All right, it is 5 15, so I'm gonna go ahead and call the Board of City Commissioners together, and we will start with invocation and pledge with Chaplin Hare.

Heavenly Father, thank you for this day, and thank you again for the beauty of it and the sunshine.

Thank you for the cool of the air, which declares the change of the seasons.

And Lord, it shows us once again your power and your might.

And it proves to us that we are not in control, but that there is one who does control every element and aspect of this world, including the seasons of which we have no control.

And so Lord, we thank you that we can come to you in prayer, and we ask that uh this evening as these commissioners meet, as they debate and discuss and as uh uh things are brought before them, Father.

We pray that you would grant wisdom, that you would grant insight, that you would grant clarity of communication and conversation back and forth, um, that people are understood one to another as uh points are brought up and things are are discussed and uh even as decisions are made.

Lord, we thank you that you've given us a beautiful city to live in.

We thank you for our leadership.

We thank you for these commissioners.

We thank you for those uh who are uh serving us, and we specifically thank of our first responders who are available to help and to rescue and to keep us from and keep us safe from from peril and tragedy.

And so, Lord, would you bless them today?

Would you watch over and protect them?

Um thank you for the service that they do.

And uh might we as the citizens of this uh great city might might we be thankful and and uh and mention it to them, grateful for their service that they give.

Uh Lord, now in these moments together, um we uh say thank you again for being our for being God and for giving us uh the opportunity to gather together and to to govern ourselves and we pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, your son our Savior.

Amen.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty to for all.

All right, we will go ahead and call roll.

Commissioner Rush.

Here commissioner Zinker.

Here, Commissioner Connolly, here Schmitz, here Chair Cleary.

Here all right, first on the agenda is public comment.

Um, just a reminder public comment is restricted to items on the consent agenda, regular agenda or the prior city commission agenda, excluding any public hearing items.

Um I do ask that you please write down your name and address when you um come up to the podium and state the item um that you will be speaking on.

First call for public comment.

Second call for public comment.

Third and final call for public comment.

Public comment period is now closed.

Item number two is the consent agenda.

Uh Commissioners, what are the wishes of the consent agenda?

Madam Chair.

Yes, go ahead.

Yeah, Commissioner Rish here.

I'd like to pull item six off the agenda and um discuss it just briefly.

I think it's great news and uh the public should hear about it.

That's the fire truck is okay.

That is item B D6 D 6.

Okay, so we will go ahead and pull D six for discussion.

Anything else?

I'd move to approve the rest of the consent agenda excluding item D6, and we'll come back to that.

Second.

There's a motion and a second.

Any further discussion?

Okay, go ahead and call roll.

Commissioner Zinker.

Yes.

Commissioner Conley.

Yes.

Mayor Schmitz.

Yes.

Commissioner Rish.

Yes.

Chair Cleary.

Yes.

Okay.

Consent item D6 is the update on the sole source purchase of a 1926 Seagrave fire truck approved at the September 22nd, 2025 City Commission meeting in an executive session.

Commissioner Rish, I will let you speak to that.

Yeah, I just maybe Jason could come up and explain it in more detail.

He's the expert.

But it's it's okay.

But it's exciting.

Okay, but it's pretty exciting.

I thought it'd be nice for the public to see about it.

It's uh Bismarck's second fire truck, I understand.

It seems to be in very good condition, and uh we were able to purchase it and um preserve it.

Go ahead, Jason.

Good evening, uh Mayor, Commissioners, Chair Cleary, uh Commissioner Rich.

Yes, thank you for the opportunity to get to talk about this.

Uh what we're talking about here is a 1926 Sea Grave fire truck that was originally purchased, it was ordered and purchased by the City of Bismarck.

I believe we took delivery in early January of 1927, and this particular fire apparatus served in the Bismarck fire service for close to four decades.

Uh it was sold by the city in 1988 for what I can gather, uh, we just simply didn't have a place to store it.

At that time, we had two fire stations, and our public works facility was uh located on 9th Street across from the police station, which is now uh owned and operated by the Bismarck Public School District.

Uh we just simply ran out of room.

And in 1988, the fire truck was sold at City Auction at a surplus auction, and it was purchased by uh a local couple, Jim and Jan Beck.

Uh many people may know the Beck's, uh they have affiliations with other um wonderful things in the Bismarck Mandan community, particularly Huff Hills and formerly the Fort Lincoln trolley.

Um friends of mine uh know that I'm a history enthusiast and they are friends with the Beck family, and through conversation said, Hey Jason, how would you like to see an old Bismarck fire truck?

And without hesitation, I said yes, where is it?

And the Bex were kind enough to uh basically let me and some others check this thing out.

Uh it was earlier this summer.

It was stored here in Bismarck.

Uh Jim kept it active up until probably the last three years or so.

Uh occasionally it was involved in uh Fourth of July parades or parades over here in Bismarck.

Um but for the last few years anyway, it had it had sat idle and in storage.

And I was really excited to check it out.

And as we were putting the tart back on it and kind of buttoning it all up and getting ready to shut the garage door again.

I smiled to Mr.

Beck and I said, if this thing is ever for sale, I said, I'm asking on behalf of the city of Bismarck.

I said if you would appreciate I would appreciate you letting me know.

And he smiled and he said, Well, it's for sale right now.

And I said, give me a few weeks.

I said I need to talk to some people, and then we had an executive session here, and I shared the information with the commissioners and uh went back and worked out a mutual agreement uh to purchase the fire truck back, and um I'm glad to say that um the transaction went very smooth.

The Bex were uh very gracious that uh the city was going to reacquire this property from the firefighters aspect from the side of our fire department um in speaking with uh fire chief Joel Baseflug and and some of the other staff over there.

This has been a tremendous morale boost for our firefighters.

This is uh uh it was really exciting to see all of them working together to get this thing out of the garage and onto the trailer and over to public works where it sits today.

Uh we transported it on trailer to public works where the mechanics will work through the uh working parts of the uh engine and making sure that it's safe to drive.

