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Home My WebLink AboutCity Council Packet 09.27.2022 AGENDA CITY OF LAUREL CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2022 6:30 PM COUNCIL CHAMBERS NEXT RES. NO. R22-64 NEXT ORD. NO. O22-04 WELCOME . . . By your presence in the City Council Chambers, you are participating in the process of representative government. To encourage that participation, the City Council has specified times for citizen comments on its agenda -- once following the Consent Agenda, at which time citizens may address the Council concerning any brief community announcement not to exceed one minute in duration for any speaker; and again following Items Removed from the Consent Agenda, at which time citizens may address the Council on any matter of City business that is not on tonight’s agenda. Each speaker will be limited to three minutes, unless the time limit is extended by the Mayor with the consent of the Council. Citizens may also comment on any item removed from the consent agenda prior to council action, with each speaker limited to three minutes, unless the time limit is extended by the Mayor with the consent of the Council. If a citizen would like to comment on an age nda item, we ask that you wait until the agenda item is presented to the Council by the Mayor and the public is asked to comment by the Mayor. Once again, each speaker is limited to three minutes. Any person who has any question concerning any agenda item may call the City Clerk -Treasurer's office to make an inquiry concerning the nature of the item described on the agenda. Your City government welcomes your interest and hopes you will attend the Laurel City Council meetings often . Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call of the Council Approval of Minutes 1. Approval of Minutes of August 23, 2022. 2. Approval of Minutes of Special City Council Meeting of September 6, 2022. 3. Approval of Minutes of September 13, 2022. Correspondence 4. Beartooth RC&D September Correspondence Council Disclosure of Ex Parte Communications Public Hearing 5. Public Hearing: An Ordinance Amending Section 2.20.010 Of The Laurel Municipal Code Relating To The City Court Clerk For The City Of Laurel 6. Public Hearing: An Ordinance Amending Chapter 1.01 (Code Adoption) Of The Laurel Municipal Code Relating To The General Provisions Consent Items NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC The Consent Calendar adopting the printed Recommended Council Action will be enacted with one vote. The Mayor will first ask the Council members if any Council member wishes to remove any item from the Consent Calendar for discussion and consideration. The matters removed from the Consent Calendar will be considered individually at the end of this Agenda under "Items Removed from the Consent Calendar." (See Section 12.) The entire Consent Calendar, with the exception of items removed to be discussed under "Items Removed from the Consent Calendar," is then voted upon by roll call under one motion. 7. Claims entered through September 23, 2022. 8. Approval of Payroll Register for PPE 9/4/2022 totaling $216,114.43. 9. Approval of Payroll Register for Retro Pay totaling $4,632.18. 10. Approval of Payroll Register for PPE 9/18/2022 totaling $210,834.16. . Ceremonial Calendar 1 Reports of Boards and Commissions 11. Budget/Finance Committee Minutes of September 13, 2022. 12. Public Works Committee Minutes of August 15, 2022. 13. Emergency Services Committee Minutes August 22, 2022. 14. Library Board Minutes of July 12, 2022. 15. Library Board Minutes of August 9, 2022. Audience Participation (Three-Minute Limit) Citizens may address the Council regarding any item of City business that is not on tonight’s agenda. Comments regarding tonight’s agenda items will be accepted under Scheduled Matters. The duration for an individual speaking under Audience Participation is limited to three minutes. While all comments are welcome, the Council will not take action on any item not on the agenda. Scheduled Matters 16. Motion to allow Council Member Sparks to be absent from the City of Laurel for more than ten days. (LMC 2.12.060) 17. Appointment of Gabriel Seibert to the Laurel Police Department. 18. Resolution No. R22-64: A Resolution Of The City Council Authorizing The Addition Of City Of Laurel Deputy Clerk/Treasurer Amber Hatton To All City Accounts. 19. Ordinance No. O22-04: An Ordinance Amending Section 2.20.010 Of The Laurel Municipal Code Relating To The City Court Clerk For The City Of Laurel 20. Ordinance No. O22-05: An Ordinance Amending Chapter 1.01 (Code Adoption) Of The Laurel Municipal Code Relating To The General Provisions Items Removed From the Consent Agenda Community Announcements (One-Minute Limit) This portion of the meeting is to provide an opportunity for citizens to address the Council regarding community announcements. The duration for an individual speaking under Community Announcements is limited to one minute. While all comments are welcome, the Council will not take action on any item not on the agenda. Council Discussion Council members may give the City Council a brief report regarding committees or groups in which they are involved. Mayor Updates Unscheduled Matters Adjournment The City makes reasonable accommodations for any known disability that may interfere with a pe rson’s ability to participate in this meeting. Persons needing accommodation must notify the City Clerk’s Office to make needed arrangements. To make your request known, please call 406 -628-7431, Ext. 2, or write to City Clerk, PO Box 10, Laurel, MT 59044, or present your request at City Hall, 115 West First Street, Laurel, Montana. DATES TO REMEMBER 2 File Attachments for Item: 1. Approval of Minutes of August 23, 2022. 3 4 5 6 File Attachments for Item: 2. Approval of Minutes of Special City Council Meeting of September 6, 2022. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 File Attachments for Item: 3. Approval of Minutes of September 13, 2022. 25 26 27 28 29 30 File Attachments for Item: 4. Beartooth RC&D September Correspondence 31 Beartooth RC&D Area, Inc. Board of Director’s Meeting Agenda Meeting 1:00 P.M. Thursday, September 15th, 2022 Roosevelt Center Conference Room, Red Lodge, MT 1:00 pm 2:30 PM Meeting Called to Order Pledge of Allegiance, Introduction of Members and Guests Review July Board Minutes Congressional Updates Josiah Porcel (Sen. Tester) Tory Kolkhorst (Sen. Daines) Emily Schneller (Rep. Rosendale) Treasurer/Financial Reports 1. Treasurer Update 2. RC&D Financials 3. RLF Financials USDA RMAP CEDS Resolution Staff Reports – Program/Project updates 1. Food/Ag Program – Joel Bertolino 2. Revolving Loan Fund – Nan Knight 3. Economic Development/ CRDC – Jacy Head 4. Operations Support- Myrna Lastusky Regional Roundup – News and updates from regional members on projects and activities in key CEDS categories…. (see topics on next page) Optional Tour of the Old Red Lodge Pea Cannery Building Next Beartooth RC&D Area, Inc. Board of Directors Meeting November 17th, 2022 Big Timber, MT Adjourn Chair Chair, All Chair, All Knight Head, Lastusky Bertolino Knight Head Lastusky Roe et al Action Information Information Action Action Action Information Information Information Information Information Information Information 32 Page 2 Regional Roundup CEDS SWOT Our goals for the Roundup are to find out what’s happening in the area, keep the conversations focused, inform the others attending the meeting, and to tie it all back to and reinforce the importance of the CEDS. Please help us identify the projects in their area that fit into our CEDS categories:  Infrastructure  Housing  Transportation  Broadband  Economy  Upturns or downturns in industry sectors  New business openings (or closures)  Communication  Marketing and outreach  Services  Health care  Natural Resources  Agriculture  Energy  Human Capital  Workforce  Education NOTES: ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 33 Page 3 Beartooth RC&D Area, Inc. Board of Director’s Meeting MINUTES July 21, 2022 1:00 pm 2:30 PM Meeting Called to Order Pledge of Allegiance, Introduction of Members and Guests Lunch Review March Board Minutes Congressional Updates Josiah Porcel (Sen. Tester) Tory Kolkhorst (Sen. Daines) Cade Overstreet (Rep. Rosendale) Treasurer/Financial Reports 4. Treasurer Update 5. RC&D Financials 6. RLF Financials Staff Compensation Beartooth Holiday Schedule CEDS UPDATE USDA Signature Staff Reports – Program/Project updates 5. Food/Ag Program – Joel Bertolino 6. Revolving Loan Fund – Nan Knight 7. Economic Development/ CRDC – Jacy Head 8. Operations Support- Myrna Lastusky Regional Roundup – News and updates from regional members on projects and activities in key CEDS categories…. (see topics on next page) Next Beartooth RC&D Area, Inc. Board of Directors Meeting September 15th, 2022 Red Lodge, MT Adjourn Chair Chair, All Chair, All Van Ballegooyen Bertolino Head, Lastusky Head Bertolino Knight Head Lastusky Roe et al Action Information Information Action Action Information Action Information Action Information Information Information Information Information Information 34 Page 4 Beartooth RC&D Board Meeting Minutes July 21, 2022 – 12:30 pm Beartooth RC&D Members Present: Ryan Van Ballegooyen, Billings Job Service Joel Bertolino, BRCD Nan Knight, BRCD Jacy Head, BRCD Myrna Lastusky, BRCD Holly Higgins, First Interstate Bank of Hardin Tina Toyne, Big Horn County EDD Danny Choriki, Billings City Council Lorene Hintz, SBDC Kayla Vokral, SBDC Jacob Cote (rep. Brent Moore), City of Red Lodge Dan Lowe, Big Horn County Conservation District Denis Pitman (rep. Don Jones), Yellowstone County Martin DeWitt, SBA Emily Schneller, Rep. Rosendale Tory Kolkhorst, Sen. Daines Bonnie Gray, Town of Joliet Barb Wagner, Yellowstone Conservation District Randy Weimer, Sibanye-Stillwater Mine Josiah Porcel, Sen. Tester Meeting Called to Order: Board Chairman Ryan Van Ballegooyen Pledge of Allegiance, Introduction of Members and Guests Review May Board Minutes (Action): Dan Lowe motioned to approve the minutes. Barb Wagner seconded. Motion carried. Congressional Updates:  Josiah Porcel, Sen. Tester: o Helping with FEMA response, deploying additional ARPA funds. o Chairman of Senate Veterans Affairs Committee – hopefully president will sign bill next week. o Working on meat-packing consolidation bills, too.  