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(This is a long article, but it does encapsulate every issue [and the foolishness thereof] regarding the city of Bozeman in one single place. I won't comment on every single idiocy. Just as an aside, do you notice that nearly every single sentence in the article is also a paragraph? It's clumsy and breaks the narrative.)
By AMANDA RICKER
Chronicle Staff Writer
Twelve issues — ranging from job creation to the future of Story Mansion — top the city of Bozeman’s agenda for the next two years. (You will note that the city's priorities are nearly all centered on how to spend more taxpayer money. No mention of tax relief or reducing the size of government.)
Each year, the Bozeman City Commission updates the city’s work plan, a document that tells city staff what to research and present to the commission for a vote. The commission unanimously approved this year’s list
last week.
“We’ll keep this in the forefront and stay focused on it,” City Manager Chris Kukulski told commissioners.
The commission carried over several long-term goals, such as encouraging downtown development, fixing aging streets and developing a plan to provide water to the future population.
New goals include two potential ballot questions. The city plans to prepare to vote on a bond referendum to build a new police and court facility. Commissioners also want to lobby Gallatin County officials to ask
voters to pass a countywide mill levy to support two-year degree programs at Gallatin College.
Here is a look at the specifics of the city’s 2013 and 2014 work plan:
SUPPORT THE CREATION OF JOBS
Diversifying the local economy so Bozeman isn’t so reliant on the construction industry is a broad theme among commissioners. (The commissioners get to choose what jobs are good and which are not? They somehow have the magic ability to to steer the economy to better outcomes? How is this possible?)
In the near future, commissioners said the city might look at ways to attract businesses to North Park, formerly Mandeville Farm, and dedicate one mill strictly to economic development activities. (Yes, of course. The solution to economic development is for the government to spend money in the hopes its selected outcomes will materialize.)
Mayor Sean Becker said the City Commission has asked city Economic Development Director Brit Fontenot to bring it a list of recommendations to consider funding in this year’s city budget. (Here I thought they were talking about private sector jobs, but I guess it's more government jobs they want,)
“We want to give him some authority to make things happen in our community,” Becker said. (This is the quintessential attitude of the big-government left. Government makes things happen. Government must be the lead, or nothing good will come.)
He said funding might be sought for infrastructure like streets, water lines or sewer lines at North Park, which the city has a plan to develop into an industrial park. And, he said Fontenot’s budget to both work with
existing employers and try to attract new ones might be increased.
APPLY THE $15 MILLION PARKS AND TRAILS BOND
Commissioners expect to start reviewing the first park proposals this summer.
“I suspect we’ll have several this late spring or early summer that will come in,” Commissioner Chris Mehl said.
In November, Bozeman voters approved a $15 million open space bond to create more parks, trails, natural spaces and athletic fields.
Mehl said the citizen advisory committee charged with reviewing potential park projects should be in place this spring. That committee will develop criteria for evaluating each application, review the applications
as they come in and make a recommendation to the commission on which projects it should fund. Commissioners will make the final decision.
“I’m hoping that we have a lot of applications so that we’re not in this place of doing it piecemeal,” Becker said. (Now that's interesting. The bond was proposed to the voters and they approved it, but now we discover there was no plan for how the money was to be spent. If you thought there was a pressing need to develop parks and fields, you would be wrong. They have a boatload of money now with no specific way to spend it until people start submitting their proposals. This means this money could go just about anywhere, which means it is a situation that is ripe for waste and abuse. The city basically appropriated funds for no reason and now is looking for ways to spend it!)
ENHANCE CUSTOMER SERVICE IN PLANNING DEPARTMENT (We are NOT customers! We are taxpayers. We have no choice on where we "shop." We are captive to the interests of government and its processes. This is not a customer arrangement!)
The city has narrowed its search for a new planning director to four finalists, and commissioners say they’re looking for someone who will seek creative ways to approve more building projects.
“We want to make sure that we understand that we have customers as a city and that we want to strive to get to ‘yes’ if at all possible,” Mehl said. “We have rules for a reason - it’s not that anything goes. But if
there’s a way to offer creative solutions, we want to.” ("Creative solutions?" What kind of nonsense-speak is that? Government isn't creative, except to create obstacles. What we have here is an unwieldy, complicated, and time-consuming process to get building projects approved. The government deliberately places these obstacles in the way, and it isn't "creative" for it to find ways around what it created.)
