City of Towsend

Council Meeting Minutes

December 17, 2024

Call to Order:  Mayor Rauser called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. In attendance are

Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all in attendance.

Public Hearing:  Mayor Rauser opened the Public Hearing.  Engineer Jeremy Fadness from WWC Engineering spoke on this and stated there is a schedule change request to extend the preliminary plat approval for Phase 1 until December 2028 and Phase 2 until December 2030.  Jeremy stated that he doesn’t see any issues with this request for the subdivision.  Phase 3 will remain unchanged, which is December 2032.  Mayor Rauser asked for questions or comments from the council.  JB asked Eric if there was anything structurally the City was obligated to complete between 2022-20224, that now is being pushed out to 2026-2028.  Eric stated no, the applicant from Copper Springs will be taking care of all of that.                                                                                                                                                                                               Public Comment:  Mayor Rauser asked for public comment or questions.  Seeing none, the public hearing was closed. 

Copper Springs Subdivision Phasing Schedule Discussion & Decision:  Mayor Rauser asked for council questions or comments.  JB state that he has a minor concern about the impact on a significant population increase that was scheduled over ten years will now be scheduled in only four years.  It will have an impact on the schools and he’s wondering if they’re aware of this.  Angie stated that she thinks in the subdivision application process, they were obligated to have an impact study which would have been provided to the school.  Jeremy stated that the school is not part of that because of State Subdivision Laws.  The study analyzes the impact on the school; however, they cannot deny a subdivision based on that impact.  Impacts on the streets are addressed and they are required to provide PER’s and mitigation for the impacts to the streets.  Jeremy stated these conditions are not changing with the schedule change.  Vivian asked how many units will be in Phase I.  The answer is twelve.  JB asked what the average home price will be since when this all started, the prices have changed.   Megan from Copper Springs stated that she wished she could answer that question, but it’s impossible to guess what prices will be in a few years.  Mayor Rauser stated that the question she has for the council is whether or not to approve the extension, and what are the ramifications if you council denies the extension?  Jeremy Fadness stated that would mean they cannot finalize their fund, Phase I final plot.  And that would mean their subdivision is not approved anymore because they have not completed their first phase by the end of this year, and they would have to re-submit their subdivision application and start the whole process over.  JB stated he’s not that concerned about denying the application, but why it hasn’t been moved out a little further, especially for that third phase.  He asked if there was option to move the third phase out by two years?  Jeremy stated that would be up to Megan with Copper Springs.  She stated that she’d be okay with adding two years to the third phase.  Mayor Rauser asked if there was any reason why she didn’t request an extension on the third phase?  She stated that the current extension request is what their engineer recommended to do.  Doug stated that with all of the growth we’ve seen in Townsend, is there a reason we’d extend the growth here out another two years with this being the only plan/subdivision to accommodate the additional people?  He asked if there’s any way we could expedite the process rather than delay it.  Jeremy stated that the developer is in the driver’s seat.  The reason they’re requesting to extend Phase 1 and 2 are due to the rise in infrastructure and building material prices.  Mayor Rauser asked the council for a motion to approve or deny the extension.  JB made a motion to approve the extension as presented, keeping in mind an extension on Phase 3 may be presented at a later date.  Angie seconded the motion. All voted in favor, motion carried. 

Public Comment:  Al Christopherson from the BCDC Trails Committee spoke.  He stated that about a year ago, he presented a plan for trails within Broadwater  County.  He said that all of that has changed now.  He’s wondering if they can use the water pipeline that leads out to the new water tank as an avenue to build a trail.  The fairgrounds master plan included a pedestrian trail for walking and biking, and then an equestrian gravel trail next to it.  The master plan shows that the trail go from the fairgrounds to Harrison Avenue.  He stated that the digging for the water line will already be taking place, so he’s asking if they can cap that with the road mix gravel surface and asphalt that, will that water line be suitable for that trail.  He stated he doesn’t know if there’s an issue with putting the trail on top of the water line.  He suspects the water line will be deep enough and compacted so that it shouldn’t be a problem.  The price from the 2020 master plan was $377,500, however, he stated that if we can work together and use the excavation contractors and lay that gravel mix down, that may be a savings.  He stated he’s available to come back for more discussions on this.  Several questions from the council were asked.  Nate asked how much fill they may need to get that area level?  Mr. Christopherson stated that they’d follow the water line, and the price from 2020 reflects some fill.  JB stated that he doesn’t see how we can be involved unless he’s asking the City of Townsend to write a letter of recommendation to the engineering firm to work with the trails committee.  He stated engineering contracts can be modified if we have grant money to do so.  He hopes to work with the City of Townsend on applying for various grants.  Jeremy Fadness from WWC Engineering stated that there is a TA Program (Transportation Alternatives) through Montana Department of Transportation.  MDT administers the project if grant funds are awarded, as well as design and build it.  Mayor Rauser asked for any public comment, and there wasn’t any. 

Minutes from 12.3.2024:  Angie made a motion to approve the minutes from December 3^rd’ meeting.  JB seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried. 

