Journal of Proceedings

Missoula City Council

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Council Chambers (in person) or ZOOM Webinar (virtually)
Attend in person: City Council Chambers, 140 W. Pine, Missoula, MT
Members Present:
  • Stacie Anderson, 
  • Mirtha Becerra, 
  • Daniel Carlino, 
  • Jordan Hess, 
  • Gwen Jones, 
  • Kristen Jordan, 
  • Mike Nugent, 
  • Jennifer Savage, 
  • Amber Sherrill, 
  • Sandra Vasecka, 
  • and Heidi West
Members Absent:
  • John P. Contos
Administration Present:
  • Mayor John Engen, 
  • Marty Rehbein, 
  • and Jim Nugent, City Attorney

1.

The virtual meeting of the Missoula City Council was called to order by Mayor John Engen at 6:00 PM.

2.

Mayor John Engen We have minutes to approve from the 9th of May and unless there are changes without objection, they'll be approved. 

Marty Rehbein Mayor Engen, those minutes will be available at a later date, we just got them…

Mayor John Engen Oh my apologies.  We have those long meetings, and they take a little longer that's for sure.  With that, we’ll move on to the public comment portion of our agenda

3.

Mayor John Engen This is your opportunity to comment on items not elsewhere on the agenda this evening.  Any general public comment this evening?  All right seeing none in the live audience, let me have a look virtually here and I have Cassie Rabakovitz.  Ms. Rehbein would you make me a co-host?

Cassie Rabakovitz Can you hear me?

Mayor John Engen I can hear you now thank you.

Cassie Rabakovitz Hi yes I'm Cassie Rabakovitz and I am the AmeriCorps member serving with the National Wildlife Federation.  So, I just wanted to take a minute to thank the Mayor for signing the Mayor's Monarch Pledge this month.  For those who don't know, the Mayor's Monarch Pledge is a nationwide initiative that we're all working together to try and keep our monarchs around.  So, with that being said, we're taking some steps and working on some action items.  We're going to be giving out some milkweed seeds at the farmers markets and planting some other native plants around the city.  So, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you.

Mayor John Engen Well thank you.  Pardon me, thank you.  Any other general public comment this evening?  Seeing no hands up in the webinar, we will move on.

Budget and Finance Committee, May 18, 11:00 - 11:15 a.m.

Committee of the Whole, May 18, 11:30 - 11:50 a.m.

Public Works and Mobility Committee, May 18, 12:25 - 12:45 p.m.

Housing, Redevelopment, and Community Programs Committee, May 18, 1:00 - 1:45 p.m.

Mayor John Engen Thank you Ms. Rehbein.  Any changes to that committee schedule?  All right seeing none, we'll be back in order with that consent agenda.  Ms. Rehbein. 

5.

Mayor John Engen We do have a lengthy consent agenda.  Items there were approved in council committees by unanimous consent, and we save a little time on Monday evenings by considering these items all at once.  Ms. Rehbein will read the list aloud so folks in the audience and those watching through MCAT, or the webinar will know what we're considering, and we'll take comment on these items before we vote.  Ms. Rehbein.

Marty Rehbein Can we go back to the committee schedule?  We do have some committee meetings on Wednesday that I would like to announce. 

Mayor John Engen I'm still getting used to the, still getting used to the new agenda…. you go right ahead.

Mayor John Engen Thank you Ms. Rehbein.  Any questions or comments from Council members on the consent agenda this evening?  Seeing none, anyone in the audience care to comment?  All right and we'll see if we have anyone virtually; none there.  With that, Ms. Rehbein will have a roll call vote.

Mayor John Engen And the consent agenda is approved.

  • AYES: (11)Alderperson Anderson, Alderperson Carlino, Alderperson Becerra, Alderperson Hess, Alderperson Jones, Alderperson Jordan, Alderperson Nugent, Alderperson Savage, Alderperson Sherrill, Alderperson Vasecka, and Alderperson West
    ABSENT: (1)Alderperson Contos
    Vote result: Approved (11 to 0)
  • Approve and authorize the Mayor to sign the amended contract with Partnership Health Center for services per the attached Scope of Work in the amount of $35,000.