Tory Kolkhorst, Sen. Daines o Sen. Daines is involved in flood-response including conducting informational sessions in the counties impacted. o Just had 3 bills pass Senate today on Forestry.  Emily Schneller, Rep Rosendale o Emily is the new rep replacing Cade. o Working on flood-relief. Stillwater County is struggling more than many – houses at risk of going in river, etc. o Working on some Veterans issues, healthcare, conservation, and energy production. 35 Page 5 Treasurer/Financial Reports (Nan Knight) 1. Treasurer Update – p. 15 • 16 loans: 2 in Big Horn County, 1 in Stillwater, 8 in Yellowstone, 2 in Carbon, 2 in Sweet Grass = $1.2 million • EDA finally de-federalized our EDA fund – a long time coming. • Danny asked what this means: We need to report on EDA RLF funds. Once the loan money is paid back, it has revolved and is eligible to be de-federalized. We just did this, and now we have more options on how to use those funds. EDA signed off on it, Ryan signed the paperwork, and we are de-federalized. • That funding was originally received in the mid-90s and have been reporting on it for almost 30 years. • Ryan said it was originally specific to Fromberg area and could only be loaned out there, so this has made it more flexible. For example, we can now loan to a restaurant that also has a bar or a slot machine in it (this wasn’t possible before). • Nan will go into more detail later on the RLF fund. • Account balances to lend are getting low • Looking into some new funding sources to continue lending • Just closed on two more Yellowstone County loans not included in the 16 • Dan asked if all the loans were healthy & active • Nan said there is one inactive one she is working to get written off. That is the only one, which is great. She has worked hard since starting to get a few paid off (2 paid off in the last few months). At the moment, every active account is paid. • Martin added that the de-federalized money can now be matched to attract other federal dollars (since you can’t match federal with federal). • Dan said the Revolving Loan Fund is a great success story for BRCD. 2. P. 16 – Budget • Where we budgeted to be right now vs where we are right now. Shows negative at the moment, but that is due to CARES Act money that went in last year. 3. RC&D Financials (Action) – see above and p. 16. 4. RLF Financials (Action) • Motion to approve both financials – Holly motioned, Dan seconded, motion carried. Staff Compensation (Ryan)  It’s been awhile since staff have had raises.  Joel: Myrna came on as admin asst but her role has grown since. So we decided to raise Jacy, Nan and Myrna all $2/hour. o Dan asked if $2 is enough. Joel said he feels it is a fair raise. o No motion needed. Executive Committee authorized it, and just wanted to give Board opportunity to give voice.  Beartooth Holiday Schedule (Joel) - ACTION o We follow federal holiday schedule for everything else. Asking if we should add Juneteenth in the future to match the federal schedule. We were affiliated with USDA and NRCS up until 2010, which is why we follow the federal schedule. o Dan motioned that the board adopt the schedule to follow state and federal holidays. Lorene seconded, motion carried. CEDS UPDATE (Jacy Head)  CEDS handout to give overview for everyone (see end of these Minutes for the handout). 36 Page 6  We are an economic development district, so every 5 years we need to create a CEDS document. It’s a plan for regional economic development. It’s a very valuable document and probably under-utilized. The process for creating it is a CEDS Committee from regional members as well as other partners. Tried to have a broad group to get a lot of good input.  Resiliency can be ribboned through the document or have as a separate section. We are trying to include resiliency throughout the CEDS.  Jacy walked through the 5 main parts of the CEDS with a brief overview on each: o Vision Statement o Summary Background – demographics of our region, including:  Environment  Transportation  Industry sectors  Ag  Mining and Energy  Healthcare and Social Services  Construction and Manufacturing  Tourism  Economic factors  Additional factors  Housing  Broadband  Childcare  Natural disasters o SWOT Analysis o Goal areas (in order of priority)  Workforce Development  Infrastructure Development  Economic Growth & Resiliency – including Steady-state initiatives and Responsive initiatives. EDA wants to see these sort of actions to increase resiliency in our region.  Business Development and Entrepreneurship  Quality of Life  Policy-Leadership-Capacity o Evaluation Framework – checks and balances for BRCD o Resiliency piece is ribboned through the document and will highlight strategies that pinpoint resiliency. o Dan asked if there were any things we decided were no longer needed in the CEDS from past ones?  Jacy said yes, there were a few things that weren’t as necessary. Some things didn’t fit with EDA’s priorities. o Dan: Anything that needs extra help?  Jacy said EDA is accentuating environmentally-sustainable development.  Dan said it looks like we’ve done a very comprehensive effort on goals moving forward. USDA Signature (Jacy) - ACTION  Working on RCDI grant for Big Horn County and have many documents to sign. So far Joel has had to sign all that paperwork.  Asking board to approve that Jacy be able to sign paperwork for the grant, so she doesn’t have to hunt down Joel every time.  Holly Higgins motioned to allow Jacy to sign the paperwork, Danny seconded, motion carried. 37 Page 7 Staff Reports – Program/Project updates Food/Ag Program – Joel Bertolino  Brief overview of projects. Working primarily on outreach. o Visited New England Chowder Co again o Visited Swanky Roots with Kayla and Lorene o Wilcoxson’s – get all products from Gallatin Valley. They say the real show is in their Livingston facility, but it was neat to see the Billings one, too. o Hoping to visit Primitive Meats in the fall – they are too busy right now. o Hoping to visit Cory – Mushroom project  Getting numerous calls on GTA (Growth Through Ag) grants o GTA hasn’t updated website yet  FADC originated in 2003. The goal was to capture more dollars in state to add value to our commodities. Funding was from a federal source, went through MSU, then to 4 centers that received funding. Expired after 3 years and the new governor applied for a new grant. Called them Bioproduct Innovation Centers. When that expired, went to State and got temporary funding through state legislature for a couple cycles. Expanded to 6 centers, then 8, and now last cycle one more was added for a current total of 9. o Great program. Need stable source to fund them equitably or not. o Focus: provide technical assistance and funding to startup, value-added businesses and growing existing businesses. o Value-added: anytime you add value to a commodity, it can be considered value-added. o Ryan: MT is great at value-added. Food security is an important current/future topic, between Russia/Ukraine food battles. Increasing our food security is important, and anything that can support that is a positive. Please take that back to our legislators. Lots of work to be done, but the budget goes down and we could use more personnel.  Tory: We were chatting with Lorianne Burhop of Montana Food Bank Network. Our office is looking at ways to promote food security.  Ryan: Instead of saying there is the right amount of money going around, they fight each other over it. A couple million dollars would go a long way in Montana.  Josiah: China is a big piece of the food security issue, too.  Danny: Just the fact of what our climate is, our food systems are insecure. Montana (and much of the US) is unable to grow many crops.  Ryan: Fires, flooding, other natural disasters come into play. Pandemics – there is food but no one to get it around the country. That’s why FADCs are so important.  Jacy: Meat-processing improvements are one of our CEDS responsive measures. Montana increased local meat-processing by 50% since 2020. Revolving Loan Fund – Nan Knight o RLF provides financial assistance to businesses.  Started in mid-90s with EDA funds. Then BRCD got a Montana Board of Investments loan and matched it with a USDA loan and began a loan from them ($1 million total) = IRP funds  CDBG (Community Development Block Grant): applied for loans through State, and we would manage them in our area. Program no longer exists like it was originally set up. o Nan can work directly with a business or indirectly. 