HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-17-25 Public Comment - A. Sweeney - INC_Study Commission joint meeting recapFrom:Jandt Neighborhood
To:Kath Crumrine; Emily Kiely; Angie Kociolek; BCAN-General; BCNA- General; Beth Boyson; BPNA-General; EmilyMason; Hannah Gullickson; Jandt-General; Kade Woolverton; Kathy Rich; Mark Campanelli; NENA-General; NoahTen Broek; UNA-General; Joey Morrison; Dick Bakker; Bozeman Goverment Study Commission; Douglas Fischer;Salal Huber-McGee
Subject:[EXTERNAL]INC/Study Commission joint meeting recap
Date:Wednesday, July 16, 2025 11:52:38 PM
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Howdy fellow neighborhood reps,
Again, sorry for the delay in this recap. I've cc'd the govreview@bozeman.net address so
these notes will go to the Study Commission and be part of the public record.
Even so, please send your individual comments from the meeting to the Study Commission. Kath had a particularly well prepared set of 5 recommendations. We need to make surethese are in writing and part of the public record.
The meeting recording is excellent and available here:https://bozeman.granicus.com/player/clip/2527?view_id=1&redirect=true
Remember the first half hour is the Study Commission exclusively and the INC reps joinfollowing a brief pause. Commissioner Fischer attended in lieu of INC's regular commission
liaison Deputy Mayor, Joey Morrison. INC's staff liaison was not present. City Clerk MikeMaas was on hand and very helpful in clarifying misinformation or confusion.
Rather than detailing exactly which comment was made by whom at what timestamp, I'm
going to include bullet points of the major feedback from representatives. Many reps agreedwith most points.
Neighborhood associations while challenging to run ARE working, but the entire city is
not covered by recognized associations.Many reps have witnessed or experienced dismissive comments from members of the
City Commission precisely BECAUSE the whole city isn't covered. It's easy to dismissour contributions to policy because we are more concentrated in the core
neighborhoods. Newer parts of town have not yet organized themselves into recognizedassociations.
One rep suggested maybe other areas feel less inclined to go through the process ofbeing recognized because they have HOA's that they can participate in instead.
The functioning of the Inter-Neighborhood Council itself is hamstrung at times becauseeach neighborhood's bylaws are different, so not all reps are able to cast a vote on behalf
of their neighborhood when a resolution is processed through the council. Moreconsistency would allow the council to function better.
There was some discussion of the Commission not listening to the Council, and manyreps expressed frustration that INC's recommendations don't often end up affecting
policy outcomes.Several different responses to Carson Taylor's (chair of govt. study commish) query
about how INC reps think about wards in our city.
1. A neighborhood rep posited that wards and the INC could work together like a house
and senate.2. Another suggested each ward could encompass several neighborhood associations and
this could lead to better accountability because the commissioner in that ward would beresponsible to their neighborhoods.
3. One representative had lived in a city with wards and cautioned against too manybecause too large a body can be unwieldy.
4. Wards should not replace Neighborhoods.
Continuing with general INC feedback or concerns to the Study Commission:
Several representatives expressed frustration in not getting notification from the Cityabout events, roadwork, or other activities impacting their neighborhoods. This is
problematic because reps are looked to as a source of knowledge by their neighbors butoften haven't been given a heads up themselves.
Reps acknowledge the Neighborhoods section of the City Charter, and theNeighborhood Recognition Ordinance (NRO) are great but we as a City are not living
up to the mission. Notification of development applications are not being forwarded toNeighborhood Associations at the appropriate time in order to allow public participation
(sec 2.05.1220.A.1 and sec 2.05.1230.B). And the Staff Liaison has not returned to fulltime Neighborhoods Coordinator position since the completion of the Belonging in
Bozeman plan. The position IS supposed to be full time, but the NeighborhoodsCoordinator is being asked to handle other engagement duties. With the City's
ambitious workload this staff liaison cannot possibly fulfill the responsibilities set out inthe NRO, especially if the City continues to grow and add recognized neighborhood
associations.Several neighborhood representatives agreed some sort of onboarding program for
neighborhood reps to INC would be a great opportunity to help empower reps to betterserve their neighbors. Some reps have more time than others to investigate how the City
works and who runs different departments, but access to this should be moreconsistent and onboarding could ensure a basic level of literacy of city government.