    Vote result: Approved
  • Approve and authorize the Mayor to sign the Department of Agriculture Sustainable Urban Forest Resilience Subaward (SUFR) agreement in the amount of $46,000

    Vote result: Approved
  • Approve the purchase of a Freightliner M2106 with a Fassi F145az grapple from Custom Truck & Equipment of Kansas City, Missouri for the Parks and Recreation Department for $147,675.00 which includes delivery to Missoula.

    Vote result: Approved
  • [First reading and preliminary adoption] Set a public hearing on June 6, 2022, and preliminarily adopt an ordinance generally amending Missoula Municipal Code Chapter 13.26 entitled “Missoula Valley Water Quality ordinance” to amend and update regulations necessary to protect Missoula’s sole source aquifer.

    Vote result: Approved
  • Approve and authorize the Mayor to sign a Professional Services Agreement Amendment #1 with IMEG for consulting services on Eaton Street Phase 1 and Phase 2 infrastructure projects at the cost not to exceed $73,295.00.

    Vote result: Approved
  • [First Reading and Preliminary Adoption] Set a public hearing for June 6, 2022 to preliminarily adopt an ordinance amending Missoula Municipal Code Chapter 13.02 entitled “Municipal Utility Rates and Charges” to repeal 13.02.090 and establish 13.02.091 to specify the responsibility of the property owner for a tenant’s unpaid City of Missoula utility bills. 

    Vote result: Approved
  • Approve and authorize the mayor to sign a Letter of Intent to sell approximately 3.7 acres of land north of Rodgers Street to the Missoula Urban Transportation District (Mountain Line).

    Vote result: Approved
  • Adopt the resolution relating to the financing of certain infrastructure costs in connection with a redevelopment project; establishing compliance with reimbursement bond regulations under the internal revenue code

    Vote result: Approved
  • Set a public hearing on Monday, May 23, 2022, to consider a Resolution granting approval of the City of Missoula Unified Application Round Year 2022, awarding Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF), HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to certain organizations, directing staff to negotiate contracts and agreements, and authorizing the Mayor to sign the contracts and agreements with said organizations.

    Vote result: Approved
  • Set a public hearing for Monday, May 23 2022, to review a substantial amendment to the City of Missoula's Program Year 2021 Annual Action Plan for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and  HOME Investment Partnerships Program American Rescue  Plan (HOME-ARP.)

    Vote result: Approved

Mayor John Engen We do have three proclamations this evening ladies and gentlemen.

WHEREAS, the City of Missoula has partnered with the National Wildlife Federation to promote the creation and conservation of wildlife habitats through the Garden City; and WHEREAS, our local pollinating hummingbirds, bees, beetles, flies, moths, and butterflies are essential for maintaining healthy biodiverse ecosystems; and WHEREAS, pollination allows plants to reproduce food that form the foundation of the food chain for other species including humans and WHEREAS, pollination plays a vital role in the health of our forests and grasslands which provide forage, fish and wildlife, timber, water, mineral resources and recreational opportunities, as well as enhanced economic development opportunities for communities; and WHEREAS, the act of gardening for wildlife promotes sustainable gardening practices such as soil and water conservation, organic practices, and control of exotic species, all of which help restore healthy, soil, air, water and native pollinaries that native pollinators rely on.  Now, therefore, I, John Engen, Mayor of the City of Missoula in the State of Montana do hereby proclaim the week of May 16 through May 20, 2022 as Missoula Pollinator Week.

Mayor John Engen And with any luck everyone who's got some pollinators hanging around.

 

Mayor John Engen Second this evening ladies and gentlemen.  In fact, I'm trying not to use that anymore.  Second this evening folks, the Children's Tumor Foundation is observing May 2022 as Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month to educate the public about this rare genetic disorder.