Recently, McDonald’s spent nearly a year trying to get approval to renovate its Main Street restaurant. The hang-up was over the corporation’s franchise architecture, which is discouraged by the city in designated
entryway corridors.
Deputy Mayor Jeff Krauss said applications like McDonald’s shouldn’t take so long to review or be so difficult. “We should stop getting wound around the axle on those,” Krauss said.
Commissioners have changed city code to allow the planning director to approve more projects rather than requiring commission approval.
Krauss said the city should also fast track projects that could result in significant investments in downtown.
“If somebody comes to us and wants to invest in downtown, we ought to be able to get a task force together of engineering, planning and sort of respond to that quickly,” he said.
SUPPORT DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT
Getting plans approved for The Etha hotel at the National Guard Armory is one of the top priorities, commissioners say. The proposed seven-story hotel would be the tallest building downtown and would reuse the dilapidated but historic military fortress. And that’s not the only property that may see new life.
“We have a number of folks looking to make significant investments in our downtown core,” Becker said. “So we want the planning, building, and economic development offices to really make sure that all of the business owners in downtown feel well served.”
The commission has loosened requirements for parking spaces that must be provided when a building is constructed or remodeled. And, commissioners lowered street impact fees charged on construction downtown to one-third of the cost elsewhere, Becker said. (Does the shortsightedness of these people not leap out at you? I guess they just have to tinker with things, as if they have the wisdom to channel capitalism as they choose. Well, they don't. They have created a monster of regulation, hoops to jump through, and requirements that only impede development. Adopting reforms to impede things a little less is not "supporting downtown development." And by the way, why is downtown more worthy of subsides and tax breaks than are businesses located in another part of town? Why does the city have the authority to pick and choose which businesses should benefit and which should not?)
PLAN FOR THE CITY’S FUTURE WATER SUPPLY
A plan to keep faucets flowing for the next 50 years is expected to be ready for the commission to vote on this year.
As the city’s population grows, Bozeman’s current water sources could fall short of demand within the next 20 years. To keep taps flowing, the city has hired outside consultants and assembled a team of local experts to draft the Integrated Water Resource Plan.
The plan will guide the expenditure of millions of tax dollars and consider proposals such as building a reservoir near Mystic Lake in Sourdough Canyon, raising Hyalite Dam and piping water into Bozeman from
Canyon Ferry Reservoir.
“It’s looking at where are we going to get our water from and how are we going to do it in a sustainable way,” Commissioner Carson Taylor said.
Taylor said the plan would lay out suggestions to improve water conservation as well as the costs and constraints of each of the city’s options to add to the water supply.
REPAIR AGING INFRASTRUCTURE
Creating a computer database that tracks and manages the most efficient way to replace aging streets, water pipes and sewer lines is in the works, commissioners said. (What? They don't have a record of what work has been done where and what needs repairs? What system do they use now, sticky notes on the wall? This is incredible.)
The commission has already raised fees for streets, water and sewer, and has adopted a 20-year plan to address deferred maintenance projects. (Even more incredible is that the City has not budgeted for maintenance as an ongoing budget item. If a private business were to "defer" maintenance on its valuable assets, it would fail. This borders on malfeasance. These incompetent people need to be removed from power.)
In the near future, streets in need of an overhaul will include Kagy Boulevard and West College Street, Mehl said.
Crumbling roads in the neighborhoods surrounding downtown will need an overhaul, too, Becker said.
“Those streets haven’t been replaced for 100 years, and those aren’t going to be easy to fix,” he said. (No, they won't, because had the commissioners been acting responsibly, they would have not let these roads crumble. We went through an economic boom lasting over 15 years, and tax revenues were through the roof. Where did all that money go?)
EDUCATE VOTERS ON THE NEED FOR NEW POLICE, COURT BUILDING (Comrades, our Dear Leaders want to educate us so that we will support their objectives. Please remember to show your enthusiasm for these programs. Failure to do so will result in severe consequences.)
The city has set aside money to design a new police and court building, and commissioners say it’s likely they would ask voters to approve a bond referendum in November 2014. While they’d like to get the ballot question ready for this coming election, that might not be enough time.