A few reps mentioned city department directors or staff being rude and dismissive,others said they just never heard back from a query sent to staff.
One representative suggested that an INC rep be chosen by the council to serve as aCommissioner; an INC seat on the City Commission, another thought that would be
questionable because neighborhood association by-laws are so different, turn-out amongneighborhoods was different, so the method for selection would not be a great example
of verifiable democratic process.Another representative discussed the appointment process for the City when a City
Commissioner resigns or is no longer able to serve. It was acknowledged that MontanaCode Annotated (7-3-4218) regulates the appointment process, but one representative
questioned whether or not it could be added to the City Charter that the appointment beconducted via blind ballot.
There was general agreement that INC is upholding its responsibility to disseminateinformation from the City to the Citizens, but the flow of information in the other
direction has been broken or ineffective for some time, though some tools have beencreated and processes revived for doing so in the last year.
Many agreed that the City feels like an entity separate from citizens.
We did receive public comment as follows:
Ron Brey, former City Manager, suggested studying the Helena and Great Falls
Neighborhoods programs. In these communities the entire city was covered by associationsand the neighborhoods were given a budget. He believed it was Helena where neighborhood
representatives were elected in municipal elections and thought it might even be a requirementto serve on the neighborhood council before running for City Commission. Suggested the
Neighborhoods program in Bozeman was originally created so that information would flowfrom the residents to the City, not just from the City out to the public.
Emily Talago, former INC Chair, Midtown President and INC rep, shared a little of the good
work INC was able to accomplish in the last year including creating neighborhood surveys(whether simple pulse-of-the-neighborhood style rapid response surveys, or more in depth
multiple choice/free response pieces) conducting book-club style meetings where reps are freeto brainstorm, discuss, and question, as well as crafting and adopting resolutions. She
suggested one way to utilize INC public meeting time more efficiently would be for staff tosend powerpoints or presentations in advance so that reps could digest the info and formulate
questions ahead of time. She suggested communication in both directions is good (City toCitizen and vice versa) but to flesh out expectations ahead of time by describing an intended
or desired response or outcome.
Natsuki Nakemura, Bozeman resident, described some amazing aspects of the Anchorageneighborhoods program. All parts of the City are covered by one, and you can participate in
the neighborhood where you live, but also the one where you work so folks have moreopportunities to participate. Neighborhoods in Anchorage have dedicated staff, list serves,
trainings, design standards for development, and notification of land use decisions including anight club application.
Linda Semones, Bozeman resident of Bogert Park neighborhood, and serves on Historic
Preservation Advisory Board (HPAB) suggests that the Study Commission should meet withEVERY advisory board including HPAB. People stop volunteering to serve on boards once
they begin to feel dismissed, underutilized, or ineffective.
Commissioner Douglas Fischer let us know that he was present in lieu of Deputy MayorMorrison and would make sure to get a summary of the meeting to the Mayor, city Manager
and the Deputy Mayor. He suggested it could be a great idea to hold a joint meeting just likethis with the INC and the City Commission.
Assistant City Manager Jon Henderson thanked both bodies for the meeting and
discussion. Noted that administrative staff works really hard every day and are also humbledby the pace of development within the community. We are growing, but we're not so big yet
that we can't make some changes.
Some final comments from the Study Commission Members
Please submit your talking points from this meeting in writing to govreview@bozeman.netThe Study Commission has a website, please visit https://www.bozeman.net/services/local-
government-study/about/what-we-do
That's all for now folks,
Alison SweeneyChair of the Jandt Neighborhood
Inter-Neighborhood Council Secretary