On May 29, 2018 the City Council passed a Resolution of Intent to Annex Phipps Park. The annexation of Phipps Park will enable City Ordinances to be in effect on the park property. Specifically, bringing Phipps Park into the City will enable the City to prohibit the use of fire works in the park during the 4th of July Holiday. State Law under 7-2-43, MCA provides municipalities the authority to annex contiguous land. The subject property is 347.321 gross acres of land owned by the City of Billings and known as Phipps Park. The property is legally described as Tract 1 of Amended Certificate of Survey No. 987, Tracts 1 through 8 of Certificate of Survey No. 1380, Tract A of Certificate of Survey 1387 and Tract B of Certificate of Survey No. 1388. The property is located south of Molt Road and northwest of the Copper Ridge Subdivision, a City subdivision. The City Council shall hold a public hearing and consider any written comments submitted during the 20-day comment period established by the Resolution of Intent prior to taking action on the Resolution of Annexation.

Section 7-2-43, Montana Code Annotated (MCA) provides to process for local governments to annex contiguous properties. To comply with Section 7-2-4314, MCA, the City must hold a public hearing prior to taking action on the Resolution of Annexation.
The Council may:

• Hold a Public Hearing and approve the Resolution of Annexation of the contiguous property,
• Hold a Public Hearing and disapprove the Resolution of Annexation. Not annexing the property will result in the property remaining outside of the City Limits and the application of City Ordinances would not be possible on the property.

The financial impact of the annexation should be limited. The property is currently owned and maintained by the City of Billings Parks, Recreation and Public Lands Department and is currently used as undeveloped natural parkland. Upon annexation, Fire protection will be provided by the Billings Fire Department. If the Council desires to annex the property, City Ordinances will be in effect on the park property and may be enforced by City departments. The Police Department will be responsible for patrolling the property, and other departments like Parks, Recreation and Public Lands, and Fire also will be able to enforce City ordinances in the park.

The subject property totals 347.32 gross acres. It is located south of Molt Road and northwest of Copper Ridge, a city subdivision. The City-owned park is contiguous to existing City Limits. The City was gifted this land in 1990 by Curtis Phipps. It was donated with the stipulation that it remain a natural park in perpetuity.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On May 29th, the City Council passed a Resolution of Intent to annex Phipps Park.
On June 25th, the City Council will conduct the public hearing, consider protests for the annexation, and may take action on the annexaiton request.

Annexation of Contiguous Land requires a 20-day protest period be noticed to the public. Two notices of the protest period and public hearing were provided via the Billings Gazette on June 3rd and June 10th, 2018. The protest period ends June 25th, 2018. The Planning Division has not received any inquiries about this petition at the time this memo was prepared.

Although Montana Code does not require the City to prepare a provision of public services plan for Annexation of Contiguous Land (Section 7-2-43, MCA), it is the City’s custom to have staff prepare an analysis of predicted impacts to services and facilities, and information on how services will be provided to the property after annexation. The proposed annexation complies with the adopted City Annexation Policy criteria as follows:

1. The area is located within the City's Annexation Petition Area on its Limits of Annexation Map.
2. The City is able to provide municipal water and sewer services to the property.
3. Any proposed public improvements within the area to be annexed will meet City standards.
4. If annexed, any proposed land use will comply with the zoning.

Departmental Response: City and County Departments were given the opportunity to comment on this annexation. City departments responded favorably and detailed responses are provided below. The County Public Works Department did not respond to this annexation request. 

City Facilities:
Specific comments from City Departments are provided below:

• Water/Sewer: If the Parks Department wished to service the parkland with water and sewer they would be required to extend water and sanitary service to the park. Currently, no improvements are planned as the parkland will continue to operate in its existing capacity and use.

• Storm water: All of the storm water runoff from this property will need to meet the City of Billings requirements for storm water management. Any future development will follow the City of Billings storm water regulations.

• Transportation: No improvements are planned or required as the parkland will continue to operate in its existing capacity and use.

• Fire Stations: The subject property is currently outside of the Billings Urban Fire Service Area and located within the Molt Fire Service Area. At times, the BFD has "self dispatched" to the area to aid the Molt Fire Service. Upon annexation, the property will be within the jurisdiction of the Billings Fire Department. The Billings Fire Department stated that it supports the request for annexation.

• Parks: Phipps  Park was donated to the City by Curtis Phipps in 1990.  It comprises 347 acres.  It was donated with the stipulation that it remain a natural park in perpetuity.  The Parks and Recreation management plan is to maintain the park in its current natural state. Improvements to existing primitive trails and fencing to prevent vehicular access have been completed recently.  Future projects include the development of a parking lot next to Molt Road and installation of a vault toilet.  A disc golf course was developed by volunteers approximately 15 years ago.  

• Bicycle and pedestrian facilities: The property lies within the jurisdiction of the Billings Area Bikeway and Trail Master Plan. The existing facilities include unpaved trails.

• School facilities: Since the property will remain parkland, the school district facilities will not be impacted.

General City Services: These are the City services that are provided to all residents and businesses in the City, such as police and fire protection, street and storm drain maintenance, and garbage collection and disposal. The service providers that responded did not object to the annexation of this property.

• Transit: MET transit does not service Phipps Park.

• Police: The Police Department staff stated the Park is close to an established patrol area but the property is extremely far from centralized services. Continued annexation without additional resources will affect the Departments ability to respond.

• Public Utilities: The Public Works Distribution and Collection Division had no concerns with the annexation request.

• Public Works: Street and Traffic Division: No comments specifically related to street and traffic were provided.

• Public Works: Solid Waste: The Solid Waste Division has no concerns with annexing the property, but Public Works understands the Parks Department will continue servicing the park for solid waste.

• Ambulance Service: The City does not provide ambulance service, however it does dictate the level of service provided by American Medical Response (AMR). By City ordinance, 90% of ambulance calls must be answered within 8 minutes. This property may be within the area of acceptable response time.

• Legal and Finance: General Fund services, such as the Legal and Finance Departments should not be negatively impacted by this annexation and did not provide any comments with the request.

• Other Departments: City/County services including Library, Planning, and Environmental Health are only slightly affected by the annexation since they will continue to serve the property whether it is in the City or the County. The Planning Division staff supports the annexation because the property is in the City Annexation Petition Area and would allow for City ordinances to be enforced on City owned property.

 Annexation of this property would adhere to the following guidelines of the 2016 City of Billings Growth Policy:

• Placemaking: Enhance, maintain, preserve, and improve existing public spaces

• Community Fabric:  Attractive, aesthetically pleasing, uniquely Billings
  • Natural landscapes and parks are important because they define the uniqueness of Billings and help protect the environment.
• Outdoor public spaces provide casual and relating gathering areas for people.