WWC Proposal for a Comprehensive Affordable Housing Study:  Jeremy Fadness from WWC Engineering spoke on this.  He stated that he has a lot of experience working on growth policies and has the City of Townsend’s Growth Policy almost complete.  He stated that he’ll be able to easily incorporate a housing study into the Growth Policy.  JB stated that we applied for two grants.  The first one was “given a proposed design for a chunk of affordable housing, what would be the impact of the City.”  That one was awarded.  The second one was “Let’s do a comprehensive study of the City and find out what our inventory is.”  JB said that the proposal from WWC is geared towards the second grant application that was not awarded.  Jeremy stated that he followed the “Request for Proposal.”  JB said that there may be a disconnect, and we’ll need to reach out with the Department of Commerce to find out if we can realign the grant and proposal.  Mayor Rauser stated that that this will delay taking action on the proposal until January.  Jeremy stated that he is okay with that.  Jeremy said that he could do a high-level, comprehensive housing study based on population and inventory need, vs a low-level housing inventory.  JB asked what is the difference between the high-level inventory within the growth policy  and low-level inventory?  Jeremy stated the high level contains more detail on housing availability, housing markets, real estate values, prices and where our specific needs fall. 

Contract Agreement for work in BNSF Railroad Right of Way:  Mayor Rauser stated that this impacts the Townsend Water System.  It’s a legal contract that basically states do not do any damage to the railroad. The fee for a twenty-five-year agreement with BNSF is $13,400. Peter was concerned about the fact that there is no renewal period, it’s a straight twenty-five-year term.  The other option that is available is a perpetual agreement that is $26,800.  Either way, the fee can be paid from the project fund.  JB asked if we’ve ever had to decommission a well.  Mayor Rauser stated that no, not since the three wells that we currently have were installed.  JB stated from a practical standpoint, he thinks it would be wise to get the perpetual agreement.   JB made a motion to sign a perpetual lease agreement with BNSF for continued access to that well.  Angie seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried.

Open Council Seat (Status Update):  Mayor Rauser stated that we did not receive any letters of interest for the open council position in Ward I.   Mayor Rauser reached out to Peter, and he stated that as long as we are actively making an effort to fill the position, that the City is okay.    

Legal Counsel (Status Update):  The Request for Proposal for the Legal Counsel position closes Friday, December 20^th at 1:00 p.m.  To date, we’ve received one proposal. 

ACO/Compliance Officer (Status Update):  Mayor Rauser stated that Georgia has accepted a full-time position with another organization, so her last day will be December 27^th.  The job opening will be advertised soon.  In the intervening time, Eric agreed to cover the most critical pieces of that position. 

Townsend Water System:  Mayor Rauser stated that we had a pre-construction meeting with CK May and they will be starting work on January 13^th and begin their mobilization the week of January 6^th.  Nate asked if they’d be starting in town or out at the site.  Eric stated that they are starting in town and working on hydrants as long as the weather is at least 10 degrees above 0. 

Events Committee/Ordinance-meeting the week on January 13^th at 2:00.

Fireworks Committee/Ordinance-a meeting will take place sometime in January .

Broadwater County Hazard Mitigation Plan-Mayor Rauser stated she read the annex B that refers back to the document.  There are hazards that are identified that has the City as being a responsible party to provide mitigation.  Mayor Rauser is questioning why no one has contacted the City.  Right now, it  looks as if we need to sign on with the county and become active participants in that document that has been described as a living document.  Otherwise, the City would need to create its own plan and that is costly. 

Garage Door Estimate for City Hall Shop:  Mayor Rauser stated the garage door does not close properly.  Despite reaching out to several garage door businesses, Eric has only received one estimate for $4699.  This price will be to replace the whole door.  Currently the door does not close all of the way, and there has been problems with opening and closing the door.  The quote is from Door Systems of Montana.  Angie made a motion to accept the bid of $4699 for the garage door.  Vivian seconded the motion.  A question was asked as to what fund this will come out of.  Eric stated that he has several different pieces of equipment in the shop, so the price will come out of several different funds.  All in favor, motion carried. 

Round Table Discussion: 

Mayor Rauser reminded the council that she will be out of town from December 29^th-January 3^rd, so if there is anything that needs to be addressed to contact Angie, who is council president.  She also stated that the snow removal agreement is a perpetual agreement, which states if we have eighteen inches or more of snow, the county will remove snow from city streets.

The use of the gas tax money pertains to streets and alleys, as Vivian had asked if that money could be used for sidewalks. 

Public Works:  Eric stated that Chris Fisher is going to be the representative from RPA as the inspector for everything. He previously mentioned that the county’s old plow is coming up for sale, but he realized that there is no place to store it.  

Nate:  In reference to the snow removal, he asked,” how do we change the eighteen inches in that agreement?”

JB:  The League of Cities and Towns recommends that we assign an individual to represent the City at State Legislative Sessions if necessary, so he’d like to put this on the agenda for the next meeting. 

Vivian:  She’s talked to Eric and discussed where to place dog waste stations.  She would like to visit with locals about sponsoring these at local parks.  This will be placed on the next agenda.

Fire Department:  Shawn Simon stated that he wants to be put on the agenda regarding their insurance and worker’s compensation.  He stated that right now it states they only receive $83 per month per person.  He stated that Ed looked into a supplemental insurance that would pay in the case of lost wages.  He also asked about liability insurance on the fire trucks.  Mayor Rauser stated that there are so many kinds of insurance, so appreciates the heads up on discussing this at one of the next meetings.   

Adjourn:  Nate made a motion to adjourn the meeting.  JB seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried.  Happy Holidays to all!! 

Next Meeting:  January 7^th at 6:30 p.m.