HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-03-17 Public Comment - R. Zimmer (on behalf of Bozeman (Area) Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee) - Galla10 Alliance for Pathways (GAP)From:Ralph Zimmer
To:Agenda
Subject:Agenda Item F4 - Advisory Bodies Affiliating with GAP
Date:Friday, November 03, 2017 10:17:49 AM
Friday, November 3, 2017
Mayor Taylor and City Commissioners,
Monday evening the Commission will be considering Agenda Item F4
allowing the Bozeman (Area) Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee
(PTS), the Bozeman Area Bicycle Advisory Board (BABAB), and the
City's Recreation and Parks Advisory Board (RPAB) to affiliate with
the Galla10 Alliance for Pathways (GAP) as "Affiliated partner
Organizations". Such an affiliation would be in some ways similar to
the City's affiliation with the Montana League of Cities and Towns
and with the Montana Infrastructure Coalition except those
affiliations by the City cost the City actual money annually
(approximately $12,000 and $4,000 respectively NOT counting money
spent sending people to meetings and training sessions) while
affiliation with GAP does not cost a penny of the City's money.
The Commission has already voted several times in favor of a
separated shared-use bike/ped path from Bozeman to Belgrade along the
frontage road. GAP's primary goal is promoting that very same
path. GAP is a Montana non-profit corporation that has just been
granted 501(c)(3) status by the IRS.
GVLT and other groups have already affiliated with GAP as Affiliated
Partner Organizations. PTS and also BABAB and RPAB have voted
unanimously to so affiliate. All three of those City-related groups
already have liaison non-voting members on GAP's Board of Directors.
Because it is a joint City, County, and Bozeman School District
committee to which the City Commission only appoints one-quarter of
its voting membership,, PTS does not concede it needs Commission
approval to affiliate with GAP. However, to encourage harmony, to
expedite the approval process, and to remove any complications, PTS
is joining BABAB and RPAB in seeking Commission approval.
At one point, one Commission member suggested that if these
affiliations were approved it would require the City to "notice"
GAP's meetings and to post GAP minutes on the City website. Given
the response from the City Clerk and the review by the City's legal
staff, we assume those are now "dead" issues.
I personally commenced discussing this proposed affiliation with
City Officials on April 5. It is now seven months later. It is time
to bring the issue to closure. I pan to attend your meeting Monday
evening to answer any questions you might have.
Ralph W. Zimmer, Chairperson
Bozeman (Area) Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee
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