Billings City Council Regular Meeting - October 27, 2025
Billings City Council Regular Meeting - October 27, 2025
The Billings City Council convened for a regular business meeting on October 27, 2025, presided over by Mayor William Cole. The session began with the Pledge of Allegiance and invocation, followed by the unanimous approval of minutes from September 22 and October 13. The Council adopted two proclamations recognizing Epilepsy Awareness Month and Family Court Awareness Month, accompanied by testimony from community representatives who expressed gratitude for the City's support in these areas. The meeting featured public hearings and votes on four major agenda items: the withdrawal of a casino zoning application, two zone change requests for the Clearwater Estate Subdivision, and the significant expansion of the South Billings Boulevard Urban Renewal District.
Consent Calendar
- Unanimously approved minutes from meetings held on September 22 and October 13, 2025.
- Approved all consent agenda items except Item 1I (Sidewalk Impediments), which was separated for individual discussion.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Megan Hotson (Advisory Board Chair, Epilepsy Foundation Montana): Expressed appreciation for the Epilepsy Awareness Month proclamation and highlighted the impact of epilepsy in the region.
- Kyla Hale Stone (Director, Montana Family Court Awareness Project): Expressed deep gratitude for the Council's unanimous support of the Family Court Awareness Month proclamation, noting its role in supporting state legislative victories regarding domestic violence and child advocacy.
- Denise Johnson (Child and Family Advocate): Expressed strong support for the Family Court Awareness proclamation, emphasizing Montana's ranking first in childhood trauma per capita and advocating for better representation for children in the system.
- Kevin Nelson (Citizen): Expressed strong opposition to the South Billings Urban Renewal District expansion, arguing that the City bypassed statutory public notice requirements and that funding the South Park pool via Tax Increment Financing (TIF) without a standalone revenue base was fiscally imprudent and contrary to voter intent.
- Paul Clark (Resident): Expressed support for the Urban Renewal expansion to fund South Park pool repairs and improve park facilities, while simultaneously expressing concern regarding the pollution and environmental impact of the Western Sugar facility.
- Tanya Ludwig (School District 2 Trustee): Expressed support for the expansion, citing the historical success of the district in funding Riverside Park softball fields and the urgent need to address South Park pool repairs.
- Nancy Talcott (Resident): Expressed concerns and fear regarding potential forced displacement or loss of property rights for residents of trailer courts, questioning the implications of TIF expansion on her home.
Discussion Items
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Item 2: Special Review 1002 (Casino)
- Council discussed a request from the applicant to withdraw a new casino application for 5545 Holiday Avenue due to funding withdrawal by a larger conglomerate. City Administrator Gina Dahl clarified that city code requires a public hearing before a withdrawal can be accepted, as the Zoning Commission had already held a hearing. The Council voted to proceed with the withdrawal after the hearing closed.
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Item 3: Zone Change 1071 (Clearwater Estates)
- Craig Dalton (Representative for Brown Development) testified that the request to rezone from NX2 to N3 was driven by specific builder product requirements and timelines, noting that the process had been lengthy due to split ownership.
- Councilmember Gullick expressed reservations about the lower density impacting the tax base but acknowledged the need for density diversity and ultimately supported the motion.
- Councilmember Ripsis requested clarification on the original PND zoning and supported the change, noting the need for better long-term PND mapping visualization in the future.
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Item 4: Zone Change 1072 (Clearwater Estates)
- Greg McCall (McCall Development) explained that the zone changes were necessary adjustments to accommodate connectivity and road engineering constraints, effectively restructuring the zoning without drastically changing overall density.
- Councilmember Ripsis expressed concern that Bell Avenue would not provide a contiguous connection through the development, though staff clarified it would connect but be traffic-calmed to direct flow to Central Avenue.
- Councilmember Nees expressed hope for a "fast-track" zoning process for future PNDs to avoid similar delays.
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Item 5: South Billings Boulevard Urban Renewal District Expansion
- Wyatt Friday (Planning Director) presented the blight analysis findings, noting deteriorating infrastructure, unsafe structures, and high vacancies in the proposed expansion area.
- Councilmember Shaw provided assurance that centrally assessed railroad properties would not cause the same revenue fluctuations seen with telecom properties in the downtown district.
- Councilmember Ripsis maintained strong opposition, arguing the City lacked sufficient financial visibility regarding commitments against the new district's projected revenue and felt a spreadsheet of commitments was necessary before voting.
- Councilmember Kennedy and others argued the expansion was vital for creating new tax bases in a blighted area, correcting the record that new revenues were being created rather than simply capturing existing ones from other jurisdictions.
Key Outcomes
- Withdrawal Approval: The Council unanimously approved the withdrawal of the Special Review 1002 application for the casino development.
- Zone Change 1071: Unanimously approved the first reading of the ordinance for Zone Change 1071 (Clearwater Estates) and adopted the Zoning Commission's findings.