“It could be this fall, but I highly doubt it because of the time it would take to design the facility so that it could be bid with 90-percent certainty,” Becker said.
Bozeman police and Gallatin County sheriff ’s deputies share facilities at the Law and Justice Center off 19th Avenue. The building was constructed in 1960 as a Catholic high school. Commissioners say it’s bursting at the seams.
But city and county officials are still trying to agree on where the city’s facilities would be built at the Law and Justice campus and how much the county would charge the city for its space on the property.
“We’re on the cusp, I hope, of working out something with the county that allows for a police station that will save county and city taxpayers a lot of money,” Taylor said. (Only in the world of Leftist politics can the spending of multiple millions of dollars save taxpayers "a lot of money.")
FUND GALLATIN COLLEGE, SEEK COUNTYWIDE LEVY
Gallatin College is big and it’s growing. The new college program at Montana State University offers two-year degrees and job-training certificates, while also teaching remedial math and writing classes to parttime students, most aiming to eventually get a fouryear degree from MSU.
In 2011 and 2012, the City Commission pitched in $123,000, or 1.5 mills to show support for the fledgling college. The year prior, the Board of Regents put a limit on the general fund dollars that could be spent on
Gallatin College until a decision is reached on a local property tax mill levy. In five other counties with two-year colleges, local taxpayers pay a 1.5 mill levy. (Apparently the economic downturn never happened and taxpayers have a limitless supply of money just sitting there waiting to be taxed. So yes, by all means. Tax us some more. We are happy to fund every project you can dream up. Yes, I know, so many of us are out of work and have experienced a downturn in our home values and retirement values, but none of that matters. Government must never do without!)
Commissioners said they would like to see the city continue to support Gallatin College until a countywide property tax mill levy is passed, similar to the way the city supported Gallatin County 911 services until
county voters approved funding for it.
“The two-year school is very important for economic development and of course it’s very important to keep the adults of Gallatin County competitive in the kind of economy that we see in the future,” Krauss said.
“You’re going to need to have a postsecondary education to be in the middle class.”
CARRY OUT CLIMATE ACTION PLANS
There hasn’t been much talk lately about the city’s Community Climate Action Plan, but commissioners say it’s still moving forward.
The city has narrowed its search for a new planning director to four finalists, and commissioners say they’re looking for someone who will seek creative ways to approve more building projects.
“We want to make sure that we understand that we have customers as a city and that we want to strive to get to ‘yes’ if at all possible,” Mehl said. “We have rules for a reason - it’s not that anything goes. But if
there’s a way to offer creative solutions, we want to.” ("Creative solutions?" What kind of nonsense-speak is that? Government isn't creative, except to create obstacles. What we have here is an unwieldy, complicated, and time-consuming process to get building projects approved. The government deliberately places these obstacles in the way, and it isn't "creative" for it to find ways around what it created.)
Recently, McDonald’s spent nearly a year trying to get approval to renovate its Main Street restaurant. The hang-up was over the corporation’s franchise architecture, which is discouraged by the city in designated
entryway corridors.
Deputy Mayor Jeff Krauss said applications like McDonald’s shouldn’t take so long to review or be so difficult. “We should stop getting wound around the axle on those,” Krauss said.
Commissioners have changed city code to allow the planning director to approve more projects rather than requiring commission approval.
Krauss said the city should also fast track projects that could result in significant investments in downtown.
“If somebody comes to us and wants to invest in downtown, we ought to be able to get a task force together of engineering, planning and sort of respond to that quickly,” he said.
SUPPORT DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT
Getting plans approved for The Etha hotel at the National Guard Armory is one of the top priorities, commissioners say. The proposed seven-story hotel would be the tallest building downtown and would reuse the dilapidated but historic military fortress. And that’s not the only property that may see new life.
“We have a number of folks looking to make significant investments in our downtown core,” Becker said. “So we want the planning, building, and economic development offices to really make sure that all of the business owners in downtown feel well served.”
