15:22] The resort tax impact of property taxes
uh
[15:26] is highlighted here. Um this year um
we finally caught up to where we were in
[15:32] fiscal year '22 on actual property taxes
collected. So, you can see the resort
[15:37] tax uh offsetting
uh
[15:40] the overall collections
of um our property taxes.
[15:46] Uh and meanwhile, obviously I
with that resort tax also added
[15:51] uh the growth of parks park department
and uh police and uh some infrastructure
[15:56] to
money flow.
[15:59] Uh overall, the last um uh since the
history of the resort tax is $2.2
[16:04] million in tax reductions have happened
uh with that collection.
[16:12] Any questions?
[16:18] These are just the forms that'll be
mandatory that we have to uh provide to
[16:22] the state um that how how we calculate
the mill levy.
[16:26] Um
and it shows that we're in balance
[16:30] uh within the general fund.
Uh
[16:33] our minimum reserve for a 20% um is
$1,025,000.
[16:39] Our reserves will be uh $1.374
uh million dollars above our 20%. Um
[16:48] what we're asking, something that's new
this year, um
[16:53] with the significant amount
projects are capital improvement plan,
[16:57] the
intent from the staff is to not to
[17:00] transfer the additional reserve into the
capital programs. However, put a
[17:05] restricted cash or restricted surplus
capital account in our general fund um
[17:11] that will then restricted, but we're not
ready to decide where that money needs
[17:16] to go, but with so many projects coming
forward, we'd rather have that
[17:19] restricted cash in the general fund, so
we have a lot more flexibility to move
[17:24] it to the right capital program
as we, you know, go out to bid on a lot
[17:29] of different projects.
To increase flexibility, we'll still
[17:33] reserve it. We're recommending we
reserve a $300,000
[17:37] in that restricted surplus cash.
Um that compared with about maybe
[17:43] $115,000
that we transferred from the general
[17:47] fund or recommended transfer from the
general fund to capital this year. So,
[17:52] our capital program will grow by uh
uh $415,000
[17:58] basically
with that
[18:01] this year. So,
are there any questions
[18:05] on that or comments on the
restricted cash?
[18:17] This is
uh all the non-levy funds uh to share
[18:21] balance. Um as you can tell,
um
[18:25] total appropriations uh within the
general fund is just over $5 million and
[18:30] then the non-levy funds our
appropriations this year $20.6 million.
[18:35] Of that um
is $6.3 million for the race project and
[18:40] then $2.3 million uh for the projected
uh congressional uh project funding
[18:46] um that we're
[18:50] hopeful for that has passed through the
US House
[18:54] um and is waiting for Senate approval on
the Agriculture Act.
[18:58] But so, that $20 million budget uh
or $26 million budget overall uh is what
[19:04] we're looking to execute this year.
[19:10] And then once again, a mandatory form
that we have to include in the budget
[19:13] book uh included here it shows you the
history and as the
[19:18] as our
mill levies
[19:22] our value per mill goes
the number of mills we can
[19:28] assess go down and it shows for a
healthier
[19:32] city that's a good factor to be on
and this kind of shows that history.
[19:39] » [snorts]
[19:42] » And that concludes
my brief anything I missed or didn't
[19:47] include?
>> Um
[19:50] no.
I think I covered everything.
[19:53] » Okay.
All right,
[19:57] at this time thank you for that.
At this time did any one of the council
[20:01] have any questions for
manager
[20:03] » [clears throat]
>> or finance director concerning the
[20:05] budget?
Anybody in the audience have any
[20:09] questions for
finance [clears throat] director or the
[20:11] manager?
If not we'll open or we'll reopen the
[20:16] hearing
evening
[20:18] preliminary budget.
[20:23] » If you have public comments or if you
wish to testify please do so now.
[20:30] » Anyone here?
We'll continue this this hearing.
[20:35] We will will be going to final approval
of the budget instead of December.
[20:40] » Right, it'll be the the next uh council
meeting we'll have the budget message
[20:44] and then final product to to approve.
Tonight we'll send uh we're recommending
[20:49] that you approve the resolutions that
will set levies so we can get those to
[20:52] the county so they can
>> So the first so the first meeting in
[20:55] September we will approve our our budget
approve the final budget which is like
[20:59] 18th.
>> I believe that cuz we have we have a
[21:02] Tuesday. Yeah.
