HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-10-23 Public Comment - B. Bear - Commission letterFrom:bobbybear406@gmail.com
To:Agenda
Subject:FW: Commission letter
Date:Tuesday, January 10, 2023 12:16:12 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you
recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
I am dismayed to see that the following comment from me is not listed as Public Comment on
tonight’s Commission Agenda. I ask that it be recognized and included.
Bobby Bear
From: bobbybear406@gmail.com <bobbybear406@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 4, 2023 8:23 PM
To: 'Jennifer Madgic' <jmadgic@bozeman.net>; 'I-Ho Pomeroy' <ipomeroy@bozeman.net>; 'Terry
Cunningham' <tcunningham@bozeman.net>; 'Christopher Coburn' <ccoburn@BOZEMAN.NET>;
'Cyndy Andrus' <CAndrus@BOZEMAN.NET>
Cc: 'Jeff Mihelich' <jmihelich@BOZEMAN.NET>; Ellie Staley <ellie@downtownbozeman.org>; 'Emily
Cope' <Emily@downtownbozeman.org>
Subject: FW: Commission letter
From: bobbybear406@gmail.com <bobbybear406@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 4, 2023 8:16 PM
To: 'Jennifer Madgic' <jmadgic@bozeman.net>; 'Terry Cunningham' <tcunningham@bozeman.net>;
'Babs Noelle (babs@alarajewelry. com)' <babs@alarajewelry.com>; brandi@indikoi.com; 'Courtney
Reeves' <Courtney.Reeves@armoryhotelbzn.com>; elena@thenovacafe.com;
info@vinopertutti.com; 'Mary Pat - Bozeman Spirits' <mp@bozemanspirits.com>; 'Natalie - Treeline'
<natalie@treelinecoffee.com>; tstarr@larkbozeman.com; 'Eric Sutherland'
<eric@360commercialmanagement.com>; eric@owenhouse.com; erik@nest-partners.com; 'Coco
Douma (Coco Douma)' <cocod@ourbank.com>; frescocafe317@gmail.com;
Ileana@delaneynco.com; angie.c.rutherford@gmail.com; bobbybear406@outlook.com;
coryl@offthebeatenpath.com; marleymckenna1385@gmail.com; nicholas@checkthisout.io;
nickzelver@gmail.com; tony@therenslowgroup.com
Cc: 'Emily Cope' <Emily@downtownbozeman.org>; 'Cache Perdue'
<cache@downtownbozeman.org>; Ellie Staley <ellie@downtownbozeman.org>; 'Carson Taylor'
<carsongtaylor@gmail.com>
Subject: FW: Commission letter
Commission statement, January 10, 2023:
My name is Bobby Bear. I live at 318 N Bozeman Ave and am the Chair of the Downtown Bozeman
Urban Renewal District (URD) board. I would like to comment on the process to reappoint members
of the URD that has taken place.
Six months ago the terms of three members of the URD board came up for
appointment/reappointment. Two of those members applied for reappointment and a third citizen
applied as well. All three were interviewed and approved for appointment. In prior years the City
would have scheduled a July Commission meeting and approval. This year the appointments were
finally scheduled for a December meeting when Mayor Andrus discovered that they should be
mayoral appointments. At that time Mayor Andrus interviewed two of the applicants and has stated
she will interview the third, Cory Lawrence, in early January.
Meanwhile Mayor Andrus has gone out and personally solicited a fourth applicant to the board. This
is disingenuous. It appears that Mayor Andrus does not want to reappoint Mr. Lawrence, even
though the URD has named him Chair-elect for the next year!
The URD, like the other Downtown boards, has had a stable membership over the 25+ years of its
existence. Many of its members have served multiple terms and yet normal attrition has occurred
which has kept the board vibrant and attuned to the community. The Downtown boards are fiscally
responsible for their actions and the management of funds. The URD, BID and DBA boards were not
rolled into the City’s reworking of citizen advisory boards due to this responsibility and State statue.
It is vitally important that board members are financially astute and vested in URD operations.
Mr. Lawrence has been an active and engaged member of the URD board. He is a Downtown
business and property owner, a CPA and has provided valuable analysis and cash flow projections to
the board to guide our fiscal responsibilities and work plan development. It is an afront to the URD
board and its members to blatantly disregard its wishes regarding board appointments. It has been
six months since these vacancies occurred and in another six months more will come up. I
understand that there are now three additional applicants beyond the original three from last June –
two of whom were solicited by Mayor Andrus. I have learned today that Mayor Andrus will not
appoint any of the June applicants and will appoint her new slate from December next Tuesday. This
is unacceptable.
I ask the Commission to appoint the original slate of applicants, including Mr. Lawrence, who applied
last June. The Chair and Vice-chair positions are very important to the URD since they are also part
of the board that manages the Downtown Bozeman Partnership, which manages the URD, BID and
DBA boards and their physical operations. We welcome new members to our boards, but not at the
expense of qualified and experienced current members.
Thank you – Bobby Bear