1st question is “Have you gone to a lender?” Must be denied by a bank in order to loan to someone. We work with banks, not against them. We require 10% down and we can assist the bank at any other percentage. 38 Page 8 o Many times loans are for buildings or equipment to start a business or renovate. o If we are primary on the loan: We have an RLF committee with great experience and knowledge. o We don’t have guidelines that typical banks have. We can be more flexible with their credit. Covid hurt a lot of people’s financials. It’s exciting to help people who couldn’t otherwise get loans. o Nan is working very hard to find more funding for the RLF to keep helping businesses. o Beartooth books – the other part of Nan’s job  Sometimes counties run funds through BRCD – this helps them because they don’t have to cut checks, do the reporting, etc. Economic Development/ CRDC – Jacy Head o 2 designations  State-designated CRDC (Certified Regional Development Corporation): Jacy is the facilitator for our region. Local strategic planning, developing economies, fostering collaboration.  To maintain our designation: complete quarterly reports in order to withdraw our annual assistance (a little over $70,000/year for CRDC)  Economic Development District (federally-designated): Regional economic development. Helps leverage collaborative funds from public, private, tribal sectors.  Maintain: Report semi-annually (about $70,000/year)  Both provide value to our region. Majority of projects are business planning and community development.  Wear a lot of hats, including housing, and many different pieces of the economic development puzzle. Operations Support - Myrna Lastusky o Here to support the 3 directors, who all do great work and have a lot on their plates. Much of her role involves helping with reporting, proofreading/editing, and communication. o After the previous Economic Development Director left, we had a couple months’ gap before Jacy joined the team, and Myrna took over most of the EDA CARES Act responsibilities and has continued to report on that (that funding ended as of June 30th and reporting will be complete by the end of October). o Was hired primarily to assist the Economic Development Director, and most of work is supporting Jacy because it is such a broad scope of work. Also helps Joel and Nan as needed. Joel:  Updated policies were sent out with Board materials. Let me know if you have any changes or suggestions.  Group that started in Joliet is doing great work – Joliet Beautification Committee (Bonnie Gray) o Bonnie: We love our little town, so a few of us business owners got together and planned a fundraiser. We had a street festival and dance on June 25th, and it went really well, so we’re planning to do again next year. Flowers hanging, flags flying, pocket park, painted benches, etc. Gina Schaible has tons of energy and keeps me going! Regional Roundup: Randy Weimer, Sibanye-Stillwater Mine: 39 Page 9  Floods have been the main focus for past month. Stillwater Mine shut down since that Monday. Just got people back to work 3 days ago. Hoping to be fully operational in 2 more weeks. Paid everyone during those weeks. $5 million to get everything back up and going.  Backing off on some of growth stuff – try to hold our own for next 3 years. o Acquiring employees is a huge challenge o Supply chain – getting materials in has been tough. Made us look at strategic planning because we have to look out 9-12 months to order what we need. o Economic outlook – backing off a bit on growth depending on commodity prices, inflation.  Attrition rate is 20% right now. 2000 employees = lose 400/year. o Hard to recruit, find housing. We interview people and then they go to find housing and can’t take the job.  Completed economic impact study. Pat Barkley out of U of M. o Sibanye-Stillwater Mine accounts for 6% of state economy ($6 billion annually).  Completed annual employee survey o 30% live in Stillwater County o 20% live in Yellowstone County o 15% live in Sweet Grass or Park o 10% in Carbon o 10% in Big Horn County, Musselshell and Gallatin counties  Just submitted permit application to continue operations at East Boulder in Sweet Grass County. o If permitted for the next phase of development, it will take us from 2025 to 2042 approximately. o If we don’t get that permit, we will shut down that location in 2025.  For every employee at the mine, we employee about 3 people in community (teachers, stores, etc).  Tourism has been hurt a lot due to the flooding – we usually see hundreds of campers/tourists go past the mine, and it’s been dead. Jacob Cote, City of Red Lodge  Temporary bridges are arriving – East Side Rd and Meeteetse. o Planning to build new permanent one Holly Higgins, First Interstate Bank of Hardin  Crow tribe putting up new arbor. Old one was old and dilapidated. o Crow fair: Aug. 19-22 o Tribe hired 600 kids to clean up Crow Agency for the fair. Working very hard. o Per capita comes out on Aug. 10th and that brings in money to area. Per capita is a special fund that comes from government. Happens 3 times per year.  Big Horn Senior Living is shutting down. 28 residents in nursing home, o 80% of residents are Medicaid payers, tougher to sustain. 3 years behind in paying. o Nan: I have background in medical billing. Every 3 years you have to re-credential. After Covid, it was a freefall. If they aren’t getting paid, the hospital isn’t doing something. Nan can help make some calls if necessary.  Ryan: Another reason to bring stuff up – there may be connections to be made. Martin DeWitt, SBA: 40 Page 10  Covid-funding options finally ended. Paycheck Protection Program was huge for Montana – helped many businesses, let them stay up and running through restrictions. Our agency will be able to go back to offices finally (just got that word).  Getting back to origins of programs: o Federal contracting opportunities – i.e. disabled veterans, in a HUD zone, etc. SBA provides assistance to get in the system. PTAC centers are part of that (one located in BSED). o Counseling side – SCORE chapters, Veteran Biz Outreach Center, Women’s Business Centers - 2 centers in our state (Bozeman and Missoula).  Missoula: more of a focus on rural and native communities o Money: 504 loan program (housed in BSED), which is a great lending tool to create economic development opportunities. Participation loan between CDC and bank. 10% down equity. Banks expect 20-30% down on real estate transaction. CDC portion is fixed. Great for borrowers but also for lenders – they are only at risk for 50%. o PPA – 70% guarantee o Micro-program in State - Lend funds up to $50K  Flooding – SBA has a disaster recovery center in Red Lodge to provide assistance. o Loan funds for businesses o Loans for home damages, too o They are only open as long as traffic is coming in the door. They will walk you through applications and process. o Include Yellowstone, Treasure and Sweet Grass counties (disaster-designated areas). Extended the disaster-declaration period to go up to July 5th of this year. o Jacob: Any testing available to see if you need to have some work done?  Martin: Supposed to work with FEMA first, then SBA will come in to help if needed. Commissioner Pitman, Yellowstone County:  Meeting with FEMA tomorrow morning in Yellowstone County. Anyone welcome to join.  Directed all ARPA money toward Metra Park and infrastructure. o Tore down most of grandstands, horse barns. Only 2 barns left, but not useable. o Back area will be leveled out and become parking. o There is a lot going on and we’re creating some great partnerships. o Maroon 5 cancelled – and we were one of their best-selling concerts on their tour. o Getting new and more diverse groups in to Metra Park.  Inner belt loop got funded right before Covid. 18 months to completion. Billings bypass will be completed in 2 years. Lots of growth in Yellowstone County (250,000 predicted in next 10 years).  I’ll let Lorene cover the BSED move. Kayla Vokral, SBA:  Expert Week in October with theme days (attorneys, marketers, accountants) and providing free one-on- one sessions. o End week with trade show and will have resources from across the state  MMEC  Women’s Business Center and more  Food Incubator – waiting on word from a grant that Joel wrote. Big need for food security. Lorene Hintz, SBDC: 41 Page 11  Annual meeting is Sept 8th with ribbon cutting.  Hope to move in to new building by Aug 15th  Rock 31 – private offices are all rented out except for one. This is meeting a big need out there. o Shared workspace on 3rd floor. o Will also have an incubator barista program – can learn ins and outs of running coffee shop and be successful with running a café.  Community Development: there is a $500K Brownfields grant coming for downtown Billings. Call Dianne Lehm to get more info on this.  BSTF: Currently 9 active grants in Yellowstone County. Getting money out into Yellowstone County, creating jobs. Tina Toyne, Big Horn County  Helping Hands Food Bank had an Open House last night – nice turnout with food trucks. BRCD is helping them with a Brownfields grant.  Working with Jacy on a new laundromat downtown.  New bait shop on Main Street. o New consignment shop, and part of that building opened up for the bait shop.  3 weeks into Tina’s position, she was asked to do a Coal Board grant.  