>> Okay, thank you.
[21:06] You're welcome.
You know I guess we can move on.
[21:13] » Resolution ordinances and resolutions.
Resolution number 1973.
[21:18] Levy and assessments on property within
special assessment districts.
[21:34] » Also, Mayor, I'm going to reset this.
[21:46] Uh Mayor and Council, uh resolution 1973
uh sets the
[21:52] um
[21:56] the levy from assessment for street
lighting. Uh street lighting is based on
[22:00] the linear uh footage of frontage along
the streets. City Clerk, uh by statute,
[22:07] calculates
the uh new properties that have been
[22:10] annexed into the city in these
districts, and then uh assesses those
[22:14] values based on
uh
[22:17] The staff recommendation um
was to keep the lighting district the
[22:23] same as uh previous years uh as we were
able to meet meet our lighting
[22:29] requirements.
to meet our lighting costs. So, uh no
[22:33] changes in the lighting district. The
street maintenance district, if you
[22:37] recall, um
several council sessions ago highlighted
[22:40] how we calculated the street maintenance
based on acreage, and then that's on a
[22:45] five-year program. We're in year four, I
believe, of that growth, and the council
[22:49] staff had recommended we continue on
that 5% growth.
[22:55] It is still
grossly insufficient to actually pay for
[22:59] all uh requirements for the street
department, which is all made in gas tax
[23:03] fund instead of general fund.
Uh so,
[23:07] uh at some point we'll we'll need to
make a decision on you know, asphalt on
[23:11] our streets, it's just not this year
that we recommend to change that
[23:15] schedule up.
So, we're recommending uh approval of
[23:19] resolution 1973 levying the uh
assessments upon light district
[23:24] treatments. Any questions
[clears throat] for the council
[23:26] concerning this?
[23:29] Seeing none, may I have a motion,
please?
[23:33] Motion to approve resolution 1973.
Second.
[23:38] Motion has been made and seconded to
approve resolution 1973
[23:42] levying assessments upon
local improvement district. May I have a
[23:46] roll call, please?
Councilor King? I.
[23:50] Councilor Piper? I.
Councilor Price? I.
[23:54] Councilor Robinson? I.
Councilor Stubbs? I.
[23:59] Councilor Bloomberg? I.
Mayor Burnette? I. Resolution 1973 is
[24:06] approved.
Uh next item is resolution 1974
[24:11] redefining the area included within the
Columbia Falls Street Maintenance
[24:15] District and the method of assessment.
Mr. Mayor, council, um this is pretty
[24:22] straightforward. This is the list of new
properties that have been added to the
[24:26] register that that's used in the
calculations of the local
[24:29] street. Okay. Do you have any questions
for the council?
[24:33] Seeing none, may I have a motion?
Make a motion that we approve resolution
[24:39] number 1974.
Second. Motion has been made and
[24:44] seconded to approve resolution number
1974 redefining the area included within
[24:50] the Columbia Falls Street Maintenance
District and method of assessment. Um
[24:54] may I have a roll call, please?
Councilor Piper?
[24:57] » Aye.
>> Councilor Price?
[24:59] » Aye.
>> Councilor Robinson?
[25:00] » Aye.
>> Councilor Stubbs? Aye.
[25:04] Councilor Bloomberg? Aye.
Councilor King?
[25:07] » Aye.
>> Mayor Barnhart?
[25:09] » Aye.
>> Resolution number 1974
[25:13] is approved.
Next is resolution number 1975, city
[25:18] property tax levy.
>> And we are Council, this is following
[25:24] today tonight's brief uh in the
calculation that we used to
[25:29] calculate the total mills
staff recommends that we levy 140.64
[25:37] mills.
Um that includes the resort tax offset
[25:41] as well as uh the uh fire relief mills
and permissive medical levy mills.
[25:50] » Any Council?
[25:53] » I'm good with that explanation. All
right.
[25:55] » Uh may I have a motion, please?
[26:01] » Motion to approve resolution 1975.
>> Second.
[26:05] » Motion's been made and seconded to
approve resolution number 1975
[26:10] setting the city property tax levy. May
I have a roll call, please?
[26:15] » Councilor Price?
>> Aye.
[26:17] » Councilor Robinson?
>> Aye.
[26:19] » Councilor Stubbs?
>> Aye.
[26:21] » Councilor Bloomberg?
>> Aye.