From there, the plan is to store it temporarily at Fire Station 2, which is on Expressway Avenue.

And I believe uh the firefighters are or fire department personnel are working on uh putting glass panels in one of the garage bays, so as you drive by an expressway, you'll be able to look through that glass garage door and see the front of this truck.

And then we're looking for all sorts of opportunities to share this thing with the community.

As I mentioned, it's a 1926 model, and so next year it will be with its 100th birthday.

Uh it's a working fire truck.

It has battle scars, it has patina, but it is also a wonderful piece of Bismarck history, and I'm so proud to be a part of this and uh you know, kind of bringing it home as we might say.

Um and I just want to say thanks to the commissioners for your unanimous support when I came to you and asked if we should do this.

I think there was a race to see who could make the motion in the second because there was a lot of enthusiasm from this table too.

So I'm glad to be a part of that.

I'm I'm glad for the fire department.

I'm glad for Bismarck.

I'm thankful for the Bex for taking care of it for all these years.

And if there's any questions, I'd be happy to try and answer those.

No questions, but I think we don't have a photo of it here tonight, but you had a photo of it at the executive meeting, and it's pictured in, I think, kind of a iconic Bismarck black and white photo that I think a lot of people that grew up in Bismarck would recognize of the fire truck in downtown Bismarck with the Patterson behind it.

I think the chief is on it.

Uh it's a very cool photo that I think has been repurposed a lot in Bismarck, so I think people will recognize it, which is also really cool.

Madam Chair, actually on the consent agenda, you can click on the documents and there's a couple photos of it.

Oh, perfect.

So you can go find it on the website.

And I know if I may, Commissioners are communications uh strategist Calenosa is working on a press release as well, and that was going to follow the action tonight.

So we'll we'll hopefully have some more opportunity to talk to local media about this and and show some stories and some pictures of it as well, and we'll see what the future holds for the whole thing.

Great.

Thanks, Jason.

Okay, we will move on to the regular agenda.

I'll make a motion to approve item D6.

Thank you.

And second, thank you, Commissioner Zinker.

Thank you.

Um so we have a motion and a second.

Uh any further discussion.

Okay, go ahead and call roll.

Commissioner Conley.

Yes.

Yes.

Commissioner Rish.

Yes.

Commissioner Zinker.

Yes.

Chair Cleary.

Yes.

Okay, now we will move on to regular agenda.

Item A is a public hearing on the application to transfer the Class D uh alcohol license from TBM group LLC, polar package place uh and Lucky's bar to Map Pack Properties LLC, Lucky Bar's uh Lucky's Bar Polar Package on 2176 East Thayer Avenue.

Uh this is a public hearing.

Anyone who wishes to speak on this agenda item, please come forward.

Hi, I'm Kevin Sheby, S C H I E V E.

Uh I do not understand why we would ever approve this.

Uh how can you let charitable gambling get to this state?

We've got 1.2 billion dollars going into charitable gambling.

If you figure the numbers out, it's fifteen hundred dollars for a man, woman, and child in this state that would they would have to spend for them to make that kind of money.

And where is this money gonna go?

To a rich man.

A man that's selling two bars, and he's very wealthy with other interests.

Uh I don't understand where charitable gambling is going.

This is not what the legislature intended when they brought in charitable gambling.

That money should go to places.

It should go to if nothing else out of our community to St.

Jude's or something like that, you know, somewhere where it's needed.

It nobody should be able to own a bar.

And I don't think it's legal in the first place.

An organization or closely related organization should be ineligible for a license or permit.

This is in our code, our state code, a nonprofit social hobby, trade, business, professionally professional, similarly, club or association or organization.

Primary purpose mainly provide a direct benefit to its officers or members members is not a public spirited organization eligible for a license.

That's written.

You guys should actually I have papers for you.

How can we do this?

A county, city, state, political subdivision or federal entity is not eligible for a gaming license or permit.

It's in the I think it's in the two hundred and forty six pages.

That's the first page I just gave you.

If people do not read the whole two hundred and forty six pages without letting this go.

Uh it's wrong.

Uh our attorney general should not let this go.

Drew Wrigley has to approve it.

He should read those two hundred forty six pages, and I couldn't get through it in the last few days.

It's ominous.

Uh there's so many places this money could go.

It should not be going to buy bars.

Uh and where, you know, whose license is or whose name is going on that alcohol license.

I tried finding that out.

I couldn't find it out.

Actually, I can't find out uh if this deal even went down.

It didn't.

It wasn't in the register of deeds today.

Uh where do the profits go?

Do the profits from these bars now go to nonprofit?

I'm tired of nonprofit.

I don't even like the way Sanford's doing their business, buying up every lot in town just to maintain their status of a nonprofit organization.

It's not right.

It's basically building monopolies.

They own Mat Pack owns Crystals Bar in Lincoln.

Now they're buying two more bars in Bismarck.

Why do they have seven million dollars in their coffer?

Why that money should be spent?

That money should be given away.

It should go to some charity that it was intended for.

Not to buy a bar.

And why are you people letting this go?

I think you have the last say other than Drew Wrigley.

Can you tell me that?

Anybody?

No.

Do the who's on the board of these nonprofits.

I mean, answers.

We need answers before we let this thing go through.

It's ridiculous.

Um I just for some clarification, I think um Julie might be able to answer a couple of your other questions too.

But um in the application process, they do have to when you ask like who owns who are the officers, who's on the board.

The people are listed.

There is redacted personal information, but I th they do list their officers and stuff.

So name is on the I mean it's it's all in their documents.

Which is sold by the city, correct?

No.

Where's the liquor license come from?

The liquor license, I mean it's being transferred.

So it's going from one entity to another in this case.

And you have control of how many liquor licenses there are in the city, correct?

Uh I mean, yes, the because there is a cap on the class D liquor licenses and they have to be approved.

I can't buy that liquor license.

Most people can't.

But when you put one point two million dollars out there and and these uh non profits are spending that money like drunken sailors, that's not right.

Uh you can't go out and buy bars.