Commissioner Fitzpatrick was going to come today but was unable to. Bonnie Gray, Town of Joliet  See notes above with Joel regarding the Beautification Committee & the activities they have been doing to improve foot traffic to Main Street businesses. Danny Choriki, City of Billings:  City Council passed $850K to help break cycle of violence, poverty, etc. First thing is to hire a consultant to coordinate the nonprofits in town. Public coordination and input with nonprofits is exciting.  Workforce housing o Effort starting to bubble up – interesting take on a workforce housing tax credit to get private equity involved. More to come . . .  City Hall getting built o One project along with that is to reflect the history of the city, county and region somehow and the ability to use phones to learn more.  Billings Chamber of Commerce went to Omaha to see what they are doing there. Danny had 2 takeaways: o Need a billionaire with middle-class sensibility.  o Pick an issue or project every year and try to focus on it. As a community, they may not completely solve it in a year, but they have a focus. Great idea.  Resilience o Comments to city government after Covid: We are not resilient. We’re stuck in bureaucratic ways, so when something new comes along, we are not equipped to deal with it. Resilience is a key issue for next 10 years.  Transition in area to retirement economy is going to be a big deal. If anyone wants to sit down and talk, Danny is willing. We need to find solutions. 42 Page 12 Dan Lowe, Big Horn Conservation District  Dan’s joke (as told through Myrna’s feeble memory): In LA, a cop pulled into a gas station to fill up. Just then a pickup truck pulled in next to him. The back of the truck was filled with penguins. The officer couldn’t believe his eyes. “Lady,” he said, “you can’t be driving around with those penguins!” The woman said, “I know, but I don’t know what to do with them.” The cop said, “Take them to the zoo!” The lady said, “Why didn’t I think of that? Thank you. I’ll do that right away.” And she drove off. The next day the cop was on patrol again and saw the same pickup truck. Same lady. Same penguins. He pulled her over and walked up to her window. “Lady, didn’t I tell you to take those penguins to the zoo yesterday?” She said, “Oh yes, Officer! And I did. And we had so much fun there, we decided to go to the amusement park today!” (Thank you for your great sense of humor, Dan!)  We have 18 employees in our conservation district. Lot of manpower to deal with. o $18/hour for this work  Water flows from higher level to lower level. The faster water flows, the more energy it has, and it takes other materials with it. When the load drops, the water seeks a new avenue to run – why river has ribbons and meanders. o 3 feet per second is typical. When the volume increases, it seeks other routes. o We need a plan for any manmade interference in streambeds. People come to conservation districts with requests. We don’t do the engineering, but we have suggestions and also do eyeball inspections and try to ensure new problems won’t happen. This is the 310 Law and how it fits into conservation district work. Barb Wagner, Yellowstone Conservation District  Busy doing what Dan discussed.  Working with the Emergency Watershed Program – NRCS. The commissioners are researching feasibility.  HB2 funds allocated last year for $50K/year for eradication of invasive Asian clams in Lake Elmo. o Irrigation head gate (1st year funds) o 2nd year: Waterless cleaning station to be utilized at Lake Elmo o Will also be educational videos to show the whole Lake Elmo eradication effort (available next year)  Fly Creek watershed has a huge salinity problem o Workshop to assess damage and work on solutions  Saltcedar: been working on for years on the Yellowstone o Contracted with Rocky Mountain College to collect data  $25K grant received for weed spraying  Forming a Saltcedar task force  Zoo Montana: Financially sponsored a new shelter belt at the zoo  Sent 5 MT students to ________Days 43 Page 13 What is a CEDS?  A strategy-driven plan for regional economic development.  The result of a regionally-owned planning process designed to build capacity and guide the economic prosperity and resiliency of an area or region.  Provides a vehicle for individuals, organizations, local governments, institutes of learning, and private industry to engage in a meaningful conversation and debate about what capacity building efforts would best serve economic development in the region.  Must update their CEDS at least every five years to qualify for EDA assistance.  Prerequisite for designation by EDA as an Economic Development District (EDD).  Provides recommendations on what should be included in each of the sections required by EDA’s regulations, and suggests tools, resources, and examples to help in each section’s development.  Intended to be aspirational in nature and should not be construed as additional requirements.  Emphasizes strategic approaches based on regional visioning, goals, measurable objectives, and prioritized actions  Underscores the need to think beyond traditional job creation and embrace capacity building and broad-based wealth creation when developing goals, measurable objectives, actions, and performance measures.  Highlights the need to undertake an asset-based approach (i.e. efforts that focus on the strengths of a community or region) while considering the interdependencies between regional economic prosperity and other topics The CEDS has five primary sections included: 1. Summary Background- Where have we been? 2. SWOT Analysis- Where are we now? 3. Strategic Direction/Action Plan- Where do we want to go and how do we get there? 4. Evaluation Framework- How are we doing and what can we do better? 5. Economic Resilience- How do we anticipate, respond, and recover from economic shock? EDA’s Investment Priorities: 1. Equity 2. Recovery & Resilience 3. Workforce Development 4. Manufacturing 5. Technology-Based Economic Development 6. Environmentally-sustainable Development 7. Exports & FDI 44 Page 14 Revolving Loan Fund Books- June, 2022 Loan Client Review County # of loans $ Loaned out Big Horn 2 $175,965.61 Stillwater 1 $153,198.20 Yellowstone 8 $552,634.04 Carbon 2 $208,410.02 Sweet Grass 2 $166,371.53 Total: 16 $1,256,579.40  EDA funds are finally de-federalized.  Looking into new loan funding options  “Two” New Yellowstone county loans 7/13/22 Bank Balances as of June, 30 2022 Total available for lending Bank of Joliet- EDA $95,382.83 $95,382.83 Bank of Joliet-CDBG $237,799.12 $39,865.40 Bank of Joliet- IRP $167,944.76 $67,944.76 Bank of Joliet-Fromberg $31,277.51 $31,277.51 $234,470.50 45 Page 15 Beartooth Books- Reporting Ending June 2022 Budgeted Actual % of budgeted Income AG-FOOD AND AG CENTER 45,000 22,471 49.93% AG-MCDC 500 0 0.00% SPECIALTY BLOCK 40,000 8,372 0.00% BOARD - EDA SPONSOR DUES 56,979 47,151 82.75% BOARD-INTEREST INCOME 400 0.00% BOARD-FOUNDATION MONEY 3,300 3,529 106.93% RLF-STAFF REIMBURSE 18,000 0 0.00% RLF-ORIG FEES 5,000 4,190 83.80% CRDC 71,000 35,922 50.59% MISC- GRANT ADMIN$ 12,750 12,380 97.10% EDA- GRANT 70,000 35,000 0.00% EDA- CARES 100,000 100,000 0.00% NOT BUDGED INCOME 7,140 0.00% TOTAL INCOME 422,929 276,154 65.30% Expense TOTAL STAFF EXPENSE 233,104 113,860 48.84% COMMUNICATIONS 6,000 4,038 67.29% EQUIPMENT & VEHICLE 8,520 2,211 25.96% CONTRACTUAL 20,000 156,452 782.26% SUPPLIES 12,900 4,291 33.26% TRAVEL 11,080 1,107 9.99% OTHER 10,420 10,556 101.31% RESERVE - EXPENSE TOTAL 302,024 292,515 96.85% Account Balances Bank of Joliet-Building Account $4,477.99 Bank of Joliet- Savings Account $64,668.87 Bank of Joliet- Checking Account $151,022.49 46 Page 16 Revolving Loan Fund Books- August, 2022 Loan Client Review County # of loans $ Loaned out Big Horn 2 $175,965.61 Stillwater 1 $151,827.42 Yellowstone 10 $708,758.02 Carbon 2 $207,361.24 Sweet Grass 2 $164,440.86 Total: 17 $1,408,353.15  Annual Audit is under way  Participating in the SSBCI 2.0 State RLF program/ Looking into RMAP funding  Lots of RLF active, hesitation with the rising interest rates Bank Balances as of August 31, 2022 Total available for lending Bank of Joliet- EDA $95,864.69 $95,864.69 Bank of Joliet-CDBG $53,791.50 $53,791.50 Bank of Joliet- IRP $179,054.34 $129,054.34 Bank of Joliet-Fromberg $31,277.51 $31,277.51 $309,988.04 47 Page 17 Beartooth Books- Reporting Ending August 2022 Budgeted Actual % of budgeted Income AG-FOOD AND AG CENTER 45,000 33,706 74.90% AG-MCDC 500 0.00% SPECIALTY CROP BLOCK 40,000 8,372 0.00% BOARD - EDA SPONSOR DUES 56,979 46,810 82.15% BOARD-INTEREST INCOME 400 83 20.65% BOARD-FOUNDATION MONEY 3,300 3,529 106.94% RLF-STAFF REIMBURSE 18,000 0.00% RLF-ORIG FEES 5,000 6,152 123.03% CRDC 71,000 53,883 75.89% MISC- GRANT ADMIN$ 12,750 1,904 14.93% EDA- GRANT 70,000 35,000 0.00% EDA- CARES 100,000 100,000 0.00% NOT BUDGED INCOME 0.00% TOTAL INCOME 422,929 289,438 68.44% Expense TOTAL STAFF EXPENSE 233,104 153,179 65.71% COMMUNICATIONS 6,000 5,113 85.21% EQUIPMENT & VEHICLE 8,520 5,593 65.64% CONTRACTUAL 20,000 173,066 865.33% SUPPLIES 12,900 6,296 48.80% TRAVEL 11,080 1,835 16.56% OTHER 10,420 11,071 106.25% RESERVE - EXPENSE TOTAL 302,024 356,154 117.92% Account Balances Bank of Joliet-Building Account $4,477.99 Bank of Joliet- Savings Account $64,668.87 Bank of Joliet- Checking Account $145,236.98 48 Page 18 Beartooth RC&D Staff Project Update September 2022 FOOD AND AG CENTER PROJECTS Beartooth FADC Beartooth FADC activities have been focused on