The Kalispell City Council meeting today will host a public hearing on the proposed water and sewer regulation updates and renew City Manager Doug Russell’s contract with the city.

Russell took the position in 2012. In the renewal agreement, Russell’s contract has been amended from an at-will contract to a five-year term agreement, ending on Oct. 15, 2020. After four years, the agreement will be automatically renewed for another two years unless Russell or the city decide not to renew by the four-year mark of the new agreement.

The contract also says if Russell is terminated before the five-year agreement ends, he will receive severance pay equal to the remainder of his term, up to three years worth of salary and health insurance. The severance package in the initial contract was for six-months of pay.

Kalispell Mayor Mark Johnson chalked up the increase in term-length and severance pay as house keeping the city’s contract with Russell.

“The five-year contract is just a standard,” said Mayor Mark Johnson on the contract renewal. “We’re pretty happy with Doug’s performance and how he’s doing as a manager.”

The public hearing on water and sewer regulations will discuss the changes made to regulations and the switch from bimonthly to monthly utility billing.

The changes focus mostly on updating definitions in the regulations, while maintaining the purpose of the rules and regulations. The bigger issue is transitioning to a monthly billing process, which will require a additional billing clerk and increased printing costs.

In a public comment submitted to the city on the new billing procedure, Rose Nelson asked why the city would make the change if the billing process was originally changed to save money. The city responded that the primary purpose of the change is to provide a better service to customers and offer a more consistent bill. The change to monthly meter-readings would mean a city employee could find a leak sooner than if checked once per two months, resulting in a quicker response to the leak.

Kalispell residents will have a final chance to field questions and comments to the city about the changes and updates tonight. After the public hearing, the city will vote on the first hearing on the resolution to adopt the changes and amendments.

The council will also hear the first reading of Stillwater Corporation’s request to extend the Glacier Town Center’s planned-unit development approval for one year. Glacier Town Center lies on 485-acres extending from U.S. 93 to Whitefish Stage road north of West Reserve Drive. The planned-unit development agreement is proposing to build 282 single-family residential lots, 150 townhouse lots, 200 apartment units, about 1.8 million square feet of commercial space and about 72 acres of park space.

The city approved the original plans in 2008 and agreed to annex the area. After developers failed to materialize the plans, the land fell back to the initial owner, Roger Claridge, president of Stillwater Corporation, who had said he plans to keep farming the land and wait for the economy to recover. The original planned-unit development is set to expire, and today’s request for the extension simply provides the intention to eventually develop the land. A letter from Claridge to City Planning and Building Director Tom Jentz on Oct. 26 said the Stillwater Corporation is reevaluating the phasing based on current market conditions. Claridge wrote that the planning and market studies are not yet complete, but the existing zoning layout is still appropriate for the project.

The council vote on the second hearings for new zoning amendments to casino development and the parking ordinance at the Kalispell Center Mall.

The council will also set a public hearing for the proposed increase to police and fire impact fees for Dec. 7. Other business includes accepting a $120,000 grant for the Kalispell Police Department from the Montana Department of Military affairs. The grant will be used to continue a joint mission between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to secure the U.S. and Canadian border.

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.