WHEREAS, although more than 2 million people around the globe are living with NF and 1 in every 3,000 births is diagnosed with NF, it is a still relatively unknown entity to the public; and WHEREAS, NF causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body and can also affect development of the brain, cardiovascular system, bones and skin leading to blindness, deafness, bone abnormalities, disfigurement, learning disabilities, disabling pain, and cancer; and WHEREAS, the Children's Tumor Foundation leads efforts to promote and financially sponsor world-class medical research aimed at finding effective treatments and ultimately a cure for NF; and WHEREAS, the Children's Tumor Foundation works to improve access to quality patient health care through its national NF clinic network and provides patients and families support through its information, resources, youth programs, and local activities.  Now, therefore, I, John Engen, Mayor the City of Missoula in the State of Montana do hereby recognize the 17th day of May 2022 as Neurofibromatosis Awareness Day in Missoula.

WHEREAS, public works professionals focus on infrastructure, facilities, emergency management, and services that are of vital importance to the sustainable and resilient community and the public health, high quality of life and well-being of the people of the City of Missoula; and WHEREAS, these infrastructures, facilities, and services could not be provided without the dedicated efforts of public works professionals who are federally mandated first responders and the engineers, managers, and employees at all levels of government in the private sector who are responsible for rebuilding, improving, and protecting our nation's transportation, water supply, water treatment, and solid waste systems, public buildings, and other structures and facilities, which are essential to our citizens; and WHEREAS, it is in the public interest for citizens, civic leaders, and children in the City of Missoula to gain knowledge and maintain ongoing interest and understanding of the importance of public works, first responders, and public works programs in their respective communities; and WHEREAS, the year 2022 marks the 62nd annual National Public Works Week sponsored by the American Public Works Association.  Now, therefore, I, John Engen, Mayor the City of Missoula in the State of Montana to hereby designate the week of May 15 through May 21, 2022 as National Public Works Week.

Mayor John Engen I urge residents to join with representatives of the American Public Works Association and government agencies and activities, events, and ceremonies designed to pay tribute to our public works professionals, engineers, managers, and employees and to recognize the substantial contributions they make to protecting our national health, safety, and quality of life.  And that's a long way of giving a shout out to public works folks and all the good work that they do.  We have no additional proclamations this evening.

8.

Mayor John Engen We do have an item for final consideration.  Items here folks were not approved or I'm sorry were subject to public hearing and Council is taking final action on these items this evening.  We'll invite comment once a motion is made on these items and our first and only item for final consideration is a floodplain ordinance and that is happening in Mr. Hess' committee.

Alderperson Hess Thank you Mayor.  I move that we adopt an ordinance amending Title 18, Missoula Municipal Code, the City Floodplain Hazard Management Regulations, to incorporate revisions to Section 10.4.4 Agricultural Structures and Appendix A in response to FEMA Policy #104-008-03 regarding Floodplain Management Requirements for Agricultural Structures and Accessory Structures and to include map revisions as outlined in Exhibit A.  And may I speak to the motion?

Mayor John Engen You may.

Alderperson Hess This is, this falls into the category of things that we are required to do on from time to time in order to meet state and federal regulations and in order to keep our flood insurance rates low for, for folks who require federally backed flood insurance.  I learned a ton through this process, and I actually was someone on the street mentioned how much they enjoyed Cassie and Alex's floodplain presentation, which doesn't happen very often with something as dry with something as dry as or potentially dry as floodplain regulations.  So, I want to thank staff for the extensive research and for demystifying a complicated subject for Council and for keeping on top of this and I'm supportive of the motion.

Mayor John Engen Thank you Mr. Hess.  Further discussion on the motion?  Seeing none, anyone in the audience care to comment?  Seeing none there, I will check in participants and seeing none there, Ms. Rehbein will have a roll call vote.

  • Moved by:Alderperson Hess

    [Second and final reading] Adopt an ordinance amending Title 18, Missoula Municipal Code, the City Floodplain Hazard Management Regulations, to incorporate revisions to Section 10.4.4 Agricultural Structures and Appendix A in response to FEMA Policy #104-008- 03 regarding Floodplain Management Requirements for Agricultural Structures and Accessory Structures and to include map revisions. See Exhibit #1 – Draft Ordinance (April 2022).