assisting producers with the Growth Through Ag Grant and Loan program Beartooth FADC worked with our regional MMEC and SBDC to develop an outreach tours of MillerCoors in Huntley and Greycliff Mill in Big Timber. Beartooth FADC has worked with the other Food and AG Centers to develop an application for the USDA Local Food Promotion Program that would provide funding for the FADC network to promote Montana Beef in Montana Schools. Part of the funding would also be used in development a collaborative state wide training for food entrepreneurs with the SBDC network. Growth Through Ag Projects and ARPA Value Added Ag Grant Beartooth FADC has worked with several businesses interested in Growth Through Ag grants some of these will have an opportunity to be granted funding and we will continue to assist them in completing their business expansion projects. New England Chowder Co Location- Big Timber, MT Contact- Craig Rief Craig Rief has been in the soup business for 18 years on the East Coast and decided to move his business to Big Timber where he has owned a building for several years. Beartooth FADC visited his new location in June with Lane Gobbs they are now fully operational. We discussed the local Agricultural commodities he is using in his recipes and where he could source some local products as well as the addition of local products in the future. The business markets its soups nationwide and internationally and will be looking at funding for equipment in the future. Beartooth FADC will continue to work with the business to determine if they are interested in GTA funding for equipment as they expand. BioEconomy Solutions Contact- Victor Garlington Location- Hardin, MT Victor Garlington is the contact for BioEconomy Solutions a firm interested in investing in the development of a Safflower Oil Seed processing operation in Big Horn County. Beartooth FADC has worked with them on exploring funding sources and put them in contact with an engineering firm locally that will be able to assit them with the design of infrastructure on their site. Beartooth FADC has been attempting to follow up with the business after their purchasing of a site location in Bi g Horn County. Oswald Farms Contact- Melissa Oswald Location- Joliet, MT 49 Page 19 Oswald Farms in Joliet has been marketing their beef locally through direct sales and wholesale through local restaurants, they are looking to expand and develop a retail store on highway 310. They have began construction and Beartooth FADC worked with them on the development of a USDA Value Added Producer Grant for operating capital and we have discussed developing a Growth Through Ag Grant for their expansion as well. Meadowlark Brewing Contact- Travis Peterson Location- Billings, MT Meadowlark brewing is finishing the construction of a brewery on the west end of Billings, we toured their facility with MMEC representative Lane Gobbs in May. They had their grand opening in July and are fully operational. Ranch House Meats/ Pure MT Meats Contact- Tonya Flowers Location- Huntley, MT Ranch House Meats began processing and retailing their branded meats in Billings and expanded their operation when they bought a meat plan in Miles City where their locally grown hogs and beef are processed and they shipped to their plant outside of Billings for further processing and distribution. Beartooth FADC passed along potential funding sources for their business expansion plans at their Billings area facility. Vista Ridge Montana Contact- Shaun Martinez Location- Huntley, MT Vista Ridge Montana is a startup value added agricultural operation that plans to produce and sell organic produce, heritage and native plant seedlings for restoration, conservation, reforestation and landscaping as well as honey and honey bees. Greycliff Mill Contact- Daniel Seylor Location- Big Timber, MT Greycliff mill in Big Timber has developed a value added ag operation that mills local grains used in the breads that are served at their restaurant and coffee shop they are now finishing a larger value added venture with plans to use local milk to make a line of cheeses as well as having sweet corn, beans, apples and berries which will be utilized to be sold fresh a nd in jams. They are writing a Growth Through Ag grant for additional equipment for their operation. On Going Projects Blue Creek Marbled Beef 50 Page 20 Contact-Nels Pearson Location-Blue Creek South of Billings Blue Creek Marbled beef are developing a state inspected meat processing plant South of Billings they are under construction and expect it to be a 2-3-million-dollar project. Beartooth FADC assisted this business in applying for the Value Added ARPA grant for construction and equipment costs. The business received the ARPA funding for $300,000.00. Their new plant is located next to their feedlot, which they are now expanding as well to include more pens for finishing beef, we plan to continue to assist them with any grants that will assist them with this project, the business is now fully operational and will add to the amount of custom beef processing in our region. Yellowstone Valley Farm Contact-Reuben Stahl Location-Laurel Reuben Stahl has a family greenhouse business growing basil and selling to FSA and Sysco, he would like to add another greenhouse to keep up with increased demand this last year Carbon County Meats- Contact-Sabina Giovetti 51 Page 21 Location-Belfry Sabina and Shane Giovetti have built a custom exempt meat processing plant in Belfry, MT and opened this Fall, they have been busy but have a need to expand already especially their cooler space, Beartooth FADC took a tour of their facility in Belfry, discussed potential funding sources and worked with them on their plans to expand their business, we arranged tours of two area meat plants to look at their process and layout. The business is in the planning stages of expanding their operation. Primative Meats Contact- Kelsey Grice Location- Worden, MT Kelsey Grice and her husband are looking for funding assistance through the GTA grant to help them with construction costs and equipment for their start up meat processing business. This Business also applied for an ARPA Value Added Ag Grant, Beartooth FADC put the business in contact with a local engineering firm to discuss the plans for their plant. Their application was approved for $150,000.00, Beartooth FADC has been in contact with the owners they are very busy this summer and may wait for the cost of construction to come down before starting the project. Yellowstone Valley Food Hub Contact- Michelle Schahczenski Location-Billings, MT The Yellowstone Valley Food Hub is looking to expand their business and add space for aggreg ating locally produced foods. Beartooth FADC assisted them with applying for a Growth Through Ag Grant that was approved for $20,000.00 to expand. Beartooth FADC has reached out to follow up with this business and determine any further needs; they are still working with the department of Ag on their GTA project and have needed to change their initial project scope. The Department of Agriculture toured their facility in April an Beartooth FADC has worked with them on a USDA LFPP grant that would help fun d add staff and expand their wholesale sales and deliveries. 406 Bovine LLC Contact- Bryan Elliott Location-Laurel, MT 406 Bovine LLC has worked with Beartooth staff and is nearing the commercialization and launch of his Ag Tech product. Bryan Elliott has developed a facial recognition software that can be used on computer and iphones to track livestock. He has produced a youtube video outlining his product that can be viewed via this link. https://youtu.be/kTwkhUj9leA Beartooth will continue to assist this business as needed. Beartooth FADC followed up with 406 Bovine to give them the updates on the status of state and federal funding sources. Bryan had been granted investments from two entities that have developed funds specifically for supporting new technologies such as facial recognition. available. Bryan has been touring feedlots in Southern Texas Oklahoma and Kansas testing his app and will now begin launching the commercialization of his product beginning in Texas this fall. Pioneer Meats Contact- Brian Engle 52 Page 22 Location- Big Timber, MT Pioneer Meats purchased another meat processing location in Big Timber that will allow them to process wild meat at one location while expanding their beef, pork, bison and lamb processing at their main facility. Beartooth FADC staff will continue to work with Pioneer to utilize any new funding opportunities in completing their expansion; they received $50,000 from the Growth Through Ag grant and $150,000 from the ARPA grant for its expansion of their new location. They were also helpful in hosting a tour of their facility with the Montana Meat Processors Association attended by the owners of Carbon County Meats. Becky’s Berries- Absarokee, MT Contact- Becky Stahl Location-Absarokee Becky has purchased a new commercial freezer needed to keep up with increased demand for her products she said her business has been very busy this summer and fall. She has also recently was able to secure a contract with western sugar to get bulk sugar for her operation increasing her efficiency and profitability with a local product. Beartooth FADC has been working with Becky on a long range expansion plan, and she is expanding her business to include a line of freeze dried