Polson Commission wraps 2023 with full agenda

The Polson City Commission dashed through a blizzard of agenda items during the first hour of its final meeting of 2023, earning the following praise from City Manager Ed Meece: “Fourteen items in one hour is probably a record.”

The first portion of the meeting, held Dec. 18, was devoted to a public hearing on a prioritized project list for the new State-Local Infrastructure Partnership Act, passed by the 2023 Legislature. Under the program, which is administered by the Department of Commerce, cities have an opportunity to provide a 25% match and receive 75% in state funding for projects involving infrastructure maintenance and repair.

The city staff drafted a list of seven projects, deemed eligible by the DOC. The next step was a public hearing and formal approval by the commission.

The prioritized list includes:

• Replacing or repairing a failed generator and asbestos ceiling tiles at the Fire Station, and replacing tires on the main pumper truck ($100,000);

• Repairing or rebuilding dangerous sidewalks ($75,000);

• Repairing portions of city-owned docks and piers at Riverside Park and Travis Dauphin Dog Park ($75,000);

• Repairing or replacing broken and aging playground equipment and gazebos at Boettcher Park ($40,084).

• Adding new bearproof, leakproof and ADA-compliant garbage containers at Boettcher, Riverside and Sacajawea parks ($70,000);

• Contracting with a vendor for weed mitigation in city parks and rights of way ($13,250);

• Improving access to City Hall for people with disabilities, fixing the broken front door, and switching the commission chambers and courtroom to the front of the building to provide better public access ($150,000).

The total cost for the seven projects is estimated at $523,334; if approved by the Department of Commerce, the state would contribute $384,978 and the city would pitch in $138,355.

The proposal was roundly praised and unanimously approved by the commission, clearing the way for city staff to complete a final application.

“I like all these projects – we’re touching a lot of parts of the community and addressing a lot of needs with a broad brush,” said commissioner Brodie Moll.

Commissioner Carolyn Pardini suggested the 7th Avenue Skate Park be added to the list of parks needing improvements, while commissioner Jen Ruggless advocated moving the improved garbage containers closer to the top of the list.

Board Appointments

The flurry of new business continued with the appointment of several new and returning community members to various municipal boards. Among them:

• Larry Ashcraft was reappointed to the Board of Adjustments for a three-year term, which provoked a plea from Meece for help in recruiting at least four additional members to make the board functional. The board’s job is to hear appeals of planning decisions, interpret confusing provisions in zoning ordinances and decide on applications by landowners for variances. Minus the requisite five members, the commission is currently filling that role.

In response to Ashcraft’s lonely post, commissioner Laura Dever asked, “Has Larry been meeting just with himself?”

A similar problem plagues the City/County Planning Board, where three of the four seats allocated to the city remain vacant, even after the appointment to a two-year term of Wendy Kinsolving, the new pastor of JourneyBe Church. Meece noted that the county’s four seats are filled, as is one allocated to the Lake County Conservation District.

“If you have ideas, please have them come forward,” he urged.

The Golf Board, on the other hand, has a full complement of members, including the appointment of Michelle Terrell to a two-year citizen-at-large term. Also popular is the Parks and Tree Board, which is full with the reappointment of incumbents Robert Byers (a city/county appointee) and Linda Greenwood, plus new member Brittany Simovich, all for three-year terms, and newcomer Lauri Sutil to fill a one-year vacancy on the board.

Local Government Review

The next hour was largely spent on two items, beginning with adding the creation of a Local Government Review Study Commission to the June primary election ballot.

The Montana Constitution insists that citizens be given the opportunity at 10-year intervals to weigh in on their form of local government, but first, the commission must call for an election.

In June, municipal voters will be asked to vote whether or not to review the City of Polson’s government. A majority of votes in favor will authorize the establishment of a commission of five elected members to conduct that review, along with funding of up to two mills to finance the process.

Mayor Eric Huffine took issue with commissioners being required to vote on the ballot measure, even though they are mandated by the state constitution to put the matter before voters.

“You don’t really have a choice,” he argued, prior to voting against the measure. “I’m wondering why there’s even a vote since they’re telling us how we have to vote.”

Despite his protest, the measure passed handily.

Pend De’Oreille Heights 

Finally, the commission considered whether to grant a special-use permit for a proposed eight-unit development that would be located just north of St. Joseph Providence Medical Center, on First Street E.

Foundation Nine Architecture of North Idaho designed the project on behalf of Michael Merchant of Polson. If constructed, the Pend De’Oreille Heights development would include up to eight two-story cottages, built on a 14,000 square-foot undeveloped lot with on-site parking for up to eight vehicles, accessed from the alley. 

As city planner Rob Edington explained, all multiple-family dwellings with five-to-eight units within the Hospital Mixed Zoning District require a special-use permit. The staff report recommended approving the application on the condition that the site plan be modified to meet 25-foot setback requirements, or that developers acquire a variance before the building permit is granted.

Edington told commissioners he has been working with developers for 12 months on the project, which originally called for six three-story condos.

At a previous hearing before the City/County Planning Board, adjacent property owners expressed concerns about increased traffic, disruption and noise. While the planning board voted in favor of permitting the development by 3-1, the vote was nullified because not enough members were present to make the vote binding.

Pardini expressed concerns about stormwater management in an area “that already has a big run-off problem.”

Blaine Verlanic of Foundation Nine Architecture attended the meeting via Zoom, and said that the developer had just recently discovered that a 25-foot setback was required for the development. Previously, a local surveyor told them a five-foot setback would be sufficient, and that’s what the architectural drawings show. However, further research revealed that because First St. E. is considered a “collector” roadway, 25-foot setbacks are needed.

That large of a setback “will squeeze the project down too much and eliminate too many units,” Verlanic said.

Changing those setback requirements would require another meeting with the commission and City/County Planning Board. “We are in the process of putting a variance package together to put forward,” Verlanic added.

At the end of the discussion, Pardini voted against the special-use permit while the remaining five commissioners and mayor voted for it.  

The meeting, which marked the end of Tony Isbell’s tenure on the commission, closed with a presentation of a plaque honoring his service to the city.

“Hey, there are openings on the Board of Adjustments,” joked Ruggless.

“It’s been great to be on this journey with you,” added Pardini.

The commission’s first meeting of 2024 is at 7 p.m. Jan. 3 and includes a swearing in of Isbell’s replacement, Lisa Rehard, as well as incumbents Pardini and Ruggless.