HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-15-25 Public Comment - C. Cooper - Dear Bozeman City Commissioners (RTC)From:Cathy Cooper
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Dear Bozeman City Commissioners,
Date:Saturday, April 12, 2025 8:36:40 AM
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Dear Bozeman City Commissioners,
My name is Catherine Cooper, and I write to you as a Bozeman rental property owner and concerned member of the
community. My late husband, Bob Kasmer, and I purchased our first rental here about thirty years ago. In those days
a lease agreement was literally a handshake. Times have certainly changed!
It seems that with all of the publicity Bozeman has received in recent years, as well as the amazing growth
experienced by MSU, the demand for rental properties here has never been higher. And, while not in the least
scientific, it seems to me that many rental properties in Bozeman are either short-term or owned and controlled by
out of state investors. I honestly see a lot of greed and abuse on display with regard to rentals here. Not only do I
have anecdotal evidence, but have also seen firsthand how some of my acquaintances have been poorly treated, even
abused, by their landlords. I have to imagine that you have also heard of such abuses.
It seems like now might be the appropriate time to establish a Bozeman Housing Authority. At the very least the
time seems ripe for a Right to Council commission to be established. Renters, many of whom are the working
backbone of our community, are struggling with unfair rent increases, evictions, poor living conditions… In many
cases they have no recourse other than to put up and shut up for fear of losing their housing.
As the mother of a downtown business owner who had to shutter the downtown store due to an employee shortage,
I’m at a loss to understand why you guys are not more proactive in protecting renters in our community! If I’m
hearing of lots of landlord/property management abuse, I have to imagine you have to be hearing much more!
Well commissioners, it’s time to help the little guys, the people we depend on to clean our hotels, bus our tables,
mow our lawns. When they need legal representation to resolve housing issues yet are unable to afford it, the city
should help somehow. Right now it doesn’t seem like any recourse exists for them other than independently hiring a
lawyer, which as we know is beyond the means of many. Please put your heads together and create a housing
authority, a commission to provide legal guidance, or some other vehicle to help them.
Most sincerely,
Cathy Cooper
Owner Kasmer Properties LLC
8830 Chapman Rd.
Bozeman, MT 59718
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