berries. She also recently applied for and received a USDA Pandemic Response and Safety Grant. Beartooth FADC initiated contact with the following businesses  North 40 Ag- Huntley  Justine Kougl- Huntley  Brett Clause- Columbus  Doggie Style Gourmet Treats- Billings, MT  Jessica Jane Hart Swift Buckets- Billings, MT  J and S Farms- Huntley, MT  Wilcoxins Ice Cream  Swanky Roots  Big Timber Meat Plant Dan Snyder Beartooth FADC Outreach 53 Page 23 MillerCoors Barley Receiving Facility Huntley, MT Greycliff Mill 54 Page 24 Economic Development Director Report for September 2022 9/15/2022  Economic Development/ CRDC o EDA CARES Act – this grant contract has ended o BSTF  Stillwater County Industrial/Business Park Feasibility Study – continuing forward with site selection  Working with two clients on BSTF: one job creation and one planning o USDA RCDI Grant – training has continued with Tina Toyne; currently exploring housing options for the county to pursue; assisted BHC in pursuing a Coal Board grant for two road graders o CEDS- the final CEDS will be submitted to EDA on September 30th o Next reporting period in October will include: -USDA RCDI Quarter 3 report -CRDC Quarter 3 report -EDA Partnership Planning Grant report -EDA CARES Act Grant report -BSTF Quarter 3 report o Helping Hands Food Bank in Hardin- Phase II assessment and cleanup will take place in the upcoming months o Annual CRDC meeting- attended August 23-24 in Havre o Community-Wide Brownfield Assessment Grant- currently pursuing o Carbon County Historical Society & Museum- technical assistance with business plan o EDA EDD peer review- reviewing EPEDC as the other peer EDD; this will take place in October o EIG/EDA case study for Big Horn County- draft of study is complete; final deliverable will be expected by the end of 2022 o Meeting with Angie Martinez and Aaron Pratt (the Regional Director of EDA’s Denver Regional Office) 55 Page 25 Frequently Used Acronyms BEAR – Business Expansion and Retention BIA – Bureau of Indian Affairs BLM – Bureau of Land Management BRCD – Beartooth RC&D BSEDA – Big Sky Economic Development Association BSTF – Big Sky Trust Fund CDBG – Community Development Block Grant CRDC – Certified Regional Development Corporation CEDS – Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy CTEP – Community Transportation Endowment Program EDA – Economic Development Administration EDD – Economic Development District ESRI – Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. GIS – Geographic Information Systems GPS – Global Positioning System HOME – Montana Home Investment Partnerships Program HUD – US Department of Housing and Urban Development IRP – Intermediary Relending Program LESA – Land Evaluation Site Assessment MBI – Montana Board of Investments MDOC – Montana Department of Commerce MDOL – Montana Dept. of Labor MDOT – Montana Dept. of Transportation MDFWP – Montana Dept. of Fish, Wildlife and Parks MEDA – Montana Economic Developers Association NADO – National Association of Development Organizations NCOC – National Carbon Offset Coalition NHS – Neighborhood Housing Services NRCS – Natural Resource Conservation Service RBEG – Rural Business Enterprise Grant RBOG – Rural Business Opportunity Grant RC&D – Resource Conservation & Development Area, Inc. RCDI – Rural Community Development Initiative RD – Rural Development (a division of USDA) RCPP- Regional Conservation Partnership Program RLF – Revolving Loan Fund RTA – Resource Team Assessment SBA – Small Business Administration SBDC – Small business Development Center TIFD – Tax Increment Finance District TSEP - Treasure State Endowment Program USDA – United States Department of Agriculture USFS – United States Forest Service 56 File Attachments for Item: 11. Budget/Finance Committee Minutes of September 13, 2022. 57 58 59 File Attachments for Item: 12. Public Works Committee Minutes of August 15, 2022. 60 61 62 63 64 File Attachments for Item: 13. Emergency Services Committee Minutes August 22, 2022. 65 66 67 File Attachments for Item: 14. Library Board Minutes of July 12, 2022. 68 1 MINUTES CITY OF LAUREL Library Board 07/12/2022 06:00 PM Laurel Public Library COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: X Katie Fjelstad X Arthur Vogele, Board Chair X Kate Manley X Lela Schlitz – via Zoom X Nancy Schmidt, Secretary Vacant X Clair Killebrew – Foundation Liaison OTHERS PRESENT: None 1. Public Input Citizens may address the committee regarding any item of city business not on the agenda. The duration for an individual speaking under Public Comment is limited to three minutes. While all comments are welcome, the committee will not take action on any item not on the agenda. a. Addressing the Board - None 2. General Items a. Minutes for May and June 2022 were presented. Kate motioned to accept the minutes as read, Katie seconded the motion. Motion passed. b. The library received two donations last month: $25 from Richard Klose and $500 from an anonymous donor. c. Circulation Report - Traffic: down 43%; circulation: all items circulated totaled 4,421 (including 518 eBooks), book circulation was up 15.6%, media circulation was up 16.8%, eBook checkouts for this month was 12.8% of total book circulation, we circulated 862 items to partners and 233 items from other libraries; computers: internet use was down 3%, children’s use was up 105%, wi-fi use up 3%; patron cards: city patrons make up 66.4% of registered users, county 30.5% and out of county users make up 3%. There were 57 tech assists in June. 3. New Business a. Officer elections were held for Chair, Vice-Chair and Federation Representative. Kate motioned that Arthur Vogele stay as Board Chair and Federation Representative, & Katie Fjelstad become the Vice-Chair. Katie seconded the nominations. Nominations passed by all members present. b. Samantha Barnhart has completed her term on the Board and indicated that she didn’t want to serve a second term. Nancy will let the City Mayor know of this change and ask that the open seat be listed on the City website. We will also add it to the library website and Facebook page. 69 2 c. Nancy completed the budget using the figures that were presented last year with a few tweaks to the final numbers. She asked that the Board members review the budget and offer any changes that they feel we needed to have. Arthur questioned if the library staff are budgeted to receive their 2% raise as per the union agreement. Nancy stated that yes, it was included along with any other increases that are allowed per the union contract. He asked h ow much of a pay increase was included for Director Schmidt. Nancy stated that she budgeted the same increases for herself as she did library staff – 2%. He stated that he felt it should be higher for the director but would accept what was already budgeted. The rest of the Board members concurred with his opinion. Nancy stated that she felt she shouldn’t receive a higher increase than her employees since she couldn’t run the library without their help and input. Board members present at the meeting agreed that the Director’s wage should increase 2% with the start date retroactive July 1, 2022. d. The Library Standards have been completed for Board review. The library has met all requirements for certification through the Montana State Library. This will allow t he library to continue to receive state and federal funding via MSL. e. The summer reading program has been a great success so far this year. The Laurel Public School librarians have partnered with the public library to present Book Buzz. This program is an interactive, hands-on activity that lasts about ½ an hour on Wednesday mornings. The participants receive a book to take home with them. They are also here to receive free lunches on Wednesday mornings. Our attendance for June was 177 littles and 114 bigs. f. The number of meals served during the lunch program wasn’t as high as last year partly because of the way they are serving the meals. Last year we had a grab -n-go system and this year they are required to eat on the premises. Attendance for June lunches wa s 509. 4. Old Business a. The final numbers are in for the book sale at $3,313.26. This was the highest grossing sale to date. Library staff have recommended that we purchase a DipJar help increase donations. There were a few times that customers didn’t have cash on them so had to come back to pay for their items. A DipJar will let them use a credit/debit card to make their donations right away. The Foundation will look into making this a possibility for the next sale. The next sale is tentatively set for the two-week period of October 24th – November 5th. b. The City/Library MOU is being revamped to meet the language required by the State Library and will need new signatures as soon as it is completed. The final copy should be available at the next Board meeting. c. Nancy attended the Directors Leadership Institute in Great Falls. The premise was fostering collaboration between libraries across the state. Nancy reported that it was a very interesting conference with some surprising tension arising between the presenters and some of the library directors. It was educational for everyone that attended. The state library personnel felt that they had achieved what they set out to accomplish which was direction for future trainings of library personnel. d. MLA is sponsoring the annual conference in Missoula August 3rd – 6th, 2022. Arthur and Kate expressed interest in attending along with Nancy. If available, the City car will be used, otherwise Nancy will drive her car to the conference. Hotel rooms will be reserved at the 70 3 Holiday Inn – Downtown to allow for attendance of programming at the new library. We will report at the August meeting on the workshops, etc. that we attended. 