- Zone Change 1072: Unanimously approved the first reading of the ordinance for Zone Change 1072 (Clearwater Estates) and adopted the Zoning Commission's findings.
- Urban Renewal Expansion: Approved the first reading of the ordinance to expand the boundaries of the South Billings Boulevard Urban Renewal District and adopt the modified urban renewal plan. The vote tally was 6-1, with Councilmember Ripsis dissenting based on financial concerns. The district is set to sunset in 2046.
- Adjournment: Councilmember Boyette reminded the body of the upcoming Volunteer Appreciation Dinner on October 29 at the Senior Center and the scheduling of the City Administrator's annual review.
Meeting Transcript
October 27, 2025, and this is a regular business meeting of the Billings City Council. Um please stand with me for the Pledge of Allegiance, and Councilmember Tidswell is with us for our invocation. Foundation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice. Let us pause for a moment of reflection. We gather tonight with a gratitude for this community that we serve. Grant us clarity of thought, respecting our dialogue, and the courage to make decisions that strengthen our city. May our work reflect fairness, compassion, and shared commitment to the well-being of every resident. Let wisdom guide our actions and unity inspire our progress. Lord make it so. Amen. Denise, uh, would you please call the role? Councilmember Shah. Gullick, Nece, Owen. Here, Rogers, Kennedy, here. Aspen Liner. Uh, excused. Ted's well. Mayor Cole. Here. Uh this evening, uh our city administrator and assistant city administrator are both out of town in Florida for a uh annual convention of the ICMA, the international uh uh conference of our city manager management association uh conference. So uh Gina Dahl, our city administrator, is uh sitting in for them. They'll be back on Thursday of this week. Um, first up, uh we've got minutes from both our meetings of September 22nd and October 13 before us. Is there a motion concerning one or either or comments? Uh Councilmember Neys. Mayor, I make a motion to approve September 22nd and October 13th, 2025 minutes. Very good. Is there a second, Councilmember Boyette? Uh is there any discussion? Then uh if in favor of the motion, this for approval, both sets of minutes, please say aye. Aye. If uh opposed, say nay. Motion passes unanimously. Uh council of courtesies this evening. Do we have any council courtesies? Uh seeing none, we will move on. We do have uh two proclamations this evening. Um the first one is in recognition of epilepsy uh awareness month, and we have a representative here who will also uh talk with us briefly, and the proclamation reads as follows. Whereas Epilepsy Awareness Month is a nationwide effort to raise awareness about epilepsy and to improve and save lives through better care, advocacy, research therapies, and education. And whereas epilepsy is a brain disorder characterized by recurrent and unprovoked seizures that can affect anyone at any age and at any time. And whereas epilepsy is a spectrum disease comprised of many diagnoses and experiences that includes a wide range of seizure types, comorbidities, control capabilities, severity, and outcomes varying from person to person. And whereas epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder, and approximately 3.4 million people in the United States, including including almost 11,000 in Montana live with active epilepsy. And whereas more than 300,000 Hispanic Americans and almost 600,000 black non-Hispanic Americans live with epilepsy in the United States, and there can be significant delays in obtaining appropriate diagnoses for Native Americans, Asians, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders. And whereas people with epilepsy need access to affordable, comprehensive, physician-directed, and person-centered health care and delays in accessing effective treatments, increase the likelihood of seizures and related complications, including injury, disability, and even sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. And whereas, even though many treatments are approved to treat seizures, 30 to 40 percent of people with epilepsy still live with uncontrolled seizures, and the epilepsy-related medical costs associated with uncontrolled epilepsy are two to ten times higher than those of controlled epsilepsy. And whereas epilepsy and seizures impose an economic health care burden on of approximately 54 billion dollars each year in the United States, and whereas 470,000 children live with epilepsy in the United States on and on average students with epilepsy age six to seventeen miss 11 or more days of school each year, and 336,000 kids have at least one seizure annually. And whereas protections exist in the Americans with Disabilities Act, related uh and related civil rights laws, but people with epilepsy still encounter discrimination in areas including unemployment, or I'm sorry, including employment, education, and housing, and whereas we must increase public knowledge about epilepsy and seizures, including how to provide first aid and other assistance in an emergency, because 25% of the general public say that they would be nervous around a person with epilepsy. And whereas we must increase public knowledge about epilepsy and seizures, including how to provide first aid and other assistance in an emergency, because 25% of the general public say that they would be nervous around a person with epilepsy. Now, therefore, I, William Cole, mayor of the city of Billings to hereby proclaim this month of November 2025 to be epilepsy awareness month and encourage Billings residents to take action to overcome the challenges of living with epilepsy and accelerate therapies to stop seizures, find cures, and save lives. So, with that, I I believe we have uh uh one or two representatives who would like from the epilepsy uh awareness community who would like to address the public.
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