[26:23] » Councilor King?
>> Aye.
[26:26] » Councilor Piper?
>> Aye.
[26:27] » Mayor Barnhart?
>> Aye.
[26:30] » Resolution number 1975 is approved.
[26:39] All right.
Reports from Council and Mayor.
[26:42] John, what do you have for us this
evening?
[26:44] » I
I have absolutely nothing, Mr. Mayor.
[26:47] » Boy, there's got to be something
bouncing around.
[26:49] » Well, there was, but
but I didn't do any measurements, I'm
[26:52] going to
hold my peace until next meeting.
[26:56] Thanks.
>> Stacy.
[26:58] » I'm grateful to be here and learning
from all of you and thankful to be able
[27:01] to serve our community. Nothing else.
>> All right. Thank you.
[27:05] » I'm good for this evening.
[27:09] » I just wanted to welcome Stacy to the
council and look forward to working with
[27:14] you and thank you for throwing your hat
in the ring.
[27:17] That That means a lot to see so much
interest in our community.
[27:21] Um also, I just wanted to thank you uh
Eric for getting the speed limits
[27:26] painted on the walking path.
Um that's a step forward, but we're
[27:31] still installing the signs. Um
we're still going to be doing that.
[27:35] » Okay. They're on order. Picture of the
signs is one of the budget brews. I
[27:39] think we're going to do that.
>> Okay. I think it just helps even having
[27:42] them painted on there. It really does.
So,
[27:46] um but that was all I had.
>> Nothing here.
[27:51] » Alice. [clears throat]
>> Other than sports and 11, which we've
[27:53] already talked about that, so nothing
else.
[27:57] » I need to add a couple things. Um
I was just wondering how we're doing on
[28:01] uh
working
[28:03] forward to uh getting our bathrooms back
in service.
[28:07] And we've got uh
Do we have here our own pieces and
[28:10] orange? Do we still [clears throat] have
the one down at the skate park open or
[28:13] did they flood it again?
[28:16] » I'm not sure about the skate park and
I'll
[28:20] um
We can talk offline uh but we had some
[28:25] problems with our plumber that was
working on the project.
[28:28] Um so, there's going to be a delay.
Um
[28:32] the valves that were brand new this year
broke again, so that's why River's Edge
[28:37] is down and so we're trying to come up
with a
[28:39] new plumbing solution different
technology. But that's we've spent
[28:45] significant amount of money in last
couple of years, uh holding those
[28:50] highly custom valves that cost about I
think it's like $556 an hour. But, we do
[28:56] have a delay right now
on the issue.
[28:59] » Um also, uh
skate park antics. That's what I have.
[29:05] And uh the reason we talked about the
problems down at the skate park,
[29:10] it became very personal to me.
Well, my grandson, who's 11 years old,
[29:15] and we're staying at the Albany, and mom
came back from her meeting. She's a
[29:19] school teacher in Mechanicsville.
And he'd been looking forward to going
[29:22] to the skate park all day. When she
happened to live down there,
[29:26] so [clears throat] they went to the
skate park where he went and he had his
[29:29] uh skateboard. And there was a group of
I don't know what do you call them,
[29:33] juvenile delinquents or whatever,
that their language is so filthy and
[29:38] dirty
that
[29:40] uh it uh [clears throat]
made them uncomfortable. Also, they were
[29:44] into marijuana and alcohol, uh smoking
whatever they smoke.
[29:48] So, um upon getting in touch with me,
uh I told her to call 911 and let them
[29:56] know.
Um
[29:58] but she said as soon as the
uh hoodlums saw her on her phone, he
[30:02] just got up, cussed her out, went and
jumped on top of the dugouts.
[30:07] So, I I guess we've talked about this
before, but I think it's time we do
[30:11] something. I don't know what it is.
I mean, I'm ready to go down there and
[30:16] and uh stand guard. I mean, it's at this
point that why do we have all this money
[30:21] putting here? It's supposed to be for
the good of the community. If we can't
[30:24] keep the bathrooms from being flooded by
the same group. I know it's the same
[30:28] group. The chief has said it's the same
group. What can we do about stopping
[30:33] this and letting the park become
enjoyable and useful to all the people
[30:39] of Cohoes? I mean, what do we do? I I
don't know. I am I'm at a loss, but
[30:45] something needs to be done. I realize if
you put a police officer down there, he
[30:49] comes in in his car, everybody are
little angels. I totally understand
[30:53] that.