I mean why not give it to anybody?

Uh you can find things to give this money to rather than bars.

Uh there are people in need out there.

You know, I certainly even a homeless, and I'm not a guy that likes homeless shelters.

But if you gotta spend seven million on a homeless shelter, I'd say that's way better than uh putting it into uh buying a bar.

And what are you gonna do with all in profits?

I mean, you're only gonna make more money once you own the bar.

I understand they can only have 10 machines in a bar, is that correct?

And in a certain place.

I know that there are limitations.

Yeah.

Now is that gonna change when you own the bar?

You know, means you don't have to pay.

So now they don't have to pay for their machines.

All of those restrictions, I believe, are set by the state code, if I'm remembering correctly.

And that 240.

So some of those pages, yeah.

Yes, so some of this legality that I'm gonna ask Julie to answer a few of your questions as far as like is it legal, that sort of stuff.

Um a lot of that is though we are the ones approving it, we're approving it based off of the state law.

I know that some of this charitable gambling was of discussion at the state legislature, and um questions were raised, I think, at the state level as to whether organi which organizations can own the entities.

Uh but I don't believe that that law has changed enough where at a local level we would be able to stop it from happening because we have to follow the state law in these instances.

But I'm gonna let Julie speak to that because she knows the state law much more than I do.

Well, I'll just clarify.

Thank you, Chair Cleary.

MatPAC LLC is a separate entity from the MATPAC nonprofit, and MATPAC LLC has apparently entered into an arrangement to buy these liquor licenses from the current holders.

So it's a limited liability company that is purchasing these liquor licenses.

It's a way around.

It's uh it's the 40 percent of the 60.

You know 40 percent can go for whatever, 60 percent has to go to uh charitable charitable things.

We did this all wrong somehow.

Uh I don't care if I have to go back to the legislature.

I just spent a lot of time at the legislature.

And I can get it, I I will try to get it changed.

And we will get this.

I mean, when you got Vickies and Mandan, Lonesome Dove on the strip, all these now and crystals, and all being bought up by nonprofit, it's not right, guys.

Come on.

Think about it.

Uh this charity, it was meant for charity.

I certainly understand your frustrations.

Um I'm just trying to explain like legal boundary.

We have to follow the state law.

I would suggest that if this is something that frustrates you and you want to see change, that change does have to have to happen at the legislature from my understanding.

Um I understand your frustration.

Obviously.

They probably wrote it up wrong in their 247 pages, six pages, whatever.

Uh try to read that one.

Uh Drew Wrigley has the say in this, and I wonder if he's read that, you know.

I hope he's listening.

Does anyone else have any questions for Kevin?

Thank you.

This is a public hearing.

Anyone who wishes to speak on the agenda item, a please come forward.

Second call for public hearing.

I'll speak.

Go ahead.

Uh first of all, thanks for letting me come up here and speak.

I'm the MapPack uh board president here in Bismarck, and I just want to make clarify a little bit of things that the gentleman said is that um currently we don't own any bar in in Lincoln.

That's not our uh that's not our property.

We don't want any bars as of right now.

And just to clarify with her, too, is that our it is the MATPAC properties LLC that's uh in this project right now, and everything that we do is not taken out of our gaming money or a trust money because that's regulated by the state.

So this is all not bought by gaming money, so I just want to make sure that's clear on our part.

And we got our lawyers involved.

We went to the banks and everything that we've done so far, um, has been through legal through the state, and um just want to make sure that everybody knows that we're doing um the right thing.

Just for the record, you are Jason.

I'm Jason Hubert yes.

Okay, thank you.

Any questions for Jason?

Um, Madam Chair, John Eric.

Go ahead.

Uh Jason, so Matt Pack is a charitable organization, but Matt PAC also has an LLC, and this LLC is now proposing to purchase these two liquor establishments.

Um where does the LLC get its funding?

Yeah, the LLC was uh organized, I think in 2022, about four three, four years ago.

Um that is stuff that from our from our state tournaments, that's from our um registrations, that's from our other things that we do to help raise money for the organization.

Um it's underneath the LLC, and that's where um this business prop proposition is taking place, not underneath our regular MAPPAC.

So is the LLC a for-profit entity?

And we'll do both these liquor establishments if they go through remain under tax roles.

Um I would assume so yes.

We're not leaving.

I didn't understand the question.

So I can I can probably address that, uh Chair.

Go ahead, Mayor.

So any charitable organization or organization that is a charitable organization that owns another business that has what's called unrelated business income.

That entity and that income is subject to income tax.

Frankly, at a same rate or a higher rate than regular corporate taxes, state and federal okay thank you.

And prop property tax as well.

Correct.

Correct.

And I don't think the properties unpurchased here, but for clarification, Commissioner Rish, it's not the charitable organization that is purchasing the liquor license, it's the LLC, so they will still all be subject to all of the income taxes, etc.

That may or may not apply to charitable organizations when you're talking about property taxes and stuff.

So any other questions for Jason.

Thank you.

Thank you, guys.

Third call for public hearing on regular agenda item A.

Anyone who wishes to speak, please come forward.

Public hearing is now closed.

Uh commissioners, what are your wishes?

Move to approve is presented.

Second.

Um we have a motion and a second.

Is there any further discussion?

Com Commissioner Zenker.

Chair Clearly, uh Commissioner, so I just wanted to expand on a couple things.

Um two weeks ago at our meeting, that's one of the reasons why I made when I made the motion to approve the consent agenda to make sure we had public hearing on these two items.

Um two that I did, I did contact local legislators, um, and one of them did contact the AG's office.

Um everything here that we're doing, because all we're doing is transferring a liquor license, does meet all state and and city ordinances.

Um the optics of it is what's concerning.

Um, and I was assured by one of the legislators that I talked to that they will be closing um a couple loopholes in this to make sure that it's they that both entities are right because Matt Pac has two entities, their nonprofit side of things and their LLC, that there is no um funds that can quote unquote cross that line.

So sure.

Okay.

