HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-02-25 Public Comment - A. Kociolek - Public commentFrom:Angela Kociolek
To:Bozeman Goverment Study Commission
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public comment
Date:Wednesday, April 2, 2025 9:31:59 PM
Attachments:Bzn City Comm 4.2.25.pdf
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Greetings, attached are my thoughts for your consideration. Thank you.
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April 2, 2025
Dear Bozeman Study Commission,
Thank you for your service and this opportunity to provide input.
My thoughts on what the City of Bozeman does well:
I acknowledge the City of Bozeman works to create a welcoming place to live
and visit. I appreciate its public spaces – Main Street, neighborhood streets and
alleys, the Bozeman Public Library, City Hall, and its network of parks, trails,
boulevards and natural areas. I believe the City does a stellar job when it comes
to administrative/accounting systems, trash pickup, offering public meeting space
and all manner of programming. I applaud the City’s recent efforts to engage with
its citizenry.
My thoughts on what the City of Bozeman should strive to improve:
First, and foremost, the City of Bozeman should step up its commitment to being
an environmental steward when it comes to water, vegetation and wildlife. Its
many plans (e.g.., Sensitive Lands Protection Plan and Parks, Recreation &
Active Transportation Plan) are a good start and now it’s time to codify them into
Bozeman Municipal Code for strengthened environmental protection.
The City also should do a better job of enforcing its existing environmental
codes, such as 38.410.010 – or immediately take the steps to make them
enforceable. A main part of this, I believe, is to require additional ecological
training for the Community Development Department Planning Review Staff.
The City should also consider hiring an independent urban ecologist to do boots
on the ground reviews of those natural resources that shall be protected on any
new development or re-development site.
I also believe the City of Bozeman needs to flip its emphasis. Yesterday, at the
City Commission meeting, Community Development Department staff
emphasized their role in aiding developers to bring a project to fruition – yet
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offered no such support in protecting existing neighborhood character. This is
shocking and dismaying, and, I believe, the culture needs to change so the City
seeks, first, to serve existing residents by maintaining and enhancing their quality
of life, and assist in compatible economic development efforts, second.
The City Commission should use its power (per the Bozeman charter) to set the
tone that the needs of regular people, existing property owners, taxpayers come
first – not the profits of the few. As regards the affordable housing issue, the City
should use more creativity and bold publicly-generated ideas instead of simply
following lockstep in the build, build, build mentality that does not actually result
in more affordable living, destroying aesthetics and/or neighborhood character,
and only makes us less resilient when it comes to water scarcity and climate
change.
I would also like to see more value placed on Citizen Advisory Boards. As a
former Chair of the Urban Parks & Forestry Board, I believe the boards have
much greater capacity than is being utilized. I also believe there is a
disproportionate level of influence by some boards compared to others. I believe
all advisory boards should be actively encouraged to make recommendations to
the City Commission. To simply create advisory boards has the appearance of
citizen engagement but to not then encourage their recommendations falls short
of actual empowerment.
Areas of the Bozeman City Charter that need attention:
Sec. 2.05 Prohibitions
Interference with Administration. Except for the purpose of inquiries, and
investigations under §2.09, the commission or its members shall deal with city
officers and employees who are subject to the direction and supervision of the
city manager solely through the city manager, and neither the commission nor its
members shall give orders to any such officer or employee, either publicly or
privately.
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Ø I suggest some research be done regarding the highlighted clause to ensure
that there is not too much power given to an unelected person.
Sec. 2.06. - Vacancies; Forfeiture of Office; Filling of Vacancies.
Filling of Vacancies. A vacancy in the city commission shall be filled for the
remainder of the unexpired term, pursuant to state law.
Ø When vacancies exist, a Special Election should be held as opposed to
appointments which are prone to bias, even if unintentional.
Sec. 3.01. - Appointment; Qualifications; Compensation.
The city commission, by a majority vote of its total membership, shall appoint a
city manager for an indefinite term and fix the manager's compensation. The city
manager shall be appointed solely on the basis of education and experience in
the accepted competencies and practices of local government management. The
manager need not be a resident of the city or state at the time of appointment, but
may reside outside the city while in office only with the approval of the
commission.
Ø I hope we learned from our mistake with the previous City Manager fiasco.
Negotiated contracts should be reasonable and not squander taxpayer
dollars.
Thank you for considering these impressions and suggestions. I share them with
the best intention for this City.
Sincerely,
Angie Kociolek
620 N Tracy Ave, Bozeman, MT 59715