But somehow we have to get to the
[30:56] parents or something in this group
and we need to get it squared away where
[31:00] they're not going to be allowed in that
park
[31:03] uh if that's if they're
antics they're doing down
[31:07] And again, I knew it was a problem. I've
done it multiple times. But when it gets
[31:12] personal, when it's your your daughter
and your grandson down there, they can't
[31:17] they can't enjoy the park after they've
been looking forward to it until they
[31:20] actually can.
I would I would request that we uh
[31:24] come up with something uh for the next
meeting uh some sort of a plan that uh
[31:30] we're moving forward with to uh
reduce that an issue at that particular
[31:35] » Could I add to that, Mr.
>> Pardon?
[31:38] » Could I add to that?
>> You're first.
[31:41] » I'll tell you what, Dad, something to
that.
[31:43] » Absolutely.
>> Uh it it it started also in baseball
[31:47] season.
My kids were affected cuz they were
[31:50] playing baseball.
Uh
[31:52] but I'm I'm almost guessing that it's
the same group, Chief. I may be wrong.
[31:58] But somehow they've got to have a way to
handle those kids out of there if that's
[32:01] the same group. Uh they have no respect
for for grown-ups whatsoever.
[32:06] I call the police, they they come down,
handle great.
[32:09] But somehow we got to tag these kids and
and their parents. And
[32:14] I I
I know there's no easy solution, but but
[32:17] it is a [clears throat] problem.
>> Absolutely.
[32:20] Um
the the other thing I had
[32:23] uh was uh
kind of a report. I used to I used to
[32:27] live in that apartment a lot.
And man, it looks really good last week.
[32:31] Once the uh parks department quit
getting overwhelmed, cuz they were we're
[32:35] all the random along. Yeah, they were
really good down there.
[32:38] The park looks good. I don't I don't see
a whole lot of extra dog with laying
[32:42] around.
I think people and I, there's still the
[32:45] issue of people with their dogs off
leash.
[32:49] I'm not
absolutely against that as long as
[32:53] they're on voice control.
But, we go down there and you have a big
[32:56] dog come charging up at you and you're
whether it's his new or your dog, I I
[33:02] think that
they need to be reminded of that. I did
[33:05] remind him and gentleman, he wasn't very
happy.
[33:07] But, so that comes back to giving our
signs of making sure that everybody
[33:12] [clears throat] understands.
I mean, we've got a whole bunch of
[33:16] signs. I understand it would be a big
but our signs is still important.
[33:21] That's all That's all I have.
>> Um,
[33:24] can I make a comment in regards to that?
Um,
[33:27] you know, back in the day we used to
have a a crime stoppers like somebody
[33:32] could call in and report if they saw
something.
[33:35] Um, after one of the meetings and the
vandalism that was happening after
[33:39] council, I drove down there and there
was a whole bunch of kids at the skate
[33:43] park.
I just sat there for a little while and
[33:47] then I just walked out and talked to a
couple of kids and they say there's
[33:51] really just three or four that bully
them that
[33:55] fist fight like hit them in the head. He
showed me a video of another kid getting
[34:00] hit in the head with a skateboard.
And it's just really
[34:04] few that maybe if we had a
a tip line or a reward or something that
[34:10] these kids could call without being the
narc. Um,
[34:15] that we could maybe try to keep the
majority safe.
[34:18] Um,
some kind of a crime stopper idea.
[34:23] Uh, just throwing it out there because
it's small few that are ruining it for
[34:28] everyone. And if they felt safe in
reporting it, that it wouldn't be
[34:33] retaliated. You might get
assistance from some of those kids. So.
[34:39] » I would I would also ask that uh
it be put out on social media or
[34:43] whatever. So that the parents are aware
of where your kids are.
[34:47] What are they doing?
>> It's 10:00.
[34:49] » We know we've got these problems.
They're ruining They're ruining uh the
[34:53] experience for all the good kids that
that want to use this facility. And then
[34:58] parents need to step up and parents know
someone
[35:02] they know these kids. They need to You
need to get in touch with our
[35:06] police department and let them know. So
as far as what we can do to help, I
[35:09] don't know what you do, but
Mark with the red accent sitting there.
[35:16] » You need to say something.