So our simple business that we're doing tonight is transferring these uh liquor licenses.

Thank you, Commissioner Zenker.

Yeah, I know that it was a topic at the legislature.

I think it will continue to be a topic, but for our sake tonight, it really is just the liquor license transfer.

So uh any other discussion.

Hearing none, we'll go ahead and call roll.

Commissioner Rish.

Yes, Commissioner Zinker.

Yes, Commissioner Connolly, yes, Mayor Schmitz.

Yes, Chair Cleary.

Yes.

Item B public hearing on an application to transfer the Class D alcohol license from TBM group LLC doing business as main bar and package store to Mat Pack Properties LLC doing business as main bar at 804 East Avenue, East Main Avenue.

Um this is a public hearing.

Anyone who wishes to speak on this agenda item, please come forward.

Second call for public hearing.

Third and final call for the public hearing.

Public hearing has now closed.

What are the wishes of the commission?

Move to approve is presented.

We have a motion and a second.

Is there any further discussion?

Go ahead and call roll.

Commissioner Zinker.

Yes.

Commissioner Conley.

Yes.

Mayor Schmitz.

Yes.

Commissioner Rush.

Yes.

Chair Cleary.

Yes.

Item C is a public hearing on revision to ordinance 6625, a revision of zoning map amendment from the A agricultural zoning district to RM20 and a PUD planned unit development in the area of Silver Ranch 5th edition.

Daniel.

Good evening, Chairman.

Some stuff for us first.

Yes, uh, mayor and commissioners, Chair Cleary.

The uh Silver Ranch L 18 LLP and Invest Corps Incorporated are requesting this revision to zoning map amendment in the area of Silver Ranch Fifth Edition.

I see a revision because you did approve this ordinance already, Horniness 6625 in your July 8th uh 2025 meeting.

However, it was approved with a plat, and the platter for Silver Range Fifth Edition is still in process of being recorded.

Uh in that meantime, the applicant noticed a few changes that they had wished to make to the PUD.

Essentially the setbacks, the front yard setbacks would be changed from 25 to 20 or 15 on corner lots, and then the lot widths would change a little bit from 55 feet to 50 feet.

Uh so those changes are reflected in the ordinance that you have before you this evening.

Uh and so the public hearing, I'm sorry, the planning commission did hold another public hearing on these changes uh on September 24th, 2025, and they recommended approval.

Uh staff also recommend approval.

No comments or concerns were raised during that hearing.

So based on these findings, uh the planning zoning commission does recommend approval of uh the revisions of this ordinance uh to the zoning map amendment for silver ranch fifth edition.

And I could attempt to answer any questions, or I think the applicant has a representative here as well.

All before the public hearing doesn't look like it.

Thank you.

Um so this is a public hearing.

Anyone who wishes to speak on item agenda number six, please come forward.

Thank you, Chair Cleary, Lana Nymon or Swinton Hagen Engineering.

Um, just as Daniel said, we just uh a couple of items that maybe we were not specific enough about on when we first came through the PUD that we noticed after the fact.

Wanted to clarify those a little bit more before we um before we move forward, but I can answer any questions if you have them.

Doesn't look like it.

Thank you.

Second call for public hearing.

Third and final call for public hearing.

Public hearing is now closed.

What are the wishes of the commission?

Move to approve.

I'll move to approve as presented.

Second.

All right, we have a motion and a second.

Uh what um any further discussion.

Doesn't look like there's a further discussion.

Go ahead and call roll.

Commissioner Connolly.

Yes.

Mayor Schmitz?

Yes.

Commissioner Rish.

Yes.

Commissioner Zinker?

Yes.

Chair Cleary.

Yes.

Item D, public hearing on ordinance 6643, a zoning or ordinance text amendment to sections 140203 and 140306 of the city code of ordinance to allow short-term rentals as a use of residential properties within the city limits and extraterritorial area.

Uh good evening, Chair and Commissioners.

Uh the planning department requests approval of a zoning ordinance text amendment to sections 14-02-03 and 14-03-06 of the City Code of Ordinances to allow short-term rentals on as a use on residential properties.

Um, just some background.

The topic of short-term rentals was brought up through the current land development code process by members of the steering committee for that, and was identified as a specific area of interest for members within the community.

Due to this interest, staff uh thought it best to have a separate zoning ordinance text amendment for this self-contained topic rather than combining it with the full land development code.

Um staff did bring this to the Bismarck Planning and Zoning Commission on April 23rd, 2025, and ask for direction on this topic.

Um the Bismarck Planning and Zoning Commission directed uh staff to prepare a zoning ordinance tax amendment for short short-term rentals.

So the draft uh zoning ordinance tax amendment includes a definition of short-term rentals.

Um it notes that a residential appearance must be maintained for the property.

Um it does uh include information for uh only having structures classified as permanent residential units.

Um there's also noise and parking requirements noted there, as well as uh uh noting that uh requirements of the International Building Code should be met for this.

Um so there were several areas that were reviewed when drafting the zoning ordinance text amendment, um short-term ordinances and regulations from peer communities.

Um as you can see on the screen here, uh just some of our peer communities here, and it just provides information on which ones have current ordinances which are currently in the process of reviewing them or which ones uh do have an ordinance.

Um and the ones that do have an ordinance, uh it's mainly our peer cities within South Dakota.

Um, and those have uh some various uh requirements related to permitting uh the short-term rentals as well as some additional requirements uh for providing state licensures.

Um as part of that uh process to draft this ordinance, uh various zoning practice publications from the American Planning Association as well as the National League of Cities, which highlighted common issues and best practices were reviewed.

Um host information from common short-term rental uh platforms were reviewed by staff to determine what was currently required by hosts in our community from those entities.

Uh tax requirements for short-term rentals were also reviewed.

Um however, those are slightly beyond the purview of zoning, but there is information included in this staff report just to provide some information related to that.

Um short-term rental postings in Bismarck um were reviewed as well just to provide some reference as well to see how many are currently on these platforms uh that are currently operating within the community.