    AYES: (11)Alderperson Becerra, Alderperson Carlino, Alderperson Hess, Alderperson Jones, Alderperson Jordan, Alderperson Nugent, Alderperson Savage, Alderperson Sherrill, Alderperson Vasecka, Alderperson West, and Alderperson Anderson
    ABSENT: (1)Alderperson Contos
    Vote result: Approved (11 to 0)

9.

10.

Mayor John Engen We do have a few items under committee reports and items listed here weren't approved unanimously in Council committees and the chairperson of that, the standing committee will make a motion and we'll invite comment on each of those items.  Our first item this evening is on a, pardon me, on a Land Use Agreement with NorthWestern Energy for uses of East Caras Park and authority authorizing the Mayor to sign that agreement and that is happening in Ms. Sherrill's committee.

Alderperson Sherrill Yeah thanks.  I move that the City Council approve a Land Use Agreement with NorthWestern Energy for the use of East Caras Park and authorize the Mayor to sign that agreement.  May I speak to it?

Mayor John Engen You may.

Alderperson Sherrill You know, this is you know I know we had a little bit of discussion on this last week.  It is not necessarily in the area that we would all first choose because it is in East Caras Park, but this was found to be the best option of, that is available for this project.  We have a lot of construction going on in that area including the bridge.  I'm happy that we'll be able to do some restoration work after this is done and obviously, we just need to continue to provide electricity to everyone even though we wish it was cleaner than it is right now.  So, thank you.

Mayor John Engen Thank you Ms. Sherrill.  Ms. Sherrill's motion is in order.  Is there discussion on the motion?  Mr. Carlino.

Alderperson Carlino Yeah, I was wondering if staff would be interested in speaking into how we came up with this location at east, on the field at Caras Park as the best location?  If you could just talk us through what happened with the other possible parking lot sites?

Mayor John Engen And I don't know who might be representing staff this evening.  Mr. Selvage are you out there?

David Selvage I am Council members.  Thank you.  I believe that we have two members from Northwest Energy in participation, as well.  We have received, I, I personally am aware of about 6 different locations that were evaluated.  Northwest Energy just sent me a list of additional sites considered and rejected.  All the best locations that we collectively looked at city and Northwest Energy were declined, including the South Second or the North Second and Greenough Drive location near MRL and MBT property off the interstate.  Toole Park was looked at the, the ecology project down there at the end of Fourth Street was looked at as a private location; we also considered Jeanette Rankin.  Remember we needed two of these locations.  Ultimately, the second one was accepted by the University of Montana at their lot just east of the Madison bridge and this location was identified.  As Council member Carlino says, here we have already had given up space to MDT and they extended their lease a year in order to do the bridge repairs for the cut beams and we already were in the process of removing trees to accommodate this project here; if we were to issue the overhead easement which you just approved.  Subsequently, we requested of, of Northwest Energy that they compensate us for the full value of the park trees something on the order of $31,000.00, that would be paid up front to help re-tree this site when we're done and that Northwest Energy cover their portion of site restoration next year, which is a predicted or estimated to cost right around $105,000.00.  I would then defer to Northwest Energy if they would like to discuss other options.  We did decline to use the parking lot.  Parking Director, Ian Ortlieb, felt that with the MDT lease that was already took up a huge amount of space and we had 70 car park spaces with lease tenants that were difficult to move at best to find an alternative and so with that, we were pushed into using the park.

Mayor John Engen Thank you Mr. Selvage.  Mr. Carlino, did that satisfy your question?

Alderperson Carlino Yeah, thanks for talking through it with us.  Yeah I mean with a company like NorthWestern Energy who's got a 20-year plan to make their greenhouse gas emissions go up and build a bunch of pipelines under our rivers in Montana, I just have a hard time thinking that this is the most suitable site through Caras Park and letting them take even more like a public park for another 10 months.  So, I'm just not going to be supporting this today in hopes that we would have chosen one of those parking lot sites but I do understand that you looked pretty hard into finding other sites Mr. Selvage, so I appreciate that and, and onward.

