HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-19-21 Public Comment - R. Zimmer - Board ConsolidationFrom:Ralph Zimmer
To:Jeff Mihelich; Cyndy Andrus; Terry Cunningham; I-Ho Pomeroy; Jennifer Madgic; Christopher Coburn
Cc:Jim Ness; Michael Veselik; James R. Nickelson; Chris Saunders; delmue; Marilee Brown; Taylor Lonsdale; John
Vandelinder; Melody Mileur; Mike Maas; Jesse DiTommaso
Subject:Transportation "Super Board"
Date:Wednesday, May 19, 2021 11:52:45 AM
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Wednesday, May 19, 2021
Manager Mihelic, Mayor Andrus, Deputy Mayor Cunningham, and Commissioners Pomeroy,Madgic , and Coburn,
On February 23, I heard City Manager Mihelic tell the City Commission that joint boards
would NOT be included in the forthcoming Board Consolidation. On March 5, City ClerkMaas sent me an email that included these statements: "This board consolidation effort will
not include any joint boards. The City is focusing on the exclusive City purview boards. PTSCwill not be modified through this process." (PTSC is the City's designation for the Bozeman
(Area) Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee which I and most others call PTS.)
On May 3, Melody Mileur informed the chairpersons of the City's advisory boards of the The City staff's recommendations for the consolidated Super Boards. Those recommendations
included combining PTS, BABAB, and the Parking Commission into the Transportation SuperBoard and placing the Impact Fee Advisory Committee into the Safe Community Super Board
even though that committee had recommended it go into the Transportation Super Board.
When I questioned the inclusion of PTS in any Super Board given Manager Mihelic'sand Clerk Maas' earlier statements, Melody wrote me on May 4 "... things have evolved
slightly since Mr. Maas emailed you back in March and you are correct in interpreting that thePTS is recommended to go into the Transportation Board."
Our committee urges you to reconsider your May 3 Super Board recommendations.
PTS was created by an interlocal agreement between the City Commission, the County
Commission, and the School District. Under the terms of that agreement, each of those threegoverning bodies appoints two voting members to PTS and those six appoint two more voting
At-Large Members.
For the City to add additional voting members to represent the City, that interlocalagreement would have to be re-negotiated. Our committee has expressed concern that any
such "packing" of our committee would negatively impact the amount of attention ourcommittee pays to County and School District issues.
If our committee meets less than 90-120 minutes, we do not get all the way through our
agenda as is. Obviously if additional agenda were added to our plate, our meetings wouldhave to run even longer. BABAB meetings routinely run 120 minutes. I attended the last
Parking Commission meeting and it ran 150 minutes. I have attended two Impact FeeAdvisory Committee meetings and, as best as I can recall, they ran 60-120 minutes. There is a
limit to how much time volunteers are willing to donate.
Our committee is not advocating that PTS and BABAB be combined, but that would be alogical combination. PTS's portfolio includes ALL ground transportation of humans while
BABAB "just" covers cycling. (PTS has weighed in on projects west of Jack Rabbit Lane,east to Bozeman Pass, and down the Gallatin Canyon while BABAB largely confines its self
to locations within the City limits.)
This is a detail PTS did not discuss, but let me state my personal opinion. If PTS andBABAB were combined and the City wished to add a third advisory board to the mix, it
should be the Impact Fee Advisory Committee and not the Parking Commission. That's theexact opposite of what the City's May 3 recommendation is.
Both PTS and BABAB discuss what projects are needed and their relative priorities. The
Impact Fee Advisory Committee discusses the funding of projects. There is symmetry there.
Based on my one observation of a Parking Commission meeting, that group spendssignificant time discussing the provision of downtown parking, its location, its regulation, and
its funding. Subject matter wise, I think it would fit in best with the Super Board having thePolice Commission.
I am not smart enough to know how the possibility that Bozeman/Belgrade might become
a MPO should fit into this discussion, but I have a gut feeling that PTS's broader "workingarea" fits in best.
Ralph
Ralph W. Zimmer, Chairperson Bozeman (Area) Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee
County Commission Appointee
cc: Jim Ness Mike Veselik
James Nickelson Chris Sauders
Jason Delmue Marilee Brown
Taylor Lonsdale John Van Delinder
Melody Mileur Mike Maas
Jesse DiTommaso