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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-23-26 Public Comment - M. Campenelli - Attn City Commission_ Conflict of interest on TIF Advisory Board From: Mark Campanelli To: Bozeman Public Comment Cc: Alison Sweeney Subject: [EXTERNAL]Attn City Commission:Conflict of interest on TIF Advisory Board Date: Tuesday,June 23,2026 11:13:51 AM 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. Dear City Commission, Disclosures: I am President and INC delegate for Bogert Park Neighborhood Association, but not speaking on behalf of BPNA. Also, I am the founder of the East Gallatin Watershed Trust(EGWT), which is non-profit and currently takes in no money. The mission of EGWT is "Mitigating conflicts between neighborhoods and watercourses—for the benefit of both." I was listening to the tax increment finance (TIF)Advisory Board meeting from last week, dated Thursday, 18 June 2026. This has led to a number of serious concerns about undeclared and under-reported conflicts of interest by at least one member of the board. First, the Disclosures item on the agenda was skipped(yes, skipped!) entirely. Then, at about 24min 1 Os,board member Nolan Campbell, Principal Broker at Bozehome real estate agency, discloses (somewhat in passing)that his firm had represented the land owner, Idaho Pole Company, in a major landholding in and adjacent to the Pole Yard TIF district. After a short Internet search, further investigation revealed a Facebook post/advertisement, dated 9 April 2026, that advertises the recently annexed and R-B zoned L-Street parcel (currently outside, but adjacent to, the Pole Yard TIF district), as well an adjacent M-1 zoned lot to the southwest (that is current inside the Pole Yard TIF district). Screenshots are attached. You can see that the parcels are advertised as benefitting from multiple tax-incentive structures, including TIF and LIHTC. As you should know this budget season, these incentives divