// COUNCIL PARKING DISCUSSION LIKELY TO ATTRACT MORE VIEWERS THAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, SAYS ANONYMOUS LONG-TIME COUNCIL VIEWER...

Earlier this year, my dad drove my wife and me to the Bozeman airport to catch a flight. (I know! I know! We all need to be flying out of Billings, but I had to leave the dogs with my folks in Three Forks!) After exiting the interstate on the new off-ramp, we navigated the three roundabouts leading to the airport.

"These roundabouts are so nice. Makes it really convenient to get to the terminal even when there's lots of traffic," said my dad…leaving me speechless. Twenty years ago he would have called roundabouts "communist." He might have even taken a less convenient route to avoid the traffic calming out of spite.

It took awhile but obviously he's come ... around... on the roundabout. The benefits now outweigh the perceived negatives. It just took some time.

Perhaps the same will be true of back-in, or front-out, parking. It's one of two topics on Council's agenda tonight, after they requested to have this discussion during their May decision to convert downtown's one-ways to two-ways.

Back-in angle parking currently exists downtown along North 29th and North 30th Streets. It's also used in the EBIRD and at McKinley Elementary School. Tonight, Council is considering whether to implement back-in angle parking along with the one-way to two-way conversions. The staff presentation includes a map graphic highlighting those areas. 

However, Council may decide not to move forward with the back-in angled parking. Many people have voiced their opposition to the back-in parking, citing difficulty with backing in and complaints from downtown shoppers. I'm a little dismissive of the argument that it makes parking difficult—it's much easier than parallel parking!—but recognize there is legitimate concern over driver confusion. With some downtown parking back-in and elsewhere front-in, drivers unfamiliar with our inconsistent parking scheme often cross over traffic to park in the wrong direction, creating a greater hazard while parking and exiting.

On the other hand, there are number of benefits to back-in angled parking, including:

• Better visibility when exiting the parking space
• Accessing the vehicle trunk from curb instead of in traffic
• Easier and provides more spaces than parallel parking
• Safer for sharing public roads with bikers

City Staff's recommendation is to move forward with all back-in angled parking downtown (Alternative 1 below). That ensures that downtown parking is consistent with the changes on 29th, 30th, and that the Montana Department of Transportation will be making with Montana Avenue. However, Council may decide to go a different direction. In that case, the staff presentation outlines other options. 

Regardless which direction Council goes with parking, their decision to convert downtown one-ways to two-ways will provide a major safety benefit. We've pointed out previously that two-ways can reduce crime and collisions, and result in more traffic flow, compared to one-ways. We're thankful to City Council for that decision and interested to see which direction they go on parking. 

// WORK SESSION 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.

CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Cole 

PUBLIC COMMENT ON ALL ITEMS. Comments are limited to three (3) minutes during each public comment period or as set by the Mayor.

1. Historic Tax Credit Structure Review.

-Public Comment 

2. Downtown Angle Parking Discussion.

-Public Comment 

HIGHLIGHT UPCOMING AGENDA ITEMS OF COUNCIL INTEREST: 

COUNCIL DISCUSSION: 

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

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:

• Update on selection of auditor for utility bills
• Growth of MET ridership in Billings
• 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, and what's on the agenda (if one is available).

Tuesday, November 5th

South Billings Urban Renewal Association

7:00 - 8:00 pm @ Billings Hotel & Convention Center @ 1223 Mullowney Ln.

Wednesday, November 6th

North Park Neighborhood Task Force

7:00 - 8:00 pm @ North Park Community Center

// 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 November 11, 2024.

BOARD OPENING (SEATS)

Animal Control Board (2)

Aviation & Transit Board (3)

Bike & Ped Advisory Cmte (2)

Billings BID (2)

Board of Health (1)

Community Development Board (1)

Community Development Board (1)

Exchange City Golf Board (1)

Housing Authority (1)

Housing Authority, Elderly (1)

Human Relations Commission (1)

Parks/Recreation/Cemetary Board (4)

Planning Board (1)

Planning Board (1)

Planning Board (1)

Planning Board (1)

Police Board (2)

REQUIREMENTS

Must live in Billings

Must live in Billings

Must live in Billings

Must own land in BID District

Must live in Billings*

Must live in Billings

Must live in Billings—Low-Mod

Must live in Billings

Live w/in 10 mi. radius of Billings

Must live in Billings—Res-Comm

Must live in Billings

Must live in Billings

Must live in Billings—Ward 1

Must live in Billings—Ward 3

Must live in Billings—Ward 4

Must live in Billings—Ward 5

Must live in Billings

* - Background in healthcare or finance preferred

// IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Information on utility billing audit from the City's website:

The City of Billings has identified two qualified firms to review the utility billing system and plans to choose one soon. 

The selected company will evaluate the entire process, from meters to bill delivery.

The following is a list of audit goals: 

1. Verify meter accuracy and remote read delivery.
2. Determine if the measurement of water consumption was converted appropriately and billed accurately in accordance with data stored in Neptune 360.
3. Determine if the last meter reading in the legacy system was imported correctly into VertexOne.
4. Determine if customers were billed according to approved rate schedules.
5. Determine if prorations between fiscal years and tiers was calculated accurately.
6. Determine if the billing data from VertexOne was correctly reflected on the bill image.
7. Determine if wastewater charges were calculated correctly.
8. Determine if storm and garbage fees were billed correctly based on the abnormal billing periods. Verify proration if applicable.
9. Verify that billing cycles and periods were maintained correctly (i.e., no double billing for same or overlapping periods)
10. Verify that automatic payments for customers on autopay match what was billed (i.e., no extra debits have been taken)

The chosen firm will add other processes that they think are appropriate to verify the accuracy of the system. 

Council Members Jennifer Owen and Tom Rupsis are the verification process council representatives. 

If you have questions about your bill, please contact our City of Billings Public Works staff via Facebook, or by emailing utilities@BillingsMT.gov.

// ADDITIONAL BILLINGS CHAMBER RESOURCES

// BUSINESS ADVOCACY SPONSORS