// CITY TO SPEND $3.4M WITH LOCAL BIZ ON TRASH TRUCKS

Last week we highlighted how expensive it is to replace the equipment and vehicles that are necessary to dispose of our garbage. Thankfully, some of those expenses stay local, through purchases at Billings businesses like the one Council has on their consent agenda.

Tonight, Billings City Council will consider approving the purchase of nine solid waste collection vehicles from Billings Peterbilt, Inc. for $3.4 million. The purchase includes four side load trucks, four rear load trucks, and one rolloff truck to replace aging vehicles and expand service capacity. Staff determined the city could maximize value by auctioning current trucks rather than accepting trade-in offers.

The procurement follows a competitive bidding process through Sourcewell cooperative purchasing. Billings Peterbilt's quote came in $193,871 lower than Floyd's Truck Center's bid, with all vehicles including extended warranties.

Why it matters: This investment prevents service disruptions from aging equipment and spends government dollars with a local business.

How it works: The city solicited quotes through Sourcewell, a cooperative purchasing program that provides procurement services. Staff evaluated two bidders, comparing costs and warranty coverage. Additionally, staff crunched the numbers and determined they could get more money for old trucks by sending them to auction rather than accepting dealer trade-in offers.

Timeline:



• August 25: FY26 budget approved
• Staff requested and evaluated Sourcewell quotes from vendors
• November 24 (tonight): City Council consideration
• Vehicle delivery expected following council approval

How did we get here? The city maintains an equipment replacement plan (ERP) that schedules vehicle purchases based on age and maintenance needs. Eight of these trucks replace vehicles slated for replacement while one additional side load truck supports a new yard waste collection route.

Stats pack:

• $3,439,116 total purchase price
• $3,670,000 budgeted (coming in under budget)
• 9 total vehicles (4 side load, 4 rear load, 1 rolloff)
• $4,640 extended warranty per truck from Billings Peterbilt

The garbage truck video you didn't know you needed:

The bottom line: This routine equipment replacement maintains reliable waste collection service while directing significant city spending to a local business.

// BUSINESS MEETING AGENDA - 5:30 p.m. - BILLINGS CITY HALL

In this section, we will include the meeting agenda for you to view. Clicking on the items will take you to more information. No need to read it all, but if something catches your eye, be sure to check it out.

PROCLAMATIONS: Nov 25th - Dec 10th - 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence 

COUNCIL REPORTS: 

ADMINISTRATOR REPORTS - CHRIS KUKULSKI

PUBLIC COMMENT on “NON-PUBLIC HEARING” Comments are limited to three (3) minutes or as set by the Mayor.

1. CONSENT AGENDA -- Separations: 

A. Bid Awards: None 

B. Short-Term Services Agreement with Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter (YVAS) until June 30, 2026. 

C. Purchase of FY26 Solid Waste Vehicles from Billings Peterbilt, Inc. 

D. Purchase of FY26 Solid Waste Containers from Cascade Engineering. 

E. State Highway Traffic Safety DUI Grant for traffic enforcement to the Police Department. 

F. In-kind Donation from Trail Net for installation of bicycle repair station in Coulson Park. 

G. Exempt Plat of Popelka Commerce Center Subdivision, 2nd Filing. *Quasi-Judicial 

H. Final Major Plat of Trails West Subdivision, 6th Filing. *Quasi-Judicial 

I. Second/Final Reading Ordinance for Zone Change 1071, Clearwater Estates Subdivision, Lots 2 and 3.

J. Second/Final Reading Ordinance for Zone Change 1072, Clearwater Estates Subdivision, Lots 1, 4 and 5. 

K. Bills for the Weeks of: 

1. October 20, 2025 

2. Ocotber 27, 2025  

REGULAR AGENDA: 

2. JOINT PUBLIC HEARING FOR ANNEXATION 25-05 AND ZONE CHANGE 1073: Sunny Cove Fruit Farms Lot 7 

a. RESOLUTION APPROVING ANNEXATION 25-05: generally located south of Rimrock Road and east of 62nd Street West, and legally described as Lot 7 of Sunny Cove Fruit Farms. Staff recommends conditional approval. *Quasi-Judicial

b. RESOLUTION APPROVING ZONE CHANGE 1073: An 8.95 acre parcel of land, more or less, generally located on the Southwest corner of Rimrock Road and 60th Street West, legally described as Lot 7 of Sunny Cove Fruit Farms. Zoning Commission recommends approval and adoption of the 10 review criteria. *Quasi-Judicial