Um a stakeholder group, uh including representatives from the Bismarck Gleaning and Zoning Commission, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, uh the Chamber EDC, the downtowners, um, short-term rental owners as well as city staff from various departments was created to help draft the ordinance.

Uh that group met twice between May and July to review the requirements from the PKR communities and identify how short-term rentals function within Bismarck.

Um additional public engagement incurred for this.

An online survey was promoted on the city's website.

Um, a copy of the report for that survey is included within uh your agenda packet.

Um a notice uh for both the uh planning and zoning commission public hearing as well as uh this public hearing tonight uh was published in the Bismarck Tribune on September 12th, 19th, as well as um for tonight's meeting October 17th and 24th.

Um there were some additional comments that were received uh that were against short-term rentals, and that should have been provided to you prior to this meeting.

There was several of them, I believe five or four or five of those from an individual, and those were included to you.

Um so this request was evaluated according to standards contained within the comprehensive plan, code of ordinances and state law.

Um and as a result of the findings contained in the staff report, City of Bismarck staff find that the proposed zoning ordinance text amendment would not adversely impact the public health, safety, and general welfare.

Therefore, staff recommends approval of the zoning ordinance text amendment to sections 14-02-03 and 14-03-06 to allow short-term rentals as a use on residential properties as is noted in ordinance 6643.

Do you have questions for me?

Any questions for Lauren?

Thank you.

This is a public hearing.

Anyone who wishes to speak on ordinance 6643, please come forward.

Second call for public hearing.

Third and final call for public hearing.

Public hearing is now closed.

Commissioners, what are your wishes?

Move to approve as presented.

Second.

So motion and a second.

Any discussion.

Yes, uh Madam Chair.

Um I just want to thank Lauren and planning and zoning on their very thorough job on putting together this ordinance.

And for the citizens of Bismarck who provided lots and lots of comments.

When I was reading through all the comments, it kind of struck me.

One struck me was the impact on affordable housing.

So I had a nice discussion with Lauren yesterday about it.

And um the fact is uh people could buy a smaller, older house, fix it up and make it a short-time rental.

Um or they can buy it, fix it up and make it a long-term rental.

And I have a couple of friends that actually do that.

So I don't know that it has a great impact on affordable housing, which is a subject I'm really concerned about.

But I think they did a good job, and I think we need to pass this just to get something on the books.

Thank you, Commissioner Rish.

Commissioner Conway.

Um I've known people that uh having these options available was literally the um crux that helped them maintain their homes during COVID when a lot of people were laid off and didn't have jobs.

Um I know at least two people that actually rented out a portion of their home under the Airbnb, and that was the sole way that they were able to maintain their home and keep it in their possession and then the job market, and then um they moved away from that.

But then now with the shutdown, I know some other people considering those options because it worked for them in the past.

So any other comments or discussion.

Um looks like we are ready for roll.

Mayor Schmitz.

Yes.

Commissioner Rish.

Yes.

Commissioner Zinker?

Yes, Commissioner Connolly?

Yes, Chair Cleary.

Yes.

Item E, public hearing on ordinance 6645, a zoning map amendment from RM20 to RM20 residential zoning district to an RM20 residential and RM10 residential zoning district in the minor subdivision final plot of Silver Ranch third edition, third replat.

Good evening again, Chair Cleary, Mayor Commissioners.

So this is a request from Stoneshire Builders LLC uh for the zoning map amendment, a minor subdivision final plat.

And there is also a uh private drive and utility agreement, which is attached to your agenda as well, which is part of part of the request.

So three three things in one.

Uh essentially what they're doing is they're taking one existing uh lot that was zoned or is zoned for multifamily development and dividing it into 13 individual lots uh for the purpose of building a row home style development.

There will be two to three units per building in in this development uh with a private drive accessing uh from Davies Drive in the North.

So the um this is in the northeastern portion of the community in the Silver Range Development, just north of 43rd Avenue northeast on the east side of Silver Nagle Drive.

So the uh the planning commission did hold a public hearing on these requests on the uh September 24th uh 2025.

Uh and then based on the findings of that hearing, they did recommend approval of the zoning map amendment from RM20 residential to the RM20 residential and our 10 residential zoning districts.

You can see in this map they would retain the RM20 on the northern portion and go to R 10 and the southern portion.

Uh and also the minor subdivision final plat of Silver Ranch Third Edition Third Replat.

Uh staff also recommend approval of the attached uh private drive and private utility agreement.

Uh and this could all be done in one action if you so wish.

Any questions for Daniel?

Thank you.

This is a public hearing.

Anyone who wishes to speak on ordinance 6645, please come forward.

Second call for public hearing.

Third and final call for public hearing.

What are the wishes of or sorry?

We'll go ahead and close the public hearing.

Uh what are the wishes of commission?

Move is presented.

Second.

Any further discussion.

With no discussion, go ahead and call roll.

Commissioner Rish.

Yes.

Commissioner Zinker.

Yes.

Commissioner Connolly?

Yes.

Mayor Schmitz.

Yes.

Chair Cleary.

Yes.

Item F, consider the request to receive a presentation and proposed revisions to the utility capital charge process.

Michael.

See if technology is my friend today.

It is.

Yeah, well, that that's the hardest part for me.

Yeah, thanks.

Mayor, Chair Commissioners, I'm here to just talk to you about our utility capital charge policy.

A few weeks ago I brought it before you.

We had some requests to revise it to look into making some revisions of it.

And so what I have tonight is a presentation just about what is our utility capital charge, what's it based off of today, and then to present some of the proposed changes that we have for you.

So basically, what is utility capital charges?

It's uh we call them UCCs, it came into effect through the 2018 rate study and was implemented in February 1st of 2019.

These changes cover expenses to expand the water and sewer infrastructure and facilities when adding capacity drawing from the system due to new infrastructure, new new houses being built.

There are four parts of what this utility capital charge covers from water treatment to water conveyance, wastewater collection, and then the wastewater treatment.

The charges are based on the flows or the amount of water that the water meter can use from the system.

