At an April 18 work session, the City Council heard a presentation about a proposed land exchange between the City of Billings and the Billings Clinic.  If the exchange is approved, a Clinic-owned building at 523 N. 29th Street and 8.8 lots along 6th Avenue North between N. 29th and N. Broadway would be transferred to the City for use as part of the site for a proposed new Library, now under design.  Even if a Library ballot to be voted on in November is unsuccessful, the land would be needed to replace parking on the south side of the Library that already has been traded to Stockman Bank in exchange for its parcels adjacent to the Clinic parcels on 6th Avenue North.

In exchange for the Clinic property, the City would give the Clinic four street right-of-ways, the legal descriptions for which are attached to the Resolution in Attachment A.  A map of the parcels is shown as Attachment B.  The streets are:  A 24,000-square-foot section on 9th Avenue North between North 28th and North 29th Streets; a 28,000-square-foot section of the south half of North 28th Street between 10th Avenue North and 11th Avenue North; and 60,800 square feet of North 28th Street between 7th Avenue North and 9th Avenue North.  The Clinic would maintain easements for all existing utilities in the streets. 

The City streets and the Clinic building and land each are valued at a total of $1,353,600, so no additional money would be exchanged in addition to the parcels described.  The Billings Clinic Board of Directors approved the exchange at its meeting of April 26.  The Clinic staff consulted business owners whose properties are adjacent to the streets proposed to be exchanged, including School District #2, and found no objections to the proposal.  A letter from owner of the Cherry Tree Inn supporting the project is shown as Attachment C.

A May 9 public hearing on the proposed land exchange was advertised in the Billings Times on April 28 and May 5, 2011.  A resolution approving the transfer is attached.  If the resolution is approved by Council, the surrounding property owners will be officially notified by the City and a hearing on vacation of the City right-of-way will be held May 23.  

Vote required:  The Billings Municipal Code Section 22-900 exempts the City from state law requirements at MCA 7-8-4201 regarding the disposal or lease of municipal property.  The City Code requires that six (6) members of the Council vote affirmatively in order to transfer City land. 

The Council must hold the advertised public hearing and then may:

• Approve by at least six (6) members the resolution exchanging the land;
• Delay action on the resolution to a date certain, potentially postponing continued design of the new Library site; or
• Reject the resolution, requiring the redesign of the proposed Library and the potential for lack of parking even if the current Library facility is retained.

Because both sides in the proposed transaction value their properties at $1,353,600, the land exchange would require no additional cost beyond recording of the documents  The design of the Library is being paid for by an anonymous donor; and the construction or renovation costs of a new Library would require public approval in separate elections.

City staff recommends that the public hearing be held and the resolution approving the property transfer between the Billings Clinic and the City be approved.