Mayor John Engen Further discussion?  Ms. Anderson.

Alderperson Anderson Thanks so much.   Mr. Selvage, for the parking lot isn't that I know that the DOT is taking a portion of that as a part of the you know staging for the construction, isn't the other the remainder of the park also where we hold the Clark Fork Market going forward throughout the summer and into the fall?

David Selvage The Clark Fork, the Clark Fork Market moved over to the carousel area.   that's where they will be this year for the entire year and that was one of the advantages of this, is that they had all used that last year so they would remain over there and not be so constrained by the MDT area.  So, the answer is yes we look forward to their return to the East Caras site, but not until next summer.

Mayor John Engen Further discussion?  Mr. Nugent.

Alderperson Mike Nugent Thank you Mr. Mayor.  One quick question for you.  I believe in our committee meeting, you mentioned that several of the private options were declined because they couldn't give up the space for the entirety of the time.  Is that fairly accurate on those or were there other reasons?

David Selvage Yes, thank you Council member Nugent.  The, the ecology project was evaluated for an option here and they have some parking right next to Toole Park, but they had a challenge with giving up all their parking and we were looking for at an option of leasing some spaces for them on 4th Street and that became untenable to them.  I am unaware of why and perhaps that question would be better directed to NorthWest Energy staff online here, but it was attempted.

Mayor John Engen Would the folks from Northwestern care to take a shot?

[Un-named NorthWestern Energy speaker] Yeah thank you Councilman Nugent that's a great question.  We've actually had an agreement in place with them.  They just didn't have an option for alternative parking, so they wanted to keep their folks close at hand and it would have been great for us but we also, that was a private entity we wanted to be very respectful of so.

Mayor John Engen Thank you.  Mr. Nugent.

Alderperson Mike Nugent Thank you.  I will be voting in support of this second committee.  I think that when we look at our, the overall vision for what we want downtown to be, we want more growth.  We've got the library block to master plan we've got other places and we need more power.  So, whether or not individual people have issues with NorthWestern Energy, I certainly understand that, but I think that this is the right thing to do for the broader picture of Missoula.

Mayor John Engen Thank you.  Further discussion?  Ms. Jones.

Alderperson Jones I just wanted to say thanks David for all of the information regarding the different alternatives that were looked at and for NorthWestern Energy for showing up tonight and answering some questions.  This is, there's been a lot of construction going on in Ward 3 for the last few years, as things have ramped up and there's always difficulties accommodating it and shifting things around and creating a staging area, making it work.  I don't think this is any different.  This is some work that has to be done and I think it's the city's role to figure out the best way forward and be reasonable and just make it work because this is always an inconvenience, and I don't think we should conflate with this with other issues.  So, I'm happy to support it.

Mayor John Engen Any further discussion?  Seeing none, anyone in the audience care to comment?  Seeing none there and none in the webinar, we'll have a roll call vote.

  • Moved by:Alderperson Sherrill

    Approve a Land Use Agreement with NorthWestern Energy for use of East Caras Park and Authorize the Mayor to sign

    AYES: (10)Alderperson Hess, Alderperson Jones, Alderperson Jordan, Alderperson Nugent, Alderperson Savage, Alderperson Sherrill, Alderperson Vasecka, Alderperson West, Alderperson Anderson, and Alderperson Becerra
    NAYS: (1)Alderperson Carlino
    ABSENT: (1)Alderperson Contos
    Vote result: Approved (10 to 1)

Mayor John Engen Our next committee report comes from the public works committee with a sidewalk program on Eaton Street.  Ms. Becerra.

Alderperson Becerra Thank you Mayor.  I move that we approve and authorize the Mayor to approve the resolution to confirm the final ordering of the Eaton Street Phase I right-of-way improvement project.  And may I speak to that motion?

Mayor John Engen Please.