3. PUBLIC HEARING AND FIRST READING ORDINANCE expanding the boundaries of Ward IV to include recently annexed property in Annexation 25-05: generally located south of Rimrock Road and east of 62nd Street West, and legally described as Lot 7 of Sunny Cove Fruit Farms. Staff recommends approval. 

4. JOINT PUBLIC HEARING FOR ANNEXATION 25-06 AND ZONE CHANGE 1074: Central Avenue Subdivision 

a. RESOLUTION APPROVING ANNEXATION 25-06: generally located north of Central Avenue, south of Broadwater Avenue, and west of 44th Street West, legally described as Lot 3 of Barber Farm Subdivision. Staff recommends conditional approval. *Quasi-Judicial

b. RESOLUTION APPROVING ZONE CHANGE 1074: a 55.46 acre parcel of land, more or less, generally located north of Central Avenue between 44th Street West and 48th Street West, legally described as Lot 3 of Barber Farm Subdivision. Zoning Commission recommends approval and adoption of the 10 review criteria. *Quasi-Judicial 

c. ANNEXATION AGREEMENT with Donna Barber-Schneider, Diana Browne, and Karin Barber. Staff recommends approval.

5. PUBLIC HEARING AND FIRST READING ORDINANCE expanding the boundaries of Ward IV to include recently annexed property in Annexation 25-06: generally located north of Central Avenue, south of Broadwater Avenue, and west of 44th Street West, legally described as Lot 3 of Barber Farm Subdivision. Staff recommends approval. 

PUBLIC COMMENT on “NON-AGENDA ITEMS”. Comments are limited to 3 minutes or as set by the Mayor.

COUNCIL INITIATIVES: 

ADJOURN:

// WATCH THE MEETING ON COMMUNITY 7 TELEVISION

// CITY ADMINISTRATOR WEEKLY REPORT

City Administrator Chris Kukulski began the routine of sending a weekly report every Friday to City Council and department heads with the intent to, "communicate the highlights of the past week and any critical issues coming up." The most recent CA Report includes updates on:

• Highlighting 2045 Community Planning events
• New City Councilmember orientation kicks off
• And much more...

// GET MORE INVOLVED IN YOUR COMMUNITY

Below are some additional public meetings being held this week, along with information about when and where to attend.

🔸 Tuesday, November 25th

Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee Mtng

12:00 - 1:30 am, Beartooth Room, 5th Floor, New City Hall, 316 N. 26th St.

Heights Task Force

7:00 - 8:00 pm, Oasis Community Room, 543 Aronson Blvd.

🔸 Wednesday, November 26th

HomeFront Housing Authority Meeting

12:00 - 1:30 am, HomeFront Offices, 2415 1st Ave. N.

Public Works Board

12:00 - 1:00 pm, PW Administration Building, 2251 Belknap Ave.

🦃 Thursday, November 27th

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

"HEY, BUDDY!"

// THE SQUEAKY WHEEL

// BOARD & COMMISSION OPENINGS

The Mayor's Office is accepting letters of interest to fill the vacancies listed on the city website. For more information on each specific board, visit the city website. City Boards and Commissions are appointed by the Mayor, confirmed by City Council, are advisory only, and members serve without compensation.

Submit applications to: Mayor's Office, PO Box 1178, Billings, MT 59103-1178.

The DEADLINE for applications is December 1, 2025.