The commission has loosened requirements for parking spaces that must be provided when a building is constructed or remodeled. And, commissioners lowered street impact fees charged on construction downtown to one-third of the cost elsewhere, Becker said. (Does the shortsightedness of these people not leap out at you? I guess they just have to tinker with things, as if they have the wisdom to channel capitalism as they choose. Well, they don't. They have created a monster of regulation, hoops to jump through, and requirements that only impede development. Adopting reforms to impede things a little less is not "supporting downtown development." And by the way, why is downtown more worthy of subsides and tax breaks than are businesses located in another part of town? Why does the city have the authority to pick and choose which businesses should benefit and which should not?)
PLAN FOR THE CITY’S FUTURE WATER SUPPLY
A plan to keep faucets flowing for the next 50 years is expected to be ready for the commission to vote on this year.
As the city’s population grows, Bozeman’s current water sources could fall short of demand within the next 20 years. To keep taps flowing, the city has hired outside consultants and assembled a team of local experts to draft the Integrated Water Resource Plan.
The plan will guide the expenditure of millions of tax dollars and consider proposals such as building a reservoir near Mystic Lake in Sourdough Canyon, raising Hyalite Dam and piping water into Bozeman from
Canyon Ferry Reservoir.
“It’s looking at where are we going to get our water from and how are we going to do it in a sustainable way,” Commissioner Carson Taylor said.
Taylor said the plan would lay out suggestions to improve water conservation as well as the costs and constraints of each of the city’s options to add to the water supply.
REPAIR AGING INFRASTRUCTURE
Creating a computer database that tracks and manages the most efficient way to replace aging streets, water pipes and sewer lines is in the works, commissioners said. (What? They don't have a record of what work has been done where and what needs repairs? What system do they use now, sticky notes on the wall? This is incredible.)
The commission has already raised fees for streets, water and sewer, and has adopted a 20-year plan to address deferred maintenance projects. (Even more incredible is that the City has not budgeted for maintenance as an ongoing budget item. If a private business were to "defer" maintenance on its valuable assets, it would fail. This borders on malfeasance. These incompetent people need to be removed from power.)
In the near future, streets in need of an overhaul will include Kagy Boulevard and West College Street, Mehl said.
Crumbling roads in the neighborhoods surrounding downtown will need an overhaul, too, Becker said.
“Those streets haven’t been replaced for 100 years, and those aren’t going to be easy to fix,” he said. (No, they won't, because had the commissioners been acting responsibly, they would have not let these roads crumble. We went through an economic boom lasting over 15 years, and tax revenues were through the roof. Where did all that money go?)
EDUCATE VOTERS ON THE NEED FOR NEW POLICE, COURT BUILDING (Comrades, our Dear Leaders want to educate us so that we will support their objectives. Please remember to show your enthusiasm for these programs. Failure to do so will result in severe consequences.)
The city has set aside money to design a new police and court building, and commissioners say it’s likely they would ask voters to approve a bond referendum in November 2014. While they’d like to get the ballot question ready for this coming election, that might not be enough time.
“It could be this fall, but I highly doubt it because of the time it would take to design the facility so that it could be bid with 90-percent certainty,” Becker said.
Bozeman police and Gallatin County sheriff ’s deputies share facilities at the Law and Justice Center off 19th Avenue. The building was constructed in 1960 as a Catholic high school. Commissioners say it’s bursting at the seams.
But city and county officials are still trying to agree on where the city’s facilities would be built at the Law and Justice campus and how much the county would charge the city for its space on the property.
“We’re on the cusp, I hope, of working out something with the county that allows for a police station that will save county and city taxpayers a lot of money,” Taylor said. (Only in the world of Leftist politics can the spending of multiple millions of dollars save taxpayers "a lot of money.")
FUND GALLATIN COLLEGE, SEEK COUNTYWIDE LEVY
Gallatin College is big and it’s growing. The new college program at Montana State University offers two-year degrees and job-training certificates, while also teaching remedial math and writing classes to parttime students, most aiming to eventually get a fouryear degree from MSU.
In 2011 and 2012, the City Commission pitched in $123,000, or 1.5 mills to show support for the fledgling college. The year prior, the Board of Regents put a limit on the general fund dollars that could be spent on
Gallatin College until a decision is reached on a local property tax mill levy. In five other counties with two-year colleges, local taxpayers pay a 1.5 mill levy. (Apparently the economic downturn never happened and taxpayers have a limitless supply of money just sitting there waiting to be taxed. So yes, by all means. Tax us some more. We are happy to fund every project you can dream up. Yes, I know, so many of us are out of work and have experienced a downturn in our home values and retirement values, but none of that matters. Government must never do without!)