Alderperson Becerra This is a project that has been on our CIP for quite some time and in fact it ranked second on that list of projects.  It also would provide 3,106 lineal feet of new sidewalks in a neighborhood that has been very vocal about getting the infrastructure in place.  We all know the benefits of sidewalks and what it does for transportation connectivity, health, and equity, and I also want to point out that adjacent property owners have been notified through all the, the processes that we have in place and have been of the cost of this project and have been made aware of all the different options that they have to finance this project.  So, I will be voting in support of this.  Thanks.

Mayor John Engen Thanks Ms. Becerra and I think I'll ask you to make the second motion, as well.  If we're going to approve the project we're probably ought to award a bid and then we can have discussion.

Alderperson Becerra Yes, happy to.  So, I also move that we approve and award the bid for Eaton Street Phase I right away improvements project to Knife River at a cost not to exceed $1,141,208.81 and authorize the return of bid bonds.  And may I speak briefly to that motion please?

Mayor John Engen Ms. Becerra.

Alderperson Becerra This, this bid came higher than anticipated by our engineering department and this is consistent with a lot of the bid projects that we have had in the recently.  Cost has gone up for materials and labor, etc.  So, this is not, it's unfortunate but it's not surprising given what we're seeing community wide, and I would be in support of it.  Thanks.

Mayor John Engen Thank you Ms. Becerra.  With that, if folks would like to comment on either of the motions before the body, you are welcome.  Are there comments or questions from Council members.  Ms. Vasecka.

Alderperson Vasecka I forgot the, the new order of business for with the new rules because I wanted to save my comments to see if they were going to the public was going to speak to it.  Am I allowed to do my discussion after the public?

Mayor John Engen You're welcome to speak now.

Alderperson Vasecka I'll wait until I hear from the public.

Mayor John Engen Okay.  Seeing none, Ms. Jordan.

Alderperson Jordan Apologies, I'm just checking…..are we voting on these separately are they going to be voted on together?

Mayor John Engen We'll vote on them, we can vote on them separately.

Alderperson Jordan Thank you.

Mayor John Engen Yep.  Anyone in the audience care to comment on these items this evening?  Seeing none in our live audience and none among our attendees, Ms. Vasecka.

Alderperson Vasecka Okay.  Well, so I spoke about this on Wednesday, and we did have one neighbor on Eaton Street that reached out his very large frustrations.  On, on this increase in the bid for it, he was talking with his neighbors and said that a lot of the neighbors could not afford this and did not want the sidewalks so it would be at this cost and also it's mentioned that maybe if we could postpone this until construction costs go down, just put it, put it down the road for a little later date, and I agree with that.  I might vote for it in the future because I do, I do really like sidewalks you know they are they are very necessary, and they are needed at some point but not at the homeowner's financial detriment.  So, I will not be supporting this today.

Mayor John Engen Further discussion? Mr. Nugent.

Alderperson Mike Nugent Thank you Mr. Mayor.  I was hoping that I could have Mr. Sipe answer a question.

Mayor John Engen I'm sorry….

Alderperson Mike Nugent Monte….Can I ask Monte a question?

Mayor John Engen You may.

Alderperson Mike Nugent All right.  I guess I have two questions.  One, do we know if the, the public comment we talked about last Wednesday that jump to $9,000.00 is a single family residence or a multi-family residence?

Mayor John Engen Mr. Sipe.

Monte Sipe It is a single family residence.

Alderperson Mike Nugent Okay and is $9,000.00 the max out of pocket for a single family?

Monte Sipe Yeah that is correct, for one and two family with our recent revision that was done in 2020 that's our latest funding model where we did put a cap on one and two family dwelling at $9,000.00.

Alderperson Mike Nugent And they can finance that $9,000.00 over 20 years?

Monte Sipe Yeah they have the option of an 8, 12, or 20 year term.  We also have some deferral options that are open up to a single family residential.  We have a low income deferral program for owner-occupied single family and also a high assessment deferral, which so they would assess up to $6,000.00 and the remaining principle, they would defer until the time of the sale of the home.

Alderperson Mike Nugent All right, thank you very much.