You know, I haven't really said
[35:18] anything. That's I would like to hear
something from on the next meeting
[35:22] scheduled of what we're doing about
them.
[35:24] » Okay.
>> Um anything else, Council?
[35:30] » All right. City Manager report.
>> Yeah, so we'll just stay on that topic
[35:34] for a little bit longer.
Our skate park is closed.
[35:38] » Um
>> Um Jean and I talked about that this
[35:41] morning. She has She's starting to work
with some draft language and Chief has
[35:45] been She's been coming out of work for
like
[35:47] for the last 6 months. So the intent was
to do some kind of policy once we had a
[35:52] city attorney in line.
Um and we'll work through that and what
[35:56] that means.
We can have a better discussion.
[36:00] » Um
>> Next council meeting unless Chief wants
[36:03] to share a little bit.
Actually, I'll ask Chief to share some
[36:06] his views on during this time of how he
goes and stuff that we've talked about
[36:11] this and some good some good options.
And then then later on the attorney can
[36:16] tell us we can't do that. But anyway,
um
[36:19] Um I think everything's going to be fine
and we'll be
[36:23] So uh
we finished a successful the season. I'm
[36:27] still not where exactly where we want to
be, but it's a lot better than it was
[36:31] the year before and
and we're making progress. Had a lot of
[36:34] good community feedback.
Had a good season.
[36:39] We will continue to look for ways to
be more inclusive of different
[36:44] opportunities.
[36:48] Various requests from the community.
This year we we went through the whole
[36:52] pool season with our pool manager
managing the schedule. I don't think
[36:56] there was any overtime spent at all
because of the the level of oversight
[37:02] and management which saves us money so
we can use that money for other causes
[37:06] at the pool. So
that was very successful and
[37:10] Amy did a
great job and we put money back in that
[37:14] year.
[37:16] With that there's going to be a lot of
Pine with Park projects over the next 6
[37:20] months with the fitness court. That
fitness court will be blue and adhesive
[37:26] on the
on the surface. It will be
[37:30] It's temperature
sensitive. So I think we're going to
[37:34] shoot for the spring instead of trying
to rush it this late September or
[37:38] October. We'll [clears throat] probably
get the pad concrete laid when we do
[37:43] some other parking lot improvements and
the sidewalks in there.
[37:47] But that fitness court should be
available in the spring time as well as
[37:50] the basketball court that we do.
But and then
[37:55] we're working with the engineers now on
the design to expand the parking lot.
[38:00] Hopefully
you know, 30 40 more vehicles.
[38:04] We we will also be expanding the trail
along 11th Street
[38:09] as well as putting in parking all along
there. People are already parking in the
[38:12] grass there so we'll do some angle
parking in that area and now it
[38:16] hopefully expanded but it also helps
with Mary Kate events cuz the the walk
[38:20] from Pine with to Mary Kate is not that
bad and that would help.
[38:25] Um
you know, continue to connect
[38:28] our parks as well as our hiking trails
and you know,
[38:31] sidewalks so that's
Um Eric White, you there? I just have a
[38:35] quick question.
Got a Mary Kay play with a uh
[38:39] um the Chambers building is there. Who
owns that property? Is that city
[38:43] property? That's city property.
So it's good that we're using them for
[38:47] parking.
Right.
[38:50] Um
yeah, I'm not sure exactly how that
[38:54] whole lease thing works or which park is
Anyway, it's all city property that the
[38:59] Chamber and we have a good relationship
with the Chamber so it's not a big
[39:02] problem.
Um
[39:08] the um
So with Gateway Glacier safety mobility,
[39:11] I'm not sure exactly where I need to
catch the address
[39:14] what level of impact I have had a
conversation that you all saw where he's
[39:18] referencing. Um the project
from most people I've talked to that
[39:24] were in the construction area
um and uh the feedback we're getting is
[39:29] generally positive. I mean the only
negative comments in the last couple
[39:32] weeks have, you know, this idea that
Worth Avenue is too narrow.
[39:37] Um just a reminder um I think I briefed
you before but FHWA standards for a 35
[39:43] mph zone road is 10 to 12 ft. Our roads
will be 11 ft. Um right in the middle of
[39:49] that so it could have been narrower by 2
ft total um but those things are
[39:54] intentional there to slow down traffic.