5. Other Items a. Upcoming Items: Federation meeting in Red Lodge – September 10th, 2022 Coordinator’s/Commission meeting in Helena – October 11th/12th, 2022 MLA Fall Retreat in Chico – October 2nd-3rd, 2022 6. Announcements a. Next regular meeting is scheduled for August 9, 2022 at 6:00 pm in the library community room. Kate motioned that meeting be adjourned, Lela seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 7:11 pm. Respectfully submitted, Nancy L Schmidt Nancy L Schmidt Library Director Secretary for the Board NOTE: This meeting is open to the public. This meeting is for information and discussion of listed agenda items. 71 File Attachments for Item: 15. Library Board Minutes of August 9, 2022. 72 1 MINUTES CITY OF LAUREL Library Board 08/09/2022 06:14 PM Laurel Public Library COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: X Katie Fjelstad X Arthur Vogele, Board Chair X Kate Manley X Lela Schlitz X Nancy Schmidt, Secretary Vacant Clair Killebrew – Foundation Liaison OTHERS PRESENT: None 1. Public Input Citizens may address the committee regarding any item of city business not on the agenda. The duration for an individual speaking under Public Comment is limited to three minutes. While all comments are welcome, the committee will not take action on any item not on the agenda. a. Addressing the Board - None 2. General Items a. Minutes for July 2022 were presented. Kate motioned to accept the minutes as read, Lela seconded the motion. Motion passed. b. The library received a $25 donation last month from Ray Wells. c. Circulation Report - Traffic: down 41.5%; circulation: all items circulated totaled 4,115 (including 535 eBooks), book circulation was down 0.0002%, media circulation was up 51%, eBook checkouts for this month was 14.8% of total book circulation, we circulated 831 items to partners and 193 items from other libraries; computers: internet use was down 30.5%, children’s use was up 77.4%, wi-fi use up 7.9%; patron cards: city patrons make up 62.9% of registered users, county 28.5% and out of county users make up 8.6%. There were 28 tech assists in July (Eli says he’s getting that good ). 3. New Business a. Arthur, Kate and Nancy attended the MLA Tri-Conference in Missoula. Aside from the few issues with food and rooms, it was a pretty informative meeting. They reported on the workshops they attended and what was most informational for each of them. Kate turned in a written report and Nancy & Arthur gave verbal reports on their workshops. More information may be shared later. b. Nancy brought forth the idea that it is time to consider a dedicated library mill levy for Laurel. After some discussion, it was decided that most of the September meeting would be devoted to 73 2 further discussion. Kate stated that she would do some preliminary research to share with everyone in September. c. Library staff have reported some patron issues with the Hot Spot program. It seems that once a patron checks them out, they don’t feel they should return them “until they are finished with them”. The typical checkout period is 2 weeks with a two-week renewal. Eli has to repeatedly ask for the device access to be suspended in order to get certain patrons to return the hot spot. We’ve even had one patron that demanded that we give them the email for our board chair so they could ‘complain’. The question from library staff whether we want to keep offering them if the issues continue. We will monitor the success/failure of the program to decide at a later date. 4. Old Business a. Nancy presented her final budget that she turned in to the Clerk/Treasurer’s office for Council consideration. This includes the 2% raise for union employees. Arthur asked if the 2% raise for the director was included. Nancy stated that she did include that amount for her wages as well as putting Darlene at a flat rate for her cleaning at the library. Kate motioned that the budget be accepted as presented, Lela seconded the motion. The budget was accepted. If changes needed to be made because of council action, that would be at the director’s discretion. b. The Summer Reading Program presented in partnership with Laurel Schools’ Book Buzz was very successful again in July. There were 288 littles and 162 bigs that attended on three separate Wednesdays. Next year the library is going to ask for a reading grant from Town Pump to help with programming costs for the reading program. c. The lunch program served over 700 meals in July. There were 510 lunches and 229 breakfasts handed out during the month. The breakfasts were added in response to requests from parents wanting to be able to add more food to their tables. 5. Other Items a. Upcoming Items: MT Arbitrator’s Training in Great Falls – August 30th – September 1st, 2022; Nancy is planning on attending. Federation meeting in Red Lodge – September 10th, 2022; Kate, Arthur & Nancy are planning on attending. Coordinator’s/Commission meeting in Helena – October 11th/12th, 2022; this is for Nancy to attend, she may take someone with her. MLA Fall Retreat in Chico – October 2nd-3rd, 2022; Nancy is planning on attending. 6. Announcements a. Next regular meeting is scheduled for September 13, 2022 at 6:00 pm in the library community room. Kate motioned that meeting be adjourned, Lela seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 7:33 pm. 74 3 Respectfully submitted, Nancy L Schmidt Nancy L Schmidt Library Director Secretary for the Board NOTE: This meeting is open to the public. This meeting is for information and discussion of listed agenda items. 75 File Attachments for Item: 18. Resolution No. R22-64: A Resolution Of The City Council Authorizing The Addition Of City Of Laurel Deputy Clerk/Treasurer Amber Hatton To All City Accounts. 76 R22-64 Approve Addition of Deputy Clerk/Treasurer to All Accounts RESOLUTION NO. R22-64 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZING THE ADDITION OF CITY OF LAUREL DEPUTY CLERK/TREASURER AMBER HATTON TO ALL CITY ACCOUNTS. WHEREAS, City of Laurel employee Amber Hatton has assumed the role of City of Laurel Deputy Clerk/Treasurer; and WHEREAS, the personnel change within the Clerk/Treasurer’s Department necessitates that Deputy Clerk/Treasurer Amber Hatton be added to all City accounts, effective upon passage of this Resolution. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana that the Mayor is hereby authorized to add Deputy Clerk/Treasurer Amber Hatton to all City accounts. Introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council on the 27th day of September 2022 by Council Member _____________________. PASSED and APPROVED by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana on the 27th day of September 2022. APPROVED by the Mayor on the 27th day of September 2022. CITY OF LAUREL ___________________________ Dave Waggoner, Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ Kelly Strecker, Clerk-Treasurer APPROVED AS TO FORM: ______________________________ Michele L. Braukmann, Civil City Attorney 77 File Attachments for Item: 19. Ordinance No. O22-04: An Ordinance Amending Section 2.20.010 Of The Laurel Municipal Code Relating To The City Court Clerk For The City Of Laurel 78 Ordinance No. 022-04 Section 2.20.010, City Court Clerk ORDINANCE NO. 022-04 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 2.20.010 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO THE CITY COURT CLERK FOR THE CITY OF LAUREL WHEREAS, the City Council desires to keep the Laurel Municipal Code current by modifying and updating chapters, sections and subsections to address situations and problems within the City and to remain in accordance with Montana law; and WHEREAS, City Staff prepared, reviewed, and approved the following amendments to the existing LMC § 2.20.010 (City Court Clerk – Office Created) as noted herein and hereby recommends the same to the City Council for their full approval. 