HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-25-21 Public Comment - M. Brown - Board ConsolidationFrom:Marilee Brown
To:Agenda
Cc:Ralph Zimmer; LizAnnKudrna@gmail.com; Douglas Fischer; douglasKellie@bsd7.org; Taylor Lonsdale; John
Vandelinder
Subject:Board Consolidations - ideas and concerns
Date:Tuesday, May 25, 2021 11:32:24 AM
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Dear Commissioners and Staff,
This last Thursday I suddenly found out in the Commission Agenda that City managementwas proposing to eliminate PTSC. This took me quite by surprise. PTSC had recently been
informed by the City Clerk in the beginning of May that we might be rolled into anothercommittee. Prior to that time we had been informed that our committee would not be a part of
consolidation and therefore never filled out any of the paperwork requesting information aboutour committee. And at our normal meeting on May 12 we were informed by our staff liaison
that he had not been contacted to discuss the status of our committee, nor did he know whatwas being proposed other than a Transportation committee was being formed within the
Parking Board or how that would work with us.
Since we had no opportunity to discuss this item at our regular meeting we were not able tonotify the public or vote on issues so that we could be heard with “one voice”. Therefore I am
writing to you as a citizen who intimately knows the workings of PTS since I am Vice Chairand have been a member for over 5 years.
Great Ideas being Proposed:
First, I want to commend you on trying to solve the issues of so many Committee’s andBoards being so taxing on Commissioners and Staff. It is a worthy effort and I absolutely
loved some of the ideas being presented on how to streamline and organize how committeeswere run.
I have long thought that it is not really necessary for a Commissioner to silently attend every
meeting. We can notify the Commission in “one voice” as to actions we would like them toconsider or newsworthy items that should be announced at Commission meetings. We have
found in the past that it was very handy to know from the attending Commissioner thetentative upcoming schedule of Commission meetings, but that could easily be forwarded to
Committee chairs via email.
Other streamlining ideas:There are many other ideas that could be considered if the public and the Boards had the
ability to weigh in. For instance, I have often thought that BABAB (9 voting members) andPTS (6 voting members) could combine specific meetings when dealing with budget or active
transportation items so that Staff would not have to duplicate its efforts. Please note that bothcommittees have a formal name beginning with the “Bozeman Area”. Neither of these
committees have anything to do with parking issues - except rarely when a bike lane needs toreplace parking.
Misconceptions:
The TCC is NOT a problem solving committee and rarely addresses safety or specific
concerns. They are more of a show and tell about projects going on within the County. Andthere are 3 voting members from various City Committees (not 2) – BABAB, PTS, Planning.
Taylor Lonsdale is the current chair of TCC and could have informed you of the differencesbetween PTSC and TCC. I have attended all of the TCC meetings for the last five years and
have noticed that the TCC is a reporting committee where members share information oncurrent projects. They have never been a problem solving committee where individual
intersections, roads or problems were considered. In fact, they did not even participate in theTriangle plan, the PCC or even the County Road Construction plan. PTSC has taken active
parts in all of those.
The MPO may not even come about. Census results are not in and the Feds are consideringraising the number from 50,000 to 100,000. When and if reorganization occurs is the time to
consider what will happen to PTSC - not before.
PTSC was never consulted to find out what we actually do for the City. There are many areasthat PTSC serves the public that no other committee can. For instance we have begun
negotiations with the School Board to find funding for education to implement the CommunitySafety Plan that PTSC helped write. We would love the opportunity to compile a list of what
we actually do if given the opportunity.
Voting citizens are not the only people living in this community that care about Bozeman. Many staff and committee members live outside of the City and do all of their business within
the City. This includes a lot of professionals that have gifted their expertise to variouscommittee’s. After recently moving, I am now one of them.
The public never had the opportunity to weigh in with ideas prior to staff formulating this
drastic reduction plan.
The County Commission and the School Board were never consulted in the elimination ofPTSC. It is unknown as to what “authorities” were consulted. But PTSC needs an
opportunity to discuss any elimination or reorganization with them.
Ideas for moving forward:
1) Allow the public to participate within public forums (including those that live just outsideof the City)
2) Allow PTS (and other committee’s) to help solve the issues that you are grappling with.
We have plenty of ideas on how we can streamline and become more useful to the City ofBozeman in problem solving individual Citizen concerns while saving the City staff time and
money.
3) Give committee’s training on how to shorten and make meetings more effective.
4) Ask Staff about their concerns and ideas.
5) Formulate plans to allow the public to know who to contact (via the City website) to solvetheir problems.
6) Find some way to have a test run and make sure that any consolidation of any of the
committees does not back-fire. You need a parachute if a consolidation does not work.
7) Keep PTSC intact until an MPO reorganization occurs.
Good luck, we appreciate all you do.
Marilee Brown
406-579-5447