Commissioners said they would like to see the city continue to support Gallatin College until a countywide property tax mill levy is passed, similar to the way the city supported Gallatin County 911 services until
county voters approved funding for it.
“The two-year school is very important for economic development and of course it’s very important to keep the adults of Gallatin County competitive in the kind of economy that we see in the future,” Krauss said.
“You’re going to need to have a postsecondary education to be in the middle class.”
CARRY OUT CLIMATE ACTION PLANS
There hasn’t been much talk lately about the city’s Community Climate Action Plan, but commissioners say it’s still moving forward.
“We’re on the carrot side of the equation right now,” Becker said. “We’re looking at voluntary things. We’re looking at how you can incentivize. We’re not at the point of creating compulsory rules.” (What arrogance! Can you imagine? The commissioners intend to allow the voluntary processes to go their course, then afterwards turn to forcing people to do what they want them to do. If you will not bend over, they will bend you over.)
Taylor said an anti-idling campaign and other educational initiatives are in the works.
“We’re really ready for the next little piece there of encouraging people to do things that affect the climate favorably,” he said. (Yes, we are ready. We the people live to serve government.)
Approved by the commission in 2011, the community plan contains 39 recommendations to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas Bozeman produces. Ideas range from requiring stores to charge 5 cents for plastic bags to building city-operated alternative energy facilities.
At this point, though, commissioners said they aren’t aware of any specific ordinances related to the plan coming to them for a vote.
DETERMINE FUTURE OF BOGERT POOL
Bogert Pool’s days are numbered. Commissioners say they’d like to consider building a new city pool at the same location.
The city conducted a study last year to look at the potential to build a multi-million dollar recreation and aquatic facility, but that plan is too expensive and can wait, commissioners said.
“Bogert is failing,” Mehl said. “To use nautical references, it could go under at any moment … We know the current situation cannot last very long.”
Becker said Bozeman must decide what it wants at the Bogert Pool site – another pool or a splash park, for example.
“We’re going to be out of a pool if we don’t make a decision pretty quickly,” Becker said.
Bozeman has two pools, the outdoor Bogert Pool and indoor Swim Center. Bogert Pool was built in 1939 and remodeled in 1974, the same year the Swim Center was built. Constructing a new pool or aquatic facility could require a voter-approved bond referendum.
Krauss said he believes the city should take the money it spends each year now on the pool and apply that amount to build a new pool. He suggested it be located at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds, where there is
space and ample parking. He said any discussion about a recreation and aquatic facility should be far in the future.
“To me, that sounds like we’d build ‘The City of Bozeman Disneyland,’ or ‘The Lewis and Clark Log Plume Ride,’” he said. (Is he speaking approvingly? As long as the taxpayer pays for it, what does it matter?)
Taylor said an anti-idling campaign and other educational initiatives are in the works.
“We’re really ready for the next little piece there of encouraging people to do things that affect the climate favorably,” he said. (Yes, we are ready. We the people live to serve government.)
Approved by the commission in 2011, the community plan contains 39 recommendations to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas Bozeman produces. Ideas range from requiring stores to charge 5 cents for plastic bags to building city-operated alternative energy facilities.
At this point, though, commissioners said they aren’t aware of any specific ordinances related to the plan coming to them for a vote.
DETERMINE FUTURE OF BOGERT POOL
Bogert Pool’s days are numbered. Commissioners say they’d like to consider building a new city pool at the same location.
The city conducted a study last year to look at the potential to build a multi-million dollar recreation and aquatic facility, but that plan is too expensive and can wait, commissioners said.
“Bogert is failing,” Mehl said. “To use nautical references, it could go under at any moment … We know the current situation cannot last very long.”
Becker said Bozeman must decide what it wants at the Bogert Pool site – another pool or a splash park, for example.
“We’re going to be out of a pool if we don’t make a decision pretty quickly,” Becker said.