And especially now that we're in a
[39:59] construction zone, they should
definitely be slower um but
[40:02] um
and then along Fourth in front of the
[40:07] elementary school, uh the second layer
of asphalt has been put down today
[40:12] um and then the concrete companies will
uh will be uh filling in the driveways,
[40:18] sidewalks so we have a steady path
that the kids can use to get to school.
[40:23] Um, and then
that should open up towards um,
[40:28] the Kids Foundation area. So, sidewalks
as well uh, should be finished before
[40:33] school [clears throat] starts.
Um, once they get out
[40:36] uh, everything in front of Gateway
Gateway Gateway Gateway Elementary
[40:40] School,
then they'll start moving towards uh,
[40:44] 9th Street uh, along 4th with the
curbing. Once the curbing's up, then
[40:48] they can do final grading and then
asphalt. That'll go pretty quickly. And
[40:52] we're expecting 4th South um, in 2 weeks
to start asphalting that. So,
[40:59] uh, I would expect so well.
And then [clears throat] go on to 7th
[41:02] after that. So, uh, there's still a
couple drainage things on 7th that you
[41:07] know, we worked but other than that it's
all road and surface work. So, they'll
[41:11] finish
from the elementary school moving from
[41:14] 4th to 9th.
Uh,
[41:16] um,
and then finish that and then go south
[41:20] of 9th Street. Uh, finish that and then
over to 7th. Uh, overall they're about a
[41:25] month ahead of schedule uh, and they
continue to perform very well. And uh, I
[41:30] think
things will be good when it's done. But
[41:34] it is a lot of work, it's a lot of
impact but the community's been very
[41:38] uh, flexible with us and uh, it's been
good conversations over the last 6
[41:42] months of this project. So,
Any questions on the project on
[41:48] specific?
>> You know, it's 9 days till school
[41:51] starts.
>> Right.
[41:52] » Okay.
>> Why?
[41:54] » I'm just curious cuz
>> It's a lot of work.
[41:56] » Yeah, a lot of work in that area that
will have lots and lots of vehicles. So,
[42:00] » No, it's um,
yeah, there's Kids Foundation
[42:05] uh, so it's at 5th
Street or yeah, so
[42:08] » 5th
>> 3rd Street to 5th Street will be paved.
[42:11] I think they're even going to have the
um, traffic lights payment on it. Um
[42:16] sidewalks will be done in that area. Um
and then the school buses will be able
[42:21] to come out and come in [clears throat]
along Fifth Street entrance to the
[42:25] elementary school.
Um landscaping may be done in
[42:28] you know, they're they're getting close.
They can put some topsoil in already to
[42:33] help fill the edges of the
asphalt trail system, but that has to
[42:39] happen during school. It's similar in
that compared to
[42:43] um elsewhere.
>> All right. Thank
[42:48] » Um and then finally um
the legal assistant position where where
[42:54] that's currently being advertised till
the end of the month. Um and then I
[42:59] won't steal Jean's thunder, but uh
she'll share when she gets here, but
[43:03] we'll be able to do the in-person
interviews so we believe and it should
[43:06] work out
um for that as well. We've got a couple
[43:08] of good candidates already. Still
looking for more as we can hurry up and
[43:12] set up interviews.
[43:16] Well, that's it for me.
>> Um
[43:18] Council?
>> You have anything for the manager?
[43:25] » You're all done?
>> Seems Seems
[43:29] Start with parks.
>> The skate park.
[43:32] » Um
obviously this isn't the first time that
[43:36] these issues have been brought up and
we've been working on them. Um one of
[43:40] the things that
we found effective in other
[43:44] jurisdictions is a a proper way to
exclude people from parks for a certain
[43:50] period of time. Of course, when you
exclude people from
[43:53] uh public property, it comes with some
some issues and and some procedures that
[43:58] we have to properly do them. So, I've
drafted up what I thought would be some
[44:03] uh good processes for this and I've
spoken to the city manager about it, and
[44:09] also with
our the city attorney about it. I
[44:13] forwarded those to her further, and
we're going to work on a
[44:18] an ordinance
to present to you
[44:22] to be able to exclude people from the
city parks for a certain amount of time,
[44:28] whether it be 30, 60, 90 days
progressively if there's continual
[44:32] violations for park rule violations for
rule violations, those things that take
[44:37] place in parks. And
there'll be a a process for appeal on
[44:42] that if they want to.