Mayor John Engen Further discussion?  Mr. Carlino.

Alderperson Carlino I had a question for Monte as well.  I was wondering when people want to pay it off over like a 20-year period for example what the interest rate is and how that and does that affect people's credit?

Monte Sipe I don't know about the credit question.  Yeah, so we, we sell municipal bonds to finance these assessments and so we don't know the interest rate until the time of the bond sale but since my time with the city, which is a little bit under 20 years those rates have averaged between 4.5% and 5.5%, and those are a simple interest loan.  So, when they do assess, they, they come on your tax statement, so they make biannual payments and so they're paying down principal each, twice each year and so the interest is only truly not a remaining principle, unlike a home loan where they pull a lot of that out of the front end.

Mayor John Engen Further discussion?  Ms. Jordan.

Alderperson Jordan May I ask Monte a question?

Mayor John Engen Sure.

Alderperson Jordan Thank you.  Monte, I'm wondering…. I think…. I had a hard time hearing you.  Are you saying that these assessments are just added to their property taxes, and they're lumped into the, their payments or I'm sorry I misheard you?

Monte Sipe It shows up on your tax statement.  It yeah…. So, there is a breakdown of a lot of different costs and taxes and so it's identified as an SID on their taxes…. so yeah.  So, we would sell municipal bonds, we finance it, it typically would come on the tax rolls the following year in November and that would show up on their tax statement biannually.

Alderperson Jordan Okay.  Thank you.

Mayor John Engen Any additional discussion?  All right, seeing none, Ms. Rehbein will take the first item first please.

Marty Rehbein I was just going to add in a reference to Mr. Carlino's question about credit rating.  Because this is a tax assessment and it is not a loan, it does not generally affect someone's credit rating and of course unless they don't pay taxes but in terms of being part of your Experian or credit report, these assessments are not that.

  • Moved by:Alderperson Becerra

    Approve and authorize the Mayor to approve the resolution to confirm the final ordering of Eaton St. Ph. I right-of-way improvements project

    AYES: (8)Alderperson Anderson, Alderperson Becerra, Alderperson Hess, Alderperson Jones, Alderperson West, Alderperson Sherrill, Alderperson Savage, and Alderperson Nugent
    NAYS: (3)Alderperson Vasecka, Alderperson Carlino, and Alderperson Jordan
    ABSENT: (1)Alderperson Contos
    Vote result: Approved (8 to 3)
  • Moved by:Alderperson Becerra

    Award the bid for Eaton Street Phase 1 right-of-way improvements project to Knife River at a cost not to exceed $1,141,208.81 and authorize the return of bid bonds.

    AYES: (11)Alderperson Jones, Alderperson Jordan, Alderperson Nugent, Alderperson Savage, Alderperson Sherrill, Alderperson Vasecka, Alderperson West, Alderperson Anderson, Alderperson Becerra, Alderperson Carlino, and Alderperson Hess
    ABSENT: (1)Alderperson Contos
    Vote result: Approved (11 to 0)

11.

12.

Mayor John Engen We'll begin general comments from Council members with Ms. Jordan.

Alderperson Jordan Pass.

Mayor John Engen Ms. Vasecka.

Alderperson Vasecka Thanks.  I just wanted to quickly say thank you to all the community members and local officials that helped with the Reserve Street Riverside Cleanup where those homeless camps were.  Kristen and I were able to go down for a couple of hours and oh my goodness it was a lot of work and I'm just very impressed on, on all the hard work that everybody did for it and I'm very impressed at what the site looks like now.  So, a huge, huge thank you for everyone that did that.

Mayor John Engen Ms. Anderson.