And so for instance, a three-quarter inch meter can pull 30 gallons per minute, while two-inch meter for commercial properties uses about 160 gallons per minute.

So UCCs were installed to help replace uh trunk line fees, which were based off of a square footage cost.

Uh these properties that were annexed then prior to the implementation of UCCs in 2019 were given a gifted vesting or given vesting, uh depending on how you want to look at it, and it was based off of their zoning.

So under the UCC system today, uh, when we have water sewer lines that need to be upsized within a new subdivision, uh the city participates in cost share for that.

We are able to utilize the UCCs as a credit uh on the developer side to pay out down those upsizing.

So how this gets triggered, yeah, there's three different options here.

The major plat, so this is our new subdivisions.

Um we collect it at the later of three three scenarios, whether it's plating or annexation, uh the exercising of a water sewer contract, or the receiving of street petitions.

Uh minor plats are all collected at the time of platting and annexation.

And then we have lot modification.

These are our complex ones that we have.

So basically, some of these the property um may already be annexed.

Um just like you just had in the previous presentation, streets are in and water sewer um has already been put to that property.

So when these modifications happen, we collect UCC prior to that uh lot modification being recorded.

These are our tricky ones.

The tracking of that's challenging.

I'll explain a little bit more coming up here.

So again, a little bit more about our current system.

We collect them at the time of development.

Um all residential properties become vested at a three-quarter inch meter size, and commercial properties are vested at a two-inch meter size.

Um then at the time that a building permit is is being issued, we review to make sure that the UCCs have been paid, and the builder chooses the meter size that they want to have installed.

This can result in in the the builder choosing a larger meter than what the vesting is, which they'll have to pay for the additional UCC.

Or if they choose a smaller meter, um, which happens uh quite frequently on commercial properties, uh the city then would issue a refund based on those two meters.

So, like I said, the lot modification.

This is a lot split combination or replat.

We we then take that time to recalculate the UCCs that that property needs to be charged.

So the recalculation is essentially to ensure that the charges are fairly distributed across the newly configured lots.

So the the process can result in additional charges of UCCs or can also result in in a refund depending on what process is being done these lot modifications do become difficult to track because some of the properties may be properties that were replatted prior or platted prior to 2019.

Um we have to then look at what was some of the the replats, but with the lot modifications that took place, it's it's time consuming and it's dependent on how large or regular the modifications might be.

I do want to note that once a water meter is installed at the property, that UCC follows that water meter.

So if a property splits and there's already a water meter on it, that one lot that has it retains its vesting, the new lot would have to pay a new new UCC.

So I use the previous example.

They took one large lot and they split it into uh let's just say 10, we would look at what was the original UCC paid on that one lot and we would calculate what the new ones are.

So when you want to understand our rates, these are rates for our UCCs for water and sewer.

So a three-quarter inch meter is a typical meter size for a residential property.

Uh that cost is $4,000 $637.

Uh commercial properties will vary from one to two inches.

We we obviously go bigger depending on what they are.

Um, but as a reminder, when a platted property comes through, it's called a commercial property.

We give it a vesting of two inches, a two-inch meter.

So if a developer comes in, wants to plot ten residential properties, they'll have uh a UCC charge of 46,370.

Same thing's true if there's ten commercial lots or a combination thereof, you just take whatever these meter size and you multiply it by that.

We do have some instances where uh some properties in Bismarck do not have the availability to connect to water and sewer.

It's very rare that we have this, but in those instances, we only charge them for the the UCC that's related to the utility that's servicing their properties.

Uh they will get charged an additional UCC whenever the city can bring those other services out.

So I'll pause right now.

If anybody has any questions on our current process, uh I'll take them, otherwise, I'll jump into some of the proposed revisions.

Any questions for Michael?

Doesn't sound like that.

Perfect.

So, what have we been doing the last few weeks?

We've met with the Bismarck Mandan Home Builders Association, developers, home builders, uh, to discuss potential changes to our policy.

Uh so what we've kind of all agreed on, well we have all agreed on, um, that the proposed UCC policy needs to really provide clarity and fairness in how we're treating parcels that have already paid in a UCC or were part of that trunk line fee.

What we've done is we said we we would like to keep these vested for 10 years from the date that our policy changes.

After that 10-year-year period, um any vacant parcels, any that paid UCC would be refunded.

Uh however, any parcels that were platted prior to 2019 or were part of the trunk line fee would lose their vesting and they wouldn't be refunded.

So some of the proposed changes that we're looking at include the collection time of the UCC from the time of development to when the building permit is being issued.

This allows for the UCC to be charged based on the meter size selected at the time, ensuring that the charges are accurately based on the actual needs for that property.

This will help to eliminate the city having to issue refunds or even collecting additional charges at that time.

We do propose leaving the rates the same for the moment.

We think that maintaining these rates uh for now will help with planning and budgeting for cities builders and property owners because this is a certainly a change of who's going to be paying those UCCs now.

And additionally, what we want to do is to create a public-facing GIS map.

This map will display what the parcel, what parcels are currently vested for, what their meter size is, we'll include on that map if they have a UCC vesting or if it was a gifted vesting because of trunk line fees.

We think that this will help to be transparent with property owners, builders, um, that they can easily access a map that they can look at to see if their property will be charged for UCC when they pull a building permit.

And so what we're trying to do with these processes is is to streamline the process and enhance transparency with everybody that's involved.

So last few things here.

Uh one thing that will stay the same is the city will continue to participate in water main usizing.

Um however, we do lose the ability to use the UCCs as a credit.

So uh the utility funds would have to make sure that we're reserving some funds to participate in this.

Um so we have a little bit of a risk that we're going to take on budget-wise, um, but we've had good working relationships with developers and staff that they're they're coming to the table early on enough to to help us budget for that ahead of time.

So one of the last things we talk about these lot modifications, they they're still going to exist.

Um the city wants to just reserve the right to to make a refund at any point during a lot modification.

It it's case dependent.