So, but
[44:46] I don't want to get too much more into
the details until the city attorney has
[44:50] had the opportunity to go through it and
modify it, make sure it's legal, we're
[44:57] not going to get sued over any of that,
and that
[45:01] we'll
administer it properly.
[45:04] So, that's that's one of the ideas.
Another one is that
[45:10] we've also looked at the option of
cameras.
[45:13] We know some cameras in parks.
That's
[45:16] you know,
there's some positives and negatives
[45:19] that go along with that,
but it's also another option if we can't
[45:24] get a handle on it. I think I would
agree with you that it is a few people
[45:28] ruining it for the vast majority.
We have had contact with some of who we
[45:34] believe some of those people are and
their parents
[45:38] after speaking with their parents, it's
very obvious why the kids are behaving
[45:42] that way. So,
so
[45:44] I can say that confidently.
>> I do have a question. Um
[45:48] if they're juveniles
can they be charged?
[45:51] » Yeah, they can be charged with crimes.
>> So, if if they were down there and they
[45:55] were they could they be
disturbing the peace or vandalism?
[46:01] Or charges could actually be against
them and they'd have to go to juvenile
[46:04] court, but
possibly that might get their attention,
[46:08] too.
Well, I know realizing it'd have to be
[46:11] seen, witnessed, and everything else,
but
[46:14] if we could get a couple of these guys
that's been obviously known or whatever,
[46:18] and get them charged in juvenile court,
it'd probably
[46:22] straighten them up a little bit.
>> Yeah, they
[46:25] The officers are all well aware of this
issue. We've discussed it at length. Um,
[46:31] and uh
believe me, if there's an opportunity
[46:34] for enforcement action to be taken, it
will be taken.
[46:39] » [clears throat]
[46:42] » Sergeant, got anything for us?
>> Uh, not a whole lot. As you guys saw
[46:46] last year, we came off our
uh 5 for our busiest month ever, 65
[46:49] calls last month.
Hasn't really slowed down too much this
[46:52] month.
Um, Chance did the last meeting we had,
[46:56] so we're now we have safety.
Two people on our waiting list again, so
[47:01] applications are right out, and it's
slowed down.
[47:04] » We got a couple in the long term.
>> Did Did we have any uh
[47:09] well, fire calls and whatever in the
last I know it's going on here and it's
[47:13] going everywhere else, I'm just curious
if
[47:15] » Yeah, [clears throat] we we had a few
um, in our district, one in city limits,
[47:20] right by Master Tech Repair.
Um
[47:23] and then we had a couple in the rural
jurisdiction, and then we actually spent
[47:26] one day on a scale fire doing structure
connections, too.
[47:30] Casey's. So, we had it on on the go.
I think so. Five, maybe, somewhere
[47:35] around there. Nothing big. We had one
You guys last month, too, the one
[47:41] in the fire service area, trouble with
Hasty Basin area, but we were able to
[47:46] shut that one down.
And if I had to pick any one that would
[47:50] have to be that half week period. We had
helicopters and everything on that one,
[47:52] so
>> That's good.
[47:53] » It's kind of busy here.
>> Right.
[47:57] Thank you.
>> Yeah.
[47:58] » [clears throat and cough]
>> Uh anything from
[48:01] the council?
>> What about city
[48:03] » I was going to get to the
attorney if you don't mind.
[48:05] » Oh, I'm sorry.
>> Do you have anything for us, Jean, for
[48:09] this evening?
>> Well, just that I hope to be with you in
[48:13] person permanently the first week of
September. We will be traveling up.
[48:18] » Thanks.
>> All right. The weather's looking a lot
[48:20] better for you guys.
>> I It's the weather between here and
[48:24] there that I'm concerned about. So many
uh so many bad weather incidents in the
[48:28] middle of the country we've got to cross
through. So it may be a little bit
[48:31] longer drive than we anticipated, but
excited that our movers come on the 28th
[48:36] and we will be out of here on the 29th
and headed that way. So I look forward
[48:41] to our next city council meeting being
there in person.
[48:45] » Thank you. Look forward to seeing you in
person.
[48:49] Any Any final remarks from the council?
Seeing none, may I have a motion?
[48:55] » Motion to adjourn.
>> Second. [clears throat]
[48:58] » Motion to remain adjourned. Do I hear a
motion in favor?
[49:01] » I have a question.
[49:04] That is the afternoon.