Laurel workshop records appointments to urban renewal board as city prepares ordinance to expand membership under SB3

Peggy Pollock was recorded as appointed to the Laurel Urban Renewal Agency for a four-year term ending Dec. 31, 2029, as the City of Laurel moves to comply with Montana Senate Bill 3, the council’s workshop minutes show.

The appointments were listed on the council workshop agenda and recorded in the minutes during the Dec. 16 meeting called to order by Mayor Dave Waggoner. The minutes state that Cheryl Hill will shift from a voting member to an advisory member for a four-year term ending Dec. 31, 2029; according to the minutes, Hill said she was disheartened to step down but wants to continue on the advisory board and return to a voting role once the ordinance is processed.

Mayor Dave Waggoner introduced an ordinance to amend Title 20, Chapter 02 of the Laurel Municipal Code to increase the Laurel Urban Renewal Agency voting membership from five to seven, language the minutes attribute directly to the packet and to the city’s effort to implement SB3. The packet included the enrolled text of 2025 Senate Bill 3 and cited amended Montana statutes 7-15-4234 and 7-15-4282, which add required representation for a county and a school district on urban renewal boards and require advisory committees in certain tax-increment-financing cases.

Cami Story, chair of the Laurel Urban Renewal Agency, thanked staff for placing the ordinance on the agenda and said she was disheartened that Cheryl Hill needed to step into an advisory role after participating in recent LURA work. The minutes do not record any direct vote tally or formal roll-call related to the appointments in the workshop minutes; the document lists the appointments and the ordinance item but does not show motion, seconder, or vote results for those entries.

City staff present at the workshop included Administrative Assistant Brittney Harakal, Chief Administrative Officer Kurt Markegard and LURA Coordinator Forrest Sanderson. The minutes also note schedule items and next steps: swearing-in of newly elected officials will occur at the Dec. 22 council meeting, and the mayor plans a special meeting on Jan. 6 for appointments to boards, committees and commissions so the Budget/Finance Committee may review claims and payroll before the Jan. 13 council meeting.

The ordinance to amend the Laurel Municipal Code will proceed through the city’s formal ordinance process; the minutes indicate the change is intended to align the agency’s membership with SB3’s statutory transition provisions that require appointment of a county representative followed by a school-district representative when vacancies occur. The workshop adjourned at 6:45 p.m.