Alderperson Anderson Thanks so much.  It's lovely to see you in person Mr. Mayor.  I'm glad you're able to join us.  I just want to quickly acknowledge the, the shooting in Buffalo over the weekend and just say that my you know, as feeble as it sounds, is my thoughts and prayers are with that community and, and the tragedy that they are recovering from.  You know, people were out doing the most basic thing hunting and gathering in in what now it today is in the grocery store and they ranged in age from 32 to 86 years old and I there's no there's no reason and there's no sense to be made of what happened and I think that as we and elected officials and people with an opportunity for a platform and a microphone really need to take a moment and think about how we may or may not be contributing to the dialogue that seems to be very prevalent in our country right now.  There is divisiveness and othering, and you know the what makes America amazing is all the you know cornucopia of people and experiences and life that we all bring and all of our uniqueness is what makes us better and I think that there is entirely too much now focused on if they don't look like me or they don't worship like me or they don't love like me then they're other.  And I think that we at this body and, and those who have the opportunity need to do better to try to highlight the strength and the beauty that is our unique individual skills and our life experiences and not contribute to you know othering or you know and, and lift up and embrace what makes us different and unique and, and try to stand up to hate whenever we can in big and small ways because it does take all of us to do so.  And I hope that this period of divisiveness and gun violence and, and hardship in our country is short-lived but it does seem to be very prevalent and I'm committed to doing what I can and I know the rest of us around table are as well but it just it does seem to be that this is a growing trend and it is something that is tearing our country apart instead of bringing us together and I want to look for opportunities to bring us together.  So, thank you.

Mayor John Engen Ms. Sherrill.

Alderperson Sherrill Thanks.  I just wanted to thank the Missoula Economic Partnership for the presentation this past week and remind everyone that they are doing their I can't remember the name of it but it's a Missoula economic partnership summit something summit.  Anyway, that's Thursday and Friday this week and in a very timely manner their topics are housing and childcare.  So, I, I guess when I first started to understand what economic development was I would not have put housing and childcare in that but I think it is really a show of the times that that is what their entire conference is basically on and anyone that's interested I and this body included I would suggest you attend if you have time this week because it's in Missoula.  Thanks.

Mayor John Engen Mr. Nugent.

Alderperson Mike Nugent My Wardmate and I did not plan our comments but mine dovetails right into that.  I've had an opportunity the last couple weeks to have really good conversations about housing with several people in the community doing good work on the topic and I think that one thing that I think maybe some people don't realize is the percentage of home ownership in Missoula is starkly different than both the national and the state levels.  According to the last census, the national homeownership rate is 64.8%, the Montana rate is 68.5%, and the Missoula rate is 47.4%.  And you know, any economic study you look at says that the opportunity for home ownership is the single best opportunity for most individuals to build any wealth or any nest egg or any ability to protect themselves if something major goes wrong.  And I think that you know as we're having these conversations, I know people might get sick of me bringing this up but that's something that we just have to keep in mind.  We need to do more to create homeownership opportunities.

Mayor John Engen Ms. Jones.

Alderperson Joes Thank you.  I just wanted to briefly give a shout out to all of the graduates from the University of Montana this last weekend.  It was a big graduation weekend.  I think we always have been a university town and we always will be, and I love living in the university town.  I love the University of Montana and thanks to all the graduates who worked so hard for so many years to earn their degrees.  Way to go.

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Mayor John Engen Ms. Becerra.

Alderperson Becerra Thank you.  I too want to bring attention to the tragedy that happened in Buffalo, New York.  Buffalo is my alma mater and I lived in buffalo for four years and I'm familiar with the neighborhood.  Hate crimes like that should really make us all re-examine who we are and what we want this country to be.  And Buffalo is known as the City of Good Neighbors and I am sure that they will rally together and get through this, but certainly my heart goes out to everyone in Buffalo who had to live through this horrific experience.  On a lighter note, you read a proclamation today about pollinators and in my household we are exercising no mow May.  My husband would like to push it and say it's no mow June, July, and August in the name of pollinators.  So, I appreciate that proclamation.  Thanks.

Mayor John Engen Mr. Hess.

Alderperson Hess I'll pass thanks.

Mayor John Engen Ms. Savage.

Alderperson Savage I'll pass as well.

Mayor John Engen And Ms. West.

Alderperson West Pass.

15.

Mayor John Engen And with that, as always I thank you for your service we will be adjourned.

The meeting adjourned at 6:48 p.m.

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