2.20.010 Office Ccreated—Duties and Rrequirements. A. There is created the position office of city Cclerk of Ccourt. The Cclerk of Ccourt shall be appointed by the city judge. hired, supervised, and managed by the City, subject to all terms and conditions of the City Court Clerk employment position. B. It shall be the duty of the Cclerk of Ccourt to perform all duties as required by law and the Rrules of the Ccity Ccourt. C. Before entering upon the duties of office, the Cclerk of Ccourt shall take the oath prescribed by Art. III, Section 3 of the Montana Constitution. law for all city officers. D. The clerk of court's term of office shall be the same as is provided by law and ordinance for the city judge, and until a successor is appointed. D. The City shall set the salary of the Clerk of Court. E. The Cclerk of Ccourt may certify any records or documents of the Ccity Ccourt. and may act for the city court as permitted by law or rules of the city court. F. The Clerk of Court will establish, maintain, retain, and administer all Court records by means of paper or electronic filing and storage or both. The Clerk of Court will assist the City Court Judge in the recording and signing of court proceedings as well as general operations of the Court. F. The salary of the clerk of court shall be set by resolution of the city council. G. The clerk of court is a part-time position with a thirty- hour work week. 79 Ordinance No. 022-04 Section 2.20.010, City Court Clerk (Ord. 890, 1986: Ord. 825 §§ 1—7, 1985: prior code § 2.16.130) This Ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days after final passage by the City Council and approved by the Mayor. Introduced and passed on first reading at a regular meeting of the City Council on the 13th day of September 2022, upon Motion by Council Member Mountsier. PASSED and ADOPTED by the Laurel City Council on second reading on the 27th day of September 2022, upon Motion by Council Member _____________________. APPROVED BY THE MAYOR on the 27th day of September 2022. CITY OF LAUREL ___________________________ Dave Waggoner, Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ Kelly Strecker, Clerk-Treasurer APPROVED AS TO FORM: ______________________________ Michele L. Braukmann, Civil City Attorney 80 File Attachments for Item: 20. Ordinance No. O22-05: An Ordinance Amending Chapter 1.01 (Code Adoption) Of The Laurel Municipal Code Relating To The General Provisions 81 Ordinance No. 022-05 Chapter 1.01 of LMC (Code Adoption) ORDINANCE NO. 022-05 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 1.01 (CODE ADOPTION) OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO THE GENERAL PROVISIONS WHEREAS, the City Council desires to keep the Laurel Municipal Code current by modifying and updating chapters, sections and subsections to address situations and problems within the City and to remain in accordance with Montana law; and WHEREAS, City Staff prepared, reviewed, and approved the following amendments to the existing Chapter 1.01 of the Laurel Municipal Code (Code Adoption) as noted herein and hereby recommends the same to the City Council for their full approval. 1.01.010 Adoption. There is hereby adopted the Laurel Municipal Code, as published by Book Publishing Company, Seattle, Washington. (Ord. 984 § 1, 1991) 1.01.020 Title—Citation—ReferenceCode Designated and Cited. This Code shall be known as the “Laurel Municipal Code” and it shall be sufficient to refer to this Code as “the LMC,” in any prosecution for the violation of any provision thereof or any proceeding at law or equity. It shall also be sufficient to designate any Ordinance adding to, amending, correcting, or repealing all or any part or portion thereof as an addition to, amendment to, correction of, or repeal of the "Laurel Municipal Code." Further reference may be had to the chapters, articles, divisions, sections and subsections of the "Laurel Municipal Code" and such reference shall apply to that numbered chapter, article, division, section or subsection as it appears in this Code. may be referred to as the Laurel Municipal Code in any prosecution for the violation of any provision thereof of any proceeding at law or equity. Prosecutions for violations of Laurel, Montana's ordinances and actions based thereon shall refer to the Laurel Municipal Code sections as well as the underlying ordinance upon which the prosecution or action is based. Amendments to any ordinance or portions thereof of Laurel, Montana, shall also refer to the Laurel Municipal Code sections under which such ordinances are codified. 82 Ordinance No. 022-05 Chapter 1.01 of LMC (Code Adoption) (Ord. 984 § 2, 1991) 1.01.030 Provisions Ccodified. This code consists of all the regulatory and penal ordinances and certain of the administrative ordinances orOrdinances of the City of Laurel, Montana. (Ord. 984 § 3, 1991) 1.01.040 Ordinances Ppassed Pprior to Aadoption of the Ccode. The last Oordinance included in this Ccode was Ordinance 979, passed August 7, 1990. The following Oordinances, passed subsequent to Ordinance 979, but prior to adoption of this Ccode, are adopted and made a part of this Ccode: Ordinances 980, 981, 982 and 983, as amended. (Ord. 984 § 4, 1991) 1.01.050 References to Code. applies to all amendments. Whenever a reference is made to this Code as the “Laurel Municipal Code” or any portions thereof, or to any Ordinance of the Ccity of Laurel, Montana, the reference shall apply to all amendments, corrections and additions heretofore, now or hereafter made. (Ord. 984 § 5, 1991) 1.01.060 Title, chapter and section headingsHeadings. Chapter, article, division, and section headings contained herein shall not be deemed to govern, limit, modify or in any manner affect the scope, meaning or intent of the provisions of any chapter, article, division, or section hereof. Title, chapter and section headings contained herein shall not be deemed to govern, limit, modify or in any manner affect the scope, meaning or intent of the provisions of any title, chapter or section hereof. (Ord. 984 § 6, 1991) 1.01.070 Reference to Sspecific Oordinances. 83 Ordinance No. 022-05 Chapter 1.01 of LMC (Code Adoption) The provisions of this Ccode shall not in any manner affect matters of record which refer to, or are otherwise connected with, Oordinances which are therein specifically designated by number or otherwise, and which are included within the Ccode, but such reference shall be construed to apply to the corresponding provisions contained within this Ccode. (Ord. 984 § 7, 1991) 1.01.080 Effect of Ccode on past actions and obligations. Neither the adoption of this code nor the repeal of amendments of any ordinance or part or portion of any ordinance of the city shall in any manner affect the prosecution for violations of ordinances, which violations were committed prior to the effective date hereof, nor be construed as a waiver of any license, fee or penalty at said effective date due and unpaid under such ordinances, nor be construed as affecting any of the provisions of such ordinances relating to the collection of any such license, fee or penalty, or the penal provisions applicable to any violation thereof, nor to affect the validity of any bond or cash deposit in lieu thereof required to be posted, filed or deposited pursuant to any ordinance and all rights and obligations thereunder appertaining shall continue in full force and effect. A. The provisions of this Code shall not in any manner affect deposits or otherwise any other matters of record which refer to, or otherwise be connected with Ordinances which are therein specifically designated by number or otherwise and which are included within this Code, but such reference shall be construed to apply to the corresponding provisions contained within this Code. B. Neither the adoption of this Code nor the repeal or amendment hereby of any ordinance or part or portion of any Ordinance of the City shall in any manner affect the prosecution for violations of Ordinances, which violations were committed prior to the effective date hereof, nor be construed as a waiver of any license fee, or penalty at the effective date due and unpaid under such Ordinances, nor be construed as affecting any of the provisions of such Ordinances relating to the collection of any such license, fee or penalty, or the penal provisions applicable to any violation thereof, nor to affect the validity of any bond or cash deposit Formatted: List Paragraph, Indent: Left: 1.27" Formatted: List Paragraph, Numbered + Level: 1 + Numbering Style: A, B, C, … + Start at: 1 + Alignment: Left + Aligned at: 1" + Indent at: 1.27" 84 Ordinance No. 022-05 Chapter 1.01 of LMC (Code Adoption) in lieu thereof required to be posted, filed or deposited pursuant to any Ordinance, and all rights and obligations thereunder appertaining shall continue in full force and effect. (Ord. 984 § 8, 1991) 1.01.090 Effective Ddate. This codeCode shall become effective on the date the Oordinance adopting this codeCode as the "Laurel Municipal Code" shall become effective. (Ord. 984 § 9, 1991) 1.01.100 Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, portion, or part of this Code is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Code. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this Code and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, part, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, clauses, phrases, parts, or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional. 1.01.110 Continuation of Provisions. The provisions appearing in this Code, so far as they are the same as those of Ordinances existing at the effective date of this Code, shall be considered as continuation thereof and not as new enactments. This Ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days after final passage by the City Council and approved by the Mayor. Introduced and passed on first reading at a regular meeting of the City Council on the 13th day of September 2022, upon Motion by Council Member Wilke. PASSED and ADOPTED by the Laurel City Council on second reading on the 27th day of September 2022, upon Motion by Council Member _____________________. APPROVED BY THE MAYOR on the 27th day of September 2022. Formatted: Font: Not Bold Formatted: Font: Not Bold Formatted: Font: Not Bold 85 Ordinance No. 022-05 Chapter 1.01 of LMC (Code Adoption) CITY OF LAUREL ___________________________ Dave Waggoner, Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ Kelly Strecker, Clerk-Treasurer APPROVED AS TO FORM: ______________________________ Michele L. Braukmann, Civil City Attorney 86