HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-07-19 City Commission Packet Materials - A4. Joint Meeting of the City Commission and ASMSUCommission Memorandum
REPORT TO: Honorable Mayor and City Commission
FROM:Andrea Surratt, City Manager
SUBJECT: Joint Meeting of the City Commission and ASMSU
MEETING DATE: October 7, 2019
AGENDA ITEM TYPE: Action
RECOMMENDATION: Discuss topics of interest to students and City Commissioners and give staff direction for follow up as needed
BACKGROUND: The City of Bozeman is guided by the Strategic Plan that was developed and
ultimately approved on April 16, 2018. Under Vision Statement 1. An Engaged Community,
Vision Strategy 1.3 Public Agencies Collaboration, c) Enhance our relationship with Montana
State University, the City of Bozeman has reached out to the Associated Students of Montana State University (ASMSU) to hold an annual joint meeting for the purposes of discussing topics
of similar interest. ASMSU is the student government association serving as the elected voice
of the students of MSU in Bozeman. The topics for discussion can include some or all of the
following, as well as any additional topics of interest to both groups:
1.Kagy Boulevard/Pedestrian Safety
The improvements scheduled for Kagy Boulevard will improve vehicle, bike and pedestrian flow
south of campus, but there's one obvious gap related to pedestrian safety: the crossing just east of
11th that is used by MSU students, football players, and others to cross Kagy Boulevard to go to the stadium or the parking lots south of campus. The safest option is a pedestrian tunnel beneath
the roadway, but this has not been budgeted in the Kagy improvements.
2.Safe Biking Routes
Current coordination between the City and MSU to discuss identifying preferred biking routes between the campus and surrounding area. Presentation by staff and follow up discussion.
3.Affordable Housing
MSU’s student population has gone from 10,000 to now 17,000 students – projections in the
coming many years are as high as 24,000.Possible Discussion Questions/Topics:
•The impacts of the student renter population on our public resources
•rental availability and affordability
•Since students are not property owners, they are not contributing to public infrastructure
and programming like many tax payers. How do they see MSU contributing to this
dilemma (set of dilemmas) and what could be the connection between students, their
administration, and our City efforts around Community Housing.
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4.Student Code of Conduct
In recent years MSU’s code of conduct has changed to now apply to students on AND off
campus. So if a student chooses to violate the law or behave un-neighborly off campus, they canbe held accountable just as if they made those choices on campus. There is a “CommunityConcern” reporting form that anyone can use to report student conduct – it goes directly to the
Dean of Students office. They will pay house calls if necessary. Also, Code Compliance, the
Police Department, MSU PD, and the Dean of Students office work closely together
(daily/weekly) to not only deal with conduct issues but also student safety issues like intent toself-harm, sexual assault, and substance abuse disorder. Presentation by staff with follow upquestions.
Possible Discussion Questions:
•What are benefits to the City and to MSU in this new code of conduct
•What aspects of student life/city life still need more work
5.Student EngagementStudent engagement will be enhanced if we identify all of the ways that students can get
involved, how public participation works and how to get plugged in to social media for the city.
Presentation by staff with follow up discussion.
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UNRESOLVED ISSUES: None.
ALTERNATIVES: As suggested by the City Commission.
FISCAL EFFECTS: The fiscal effects of this discussion are not directly known but discussions
that occur may generate follow up projects or research that have a cost.
Attachments: none