Bozeman has two pools, the outdoor Bogert Pool and indoor Swim Center. Bogert Pool was built in 1939 and remodeled in 1974, the same year the Swim Center was built. Constructing a new pool or aquatic facility could require a voter-approved bond referendum.
Krauss said he believes the city should take the money it spends each year now on the pool and apply that amount to build a new pool. He suggested it be located at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds, where there is
space and ample parking. He said any discussion about a recreation and aquatic facility should be far in the future.
“To me, that sounds like we’d build ‘The City of Bozeman Disneyland,’ or ‘The Lewis and Clark Log Plume Ride,’” he said. (Is he speaking approvingly? As long as the taxpayer pays for it, what does it matter?)
CRAFT A ‘DEMOLITION BY NEGLECT’ ORDINANCE
In some cases, if the city won’t allow a historic building to be torn down, the owner will simply let it fall down. Commissioners say they want to put that to a stop.
“We’re looking for a fairly simple ordinance that would protect our historic structures from intentional neglect,” Becker said.
Over the years, the city has had little recourse to deal with high-profile properties falling into disrepair, like the 118-year-old Lehrkind Brewery, once the largest building in Bozeman and now a crumbling wall.
“We need an ordinance that says when you buy a historic property you expect to keep it in as good a shape as when you bought it — or keep it in a non-deteriorating condition,” Krauss said. (So if someone wants to tear down their building, which generally means it's unrepairable, well, the city will force you to repair it. These fascists want to control every part of your life.)
MAKE PERMANENT PLAN FOR STORY MANSION
A local nonprofit’s proposal to buy Story Mansion in installments over six years is expected to come before the City Commission within a few weeks.
In some cases, if the city won’t allow a historic building to be torn down, the owner will simply let it fall down. Commissioners say they want to put that to a stop.
“We’re looking for a fairly simple ordinance that would protect our historic structures from intentional neglect,” Becker said.
Over the years, the city has had little recourse to deal with high-profile properties falling into disrepair, like the 118-year-old Lehrkind Brewery, once the largest building in Bozeman and now a crumbling wall.
“We need an ordinance that says when you buy a historic property you expect to keep it in as good a shape as when you bought it — or keep it in a non-deteriorating condition,” Krauss said. (So if someone wants to tear down their building, which generally means it's unrepairable, well, the city will force you to repair it. These fascists want to control every part of your life.)
MAKE PERMANENT PLAN FOR STORY MANSION
A local nonprofit’s proposal to buy Story Mansion in installments over six years is expected to come before the City Commission within a few weeks.
“After considering the offers from the community groups, we should seriously consider the sale of the building in lieu of 10 years of unsuccessful fundraising to retain that building’s public ownership,”
Becker said. (And what are the qualifications manifested by the city managers that prove their ability to achieve their utopian dreams? Here it is right here. The Story Mansion is the textbook example of the skillset of the commissioners. This debacle has gone on for years. They have sank upwards of $4 million into this boondoggle, only to agree to a sale of the property to a local non-profit for the impressive sum of $392,000. The non-profit has had at least three opportunities to raise the necessary cash to make the purchase, and has failed. The city is still saddled with this cash-devouring beast, and the taxpayer is who is stuck with the check.)
Two weeks ago, Friends of the Story Mansion said it doesn’t have the money to finalize its long-awaited purchase of the 103-year old mansion, located on the corner of College Street and Willson Avenue.
Mehl said the commission would love to hear from anyone who wants to make an offer. (There was at least one offer on the table before all this money was blown on the property. The commissioners went the non-profit route instead. Profit, of course, is eeeevil.)
Though, he said it would be difficult to appraise the property and quantify the mansion’s value. There aren’t many similar properties to compare it to, with a 50-year federal preservation easement and a public
park on the grounds. The city must sell property for at least 90 percent of its appraised value, unless it’s to a nonprofit.
Krauss simply said, “Sell it at market value.”
Commissioner Cyndy Andrus could not be immediately reached. Taylor said he intends to consider all options, provided they surface in the near future.
“I would like, in the next year, to end up with a plan to the extent that one could predict would be a permanent solution for the city of Bozeman,” Taylor said. “Whether that means private ownership, a private
business, or a public-private partnership … I intend to be open to all ideas.”
Amanda Ricker can be reached at aricker@daily chronicle.com
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