(the following openings are still listed after the deadline)

BOARD OPENING (SEATS)

Public Art Committee

Public Art Committee*

Public Art Committee**

Public Art Committee***

Public Art Committee****

Public Art Committee*****

REQUIREMENTS

Must live in Billings—Artist

Must live in Billings

Must live in Billings

Must live in Billings

Must live in Billings

Must live in Billings

* - Rep from economic or community development field

** - Rep referred from Billings Arts Association

*** - Rep referred by Native American Development Corporation

**** - Rep from engineering, architect, landscape architect, or 3-D art field

***** - Anyone with an interest in public art

// IN CASE YOU MISSED IT - AI SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S MEETING

In this section we re-visit last week's meeting, providing:

• an AI summary (YouTube transcript analyzed by Claude's Sonnet 4.5) 
• links to the Community 7 video 

We'll revise and edit when necessary for clarity, brevity, and to avoid inaccuracies, which are sure to happen on occasion. And, considering the difficulty Council has had with audio feeds, it's likely that some comments or segments of the meeting will be missed in the video transcript.

BILLINGS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION - NOVEMBER 17, 2025

Overview

The Billings City Council held a work session on November 17, 2025, with only seven council members present and four excused. The Council reviewed three major items: the FY2027 Equipment Replacement Plan (ERP), the FY2027-FY2031 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), and a Cooperative Purchasing Agreement with Axon Enterprise for police technology. The meeting focused heavily on the Capital Improvement Plan, with extensive discussion about project priorities, funding sources, and geographic distribution of projects across the city.

ACTIONS TAKEN AND DIRECTIONS TO STAFF

Equipment Replacement Plan (Item 1)

• No formal votes were taken on the Equipment Replacement Plan
• Direction to staff: Council encouraged staff to consider more accurate deferral timelines for equipment replacement and two-year plans to smooth out year-over-year variations (24:45-26:26)

Capital Improvement Plan (Item 2, Starts at 32:22)

• Direction to staff: Parks Director Gavin Woltjer to report back at the December 8 adoption meeting on the feasibility of accelerating South Park Pool project, including implications for staff capacity and project timeline (1:08:45-1:11:12)

• Motion by Mayor Cole (seconded by CM Neese) to add 21st Street Underpass and Fifth Avenue Trail Corridor to future CIP projects list (beyond five-year plan) (1:33:02-1:33:30)
• Vote: PASSED 4-3
• In favor: Mayor Cole, Gulick, Neese, Boyett
• Opposed: Rogers, Tidswell, Kennedy

Cooperative Purchasing Agreement with Axon Enterprise (Item 3)

• No vote taken at this work session; will come before Council on December 8, 2025 on consent agenda

KEY QUOTES FROM COUNCILMEMBERS

Councilman Roy Neese on Heights representation in CIP (0:52:04-0:52:15): "But the concerning thing I have is when I look at this on a five-year period, I would like to make sure that the Heights is getting some some type of equality of shares and that's not the case."

Councilman Bill Kennedy on South Park Pool timeline (1:08:12-1:08:20): "I don't want it delayed. I want it to go as quick as possible."

Mayor Bill Cole on road maintenance cost trade-offs (1:13:21-1:13:37): "I can say to my wife, 'Honey, I'm gonna get a Ferrari because I'm gonna save a lot of money on the duct tape I have to pay to keep my bumper taped to my car.' And it may be true, but I doubt those duct tape costs are going to make up for the rest of the cost."

Councilman Mike Boyett on modernizing police equipment (2:08:7-2:08:25): "This weekend I was cleaning the basement and guess what I threw away? A whole pile of CD discs and I'm thinking my computer doesn't even take them anymore and that we're still using it. This is archaic. The future is right here and the cloud is right here. So I encourage the Council to go ahead with this."

NOTABLE PUBLIC COMMENT

Peter O'Brien, (6:20-8:03): Business owner addressing encroachment permit fee increases. Reported that Tier 2 encroachment permit fees have increased 680% since 2020 (from $311 to over $2,400 for his property). Requested better communication from the City (direct mail/email to permit holders rather than just newspaper notices) and asked Council to revise the fee structure to better support downtown businesses that maintain outdoor spaces at their own expense.

MEETING STATISTICS

Duration: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes

Attendance:

• Present: Mayor Bill Cole, Councilman Roy Neese, Councilman Ed Gulick, Councilman Bill Kennedy, Councilwoman TJ Rogers, Councilman Mike Boyett, Councilman Daniel Tidswell (7 members)
• Absent: Four council members

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