HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-02-19 Public Comment - J. Lind - Parks District Mill LevyFrom:Justin Lind
To:Agenda
Subject:City Parks Levy
Date:Monday, December 02, 2019 3:36:04 PM
Dear Bozeman City Commission,
I had the opportunity to read the BDC article about the Parks and Trail maintenance to take the Levy
out of the general fund and put it into a separate levy on the ballot.
As you know, there have been a lot of increases in fees and taxes that are hard felt by many
residents of Bozeman. We want to live in a nice place, and while I agree that we have an influx of
wealth coming into Bozeman, not everyone fits in that category. At what point will we not be able
to afford the luxuries? I am referring to lower income and fixed income families. Our local
businesses are dependent on an affordable work force to staff the jobs that are available. I work in
the Signs and Graphics industry and see businesses leave all the time because they can’t hire the
right people or they lose employees that can’t make enough to make ends meet. “Give them a
raise” you say, and that seems like a good idea, but then the tax bill comes and and well, you know
where this is going….. it’s tough getting pinched on both sides.
There is talk about wanting to create affordable housing on one hand while continuing to raise costs
on the other. I understand the goal, to create a great community for everyone to live in with
Beautiful Parks and do I dare mention the talk of taxation for more art? But let’s be realistic,
business and Homeowners just got there tax bill and some saw as high as a 40% increase in taxes.
Water Rates just went up, Stormwater rates just went up, Sewer just went up, Street and Tree
Maintenance went up, property tax valuation just went up.
How do you expect to balance that? I think the priorities are out of balance.
While I feel it is important to keep our parks in good condition, I noticed the BDC article mentioned
nothing about this levy being used to also “take over” and maintain Parks for HOA’s the city feels are
failing to meet the National Standards. Their members are already paying for those parks to be
maintained. Have the HOAs that are not meeting the standard been approached to let them know
there is an issue? If the city does in fact “take over” maintenance for all HOA owned parks, have
they considered that they are now city parks and everyone has access to them. How do the HOAs
feel about that??? Will this reduce the HOA members dues? Still lots of questions.
This vote seems premature since there are still other alternatives to consider. Here are just a few I
came up with I about 15 minutes:
1. Notify an HOA when their park is not meeting the standard and put the financial burden back
on the HOA. If they choose not to maintain their parks, then the city could contract with the
HOA to do the maintenance and bill the HOA. (Similar to sidewalk Snow Removal
Maintenance).
2. Bozeman community is very supportive of clean functional parks and trails. Has a bi-annual
Park Cleanup – Maintenance day similar to Bozeman Clean up been considered where
residents can help with trail and park maintenance? What a great way to involve the
community in their local park and give them the opportunity to be a part of the work. Might
even be less vandalism if neighborhoods took more ownership in their local parks.
3. If the Levy is just for maintaining current city owned parks, what is that cost? What type of
Maintenance is needed on an ongoing basis and can it be done by volunteers. (Similar to
Roadside Cleanup) Ie. “This Park Cleaned and Maintained by the Employees of INK Outside
the Box). As a business owner, I would certainly be open to that idea to get my employees
involved in the community and provide service opportunities to others.
4. Beautiful Parks Contest Sponsored by Local Businesses. It would be fun to create a Beautiful
Parks Contest where every year, a park gets noticed and awarded based on how well they
maintained their park for the year. As part of that 1st, 2nd, 3rd place award, they may receive
a plaque to display and possibly some business sponsored cash award they can use to
improve their park or reduce their HOA fees for the next year. This could create competition
between the HOA parks and provide an incentive to the homeowners to keep their park in
good shape.
We all want the city prosper, the parks get maintained and balance the budget. Let’s not be so quick
to go the easy route and put our hand out for yet another levy. Get creative… It’s easy to take and
hard to produce real solutions, but I’m sure there is a better solution than the one being proposed.
Thank you for your consideration,
Justin Lind
INK Outside the Box
406.922.6462
www.inkoutside.com