Some of them get pretty complex and it might just be easier to refund uh the UCC up front.

And then if that happens, when those properties do pull a building permit, they would have to uh pay for their UCC at that time.

Um again, it goes back to any of those gifted vestings that that were platted prior to 2019, they would not receive um a refund on their UCCs.

We're gonna be aware of that as we do lot modifications to be fair in that.

We'll we'll try to distribute it out.

Um but a lot of times those trunk line fees did not equal the same amount of what our UCC fees are today.

And so that's why there typically isn't a refund associated with those.

So what's our next steps?

Um, if you accept this tonight, we can draft up a revised policy to be brought back to the commission, hopefully in December here.

We'll start working on creating a map.

Um, and our our goal is to have an implementation date of January first.

So with that, I can take any questions or direction from the commission.

Any questions for Michael?

Uh Madam Chair.

Go ahead, Commissioner Rish.

Yeah, Michael, good presentation, well thought out.

Um my only issue question is um there's not going to be any increases in the UCC fees.

Uh it was last updated in 2019, and now we're talking about an implementation of January first, 2026.

Inflation has been quite robust in those last at least five years.

Uh what's what's the thought behind that?

Mayor, Commissioner, Chair, um, Commissioner Rish.

Right now, the city uh utility operations is going through a master plan of our water and sewer system, and we'll have some better knowledge after we go through that of what our future needs for expansion.

Both our water plant and wastewater plant have already had their master plans completed.

Um it's probably something we are gonna look at in a few years when we look at rates as a whole, but we're trying to get through these master plans so that we have uh a good handle of what our system needs to be able to continue to support growth within Bismarck.

Any other questions for Michael?

Madam Chair, I just I want to thank uh Michael and also I know Commissioner Zenker was a part of this.

We we both met with the stakeholders uh several times uh along with Matt Michael and uh other team members.

So I think this has been pretty well thought out, and again, this has taken a bit of a burden in my opinion, off of the lot purchases.

So there's not carrying cost added on top of the UCC charge prior to the building permit being pulled, which could be 10 years after the lot, maybe one on online originally.

So potentially doubling that cost to a buyer.

Absolutely.

All right, I think doesn't look like there's any other questions.

So you're looking for direction.

Don't stop what you're doing if that's what we're doing.

It depends on what you want.

Do you want let's start with this?

Do you want me to bring it back the policy with at a consent agenda or a regular agenda?

On consent, then I would ask for a motion tonight to proceed with these changes as present.

I'll make a motion to have Michael uh proceed with changes with the policy adopted on the in the December meeting.

Second.

Motion and a second, any further discussion.

So is that to be as a consent agenda item or as a regular agenda item?

Consent.

Okay, and I'm fine with that.

I just wanted clear clarity.

Okay, there's a motion and a second.

Um any further discussion on top of that.

Okay, go ahead and call roll.

Mayor Schmitz.

Yes.

Commissioner Rush.

Yes.

Commissioner Zinker.

Yes.

Commissioner Connolly?

Yes.

Chair Cleary.

Yes.

Item G, consider the request to discuss the 2026 Citizen Academy program.

Good evening, Mayor Commissioners, Chair Cleary.

It's almost November again.

Time flies.

It just seems like we just finished Citizens Academy last April.

So we're here again because November is application period for Citizens Academy.

This year will be the fifth, excuse me, fifth season of Citizens Academy.

We started our Citizen Academy program back in 2022.

That first class had 12 citizens who joined and learned all about all the work that we do in the city.

In 23 and through last year, we had 20 participants from individuals from across the city in various demographics from college students or young adults all the way through individuals who are retired.

A little explanation for those listening and in the audience of as to what Citizen Academy is if you're unfamiliar with it.

Or we actually have 17 city departments now.

And it's an opportunity for those interested in municipal government or just curious of how things work in Bismarck.

We've had several individuals who are very new to our community last year who were just curious, like what goes on in the city of Bismarck.

How do we get all these services that we that we currently have?

So as I stated previously, we'll accept applications during the month of November.

We will accept 20 individuals to participate in the course.

It is 12 weeks long.

It begins on January 8th, and it will occur every Thursday evening for 12 weeks.

So it's a little bit of a commitment.

I've been able to participate in all five seasons, the first three of which I was just presenting information as a city forester.

And last year I got to go through the entire Citizen Academy for the first time.

And um I thought I knew a lot about the organization, but it was extremely fruitful for myself who's been involved with with the city for over 10 years now.

So a little um explanation as to what citizens can expect or participants can expect.

For the first two weeks, there's gonna be a lot of information thrown at you.

It's gonna be pretty high level talking to fiscal admin, um, human resources, legal, municipal court, our IT department, um, and assessing.

So there's a lot of base information that's gonna be laid out those first two weeks, and then from there we go and visit all the other departments around the city.

So it's a lot of field trips.

Um you get a lot of opportunities to ask questions, and and from everything that I've observed, those that are involved really ask great questions, and a lot of times it's questions that aren't in the material that we prepare.

So they're really um detailed and everybody learns from it.

So it's a great opportunity for those that are interested in municipal government.

I'll repeat it for the third time, but it's also an opportunity for those who are interested in maybe getting involved in municipal government, and it's a segue into the next item, but there's lots of opportunities to serve our city through um boards and commissions, and being a part of Citizens Academy gives you a good base or foundational knowledge to begin serving our community.

And Commissioner Rish participate in season one and look at him now.

He's city commissioner.

So um Caitlin, I believe, is going to post on Friday, uh, sometime Friday in the afternoon.

So the application period will be open at that point, and I will stand for any questions you may have regarding Citizen Academy.

Any questions for Doug?

I would just encourage anyone that's even remotely interested to um consider doing it.

I think it's super valuable.

I think from the city perspective.

Um I try to attend um some of my portfolios every year, um, and it's really great to highlight just how amazing our staff is too.

I think it's fun for citizens to get to see how hard our team works at the city.

So it's always been a highlight for me.

So if I if you're interested, I would definitely encourage you to try it this year.

Thank you for mentioning that uh portion.

Our staff does a fantastic job of showing the passion that they have for the work that they do.

And oftentimes they they don't get a lot of appreciation and acknowledgement for that, but we have some really talented and um knowledgeable and passionate individuals that serve our community, and they really are able to show that during those presentations.

Uh Madam Chair?

Yes, Commissioner Rush.

Yeah, I thanks Doug for carrying this on, and thanks, Jason, for the guy that really uh made this thing happen to begin with.

Uh as Doug mentioned, I was in the first academy, and I was just amazed at the complexity of the city and the talent of our uh city uh employees.

So I'd encourage anybody out there in TV land that is watching this to apply for this, and um it's an eye-opener.

Thanks, Commissioner Rish.

Anything else for Doug?

No, sir.

Okay.

Um I'm assuming you're you're staying up there.

I will.

Okay.

Item H consider the request to receive information regarding the expiration of terms and application periods for boards, commissions, and committees serving the city of Bismarck.

All right.

Thank you, Chair Cleary.

Uh during the month of November, the City of Bismarck will be accepting applications from individuals looking to serve our community.

Uh there are 10 boards, committees or commissions that support local government operations of the city of Bismarck and have vacancies that can be filled by any interested residents.

Um the memo it says nine.

We added a new board, which I will elaborate on.

Um I'm gonna read these to you and uh with the the number of vacancies that we have.

So uh first board is the animal advisory board, and we'll have four vacancies.

The human relations committee with two, vision fund one, forestry advisory board will have two.

The Renaissance Zone Authority will have two.

Planning and zoning commission will have three city representatives.

The Board of Adjustment will have two, the historic preservation commission will have two.

There is a lot of explanation as to what each of these boards are on our city's website where you will find the applications.

Um to elaborate on what the community development advisory committee is.

Um this group is led by staff from the Bismarck um community development department and makes recommendations on applications, requests for federal grant funds allocated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

There will be eight members that will serve on this committee, and there will be three-year terms.

And I'm sure the details of how that's gonna be staggered is gonna be worked out over the next few weeks.

So if you have any questions, um stand for any questions.

This is a great opportunity for past citizens academy graduates to get their foot in the door.

I'm gonna keep pushing that Citizen Academy for the next month.

Um any questions you might have?

Any questions for Doug about the board appointments?

I don't think so.

Thank you, Doug.

Thank you.

All right, that brings us to other business.

Anyone have other business?

Madam Chair?

Go ahead, Commissioner Rish.

I have a feeling you and I will probably want to talk about the same thing, so I'll let you do it.

Well, well, I think you should go first being a portfolio.

Okay, well, I guess I just wanted to mention that it is Dimitri's last commission meeting as our director of finance.

Come on up so that I can embarrass you.

Uh just kidding, I won't do that.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you.

I think you were one of the first uh city employees that I met with when I decided to run for city city commission, and I have just enjoyed my time with you immensely.

I think you have been a huge asset to the city, to myself personally.

Uh jumping into the finance portfolio is not something I do for a living or have what I would consider a great understanding of, and I've learned so much from you, and I think that your staff would say the same.

I think you've been a great leader for our our organization, and I just wanted to thank you for the time you've invested in it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yes, sir.

If I if I may say a few words, if that's okay.

Yes, absolutely.

Yeah, um, I just want to say it's you know, I do have a PowerPoint tonight.

Might take another hour.

Um you just lay back, Commissioner Zink.

Lay back there.

No, I I'm very grateful.

I'm very grateful to uh and blessed to have this been giving us an amazing opportunity to serve the city, the commissioners, and and the community over the last over the last over six years now.

Uh I learned a lot.

I learned about finance, I learned about budgets, learned about politics, teamwork.

Um I did learned that cows do not home come home to roost, but rather chickens do.

I did learn that.

Um I truly enjoy working with with a fellow of the city staff, and I had the pleasure of managing fiscal services, assessing NIT.

Uh um I learned a lot more than I thought I would ever.

Um these are very talented and amazing individuals.

Um during my time, we achieved many goals because of their talent, dedication, and hard work.

Uh my successor, whoever it may be, will be very fortunate to work with such amazing people.

Um I work closely with all city staff.

These people are extremely talented, as as you know, Doug mentioned.

You know, they're they're dedicated, they're they're passionate, they work tremendously hard and to serve this community year round, whether you know, rain or shine.

Um I can ask on I honestly can call these people my friends.

I've made a lot of relationships in this city, including you, Commissioners.

It's been a truly a pleasure and an honor.

Um and I want to I want to thank the Kern of former commissioners that hired me and worked with me throughout all this time and put up with me.

I want to thank uh former Administrator Hunky, Administrator Timonic, uh Administrator Wiles, all department directors and their staff that have put up with me and all my no's and yeses and whatever else I threw at them.

Um you have some great leadership here.

You really do, truly do.

And you've done a great job hiring the people that you have.

And so I'm sad to leave.

Um I really appreciate the trust you've given me with the city's finances.

I know it's not it's sometimes it can be a very controversial subject, but I really appreciate the trust and the and the honor you've given me of of serving you in that way.

Um I will continue to live in Bismarck.

I'm not going anywhere, and we'll continue to fully support the city and pay my taxes, whatever they may be to serve the citizens, to receive the to receive the the services that I get.

I really like the services that we receive as citizens and uh you know I I'm unlike uh uh I I am very much a citizen of Bismarck and will continue to be.

I will truly miss everyone and thank you all for putting up with me and giving me the opportunity.

It's been a privilege, an honor, and a blessing.

Thank you.

Thanks.

Madam Chair.

Commissioner Rish.

Yeah, uh, thank you for your service, Dimitri.

I consider you a financial rock star, and I just wish you all the best in this next chapter of your life.

Uh you've been a great asset to our city.

You've developed and cultivated and mentored an excellent staff and will continue to benefit from that, but wishing you all the best, Dimitri.

Thank you, Commissioner Risch.

Is there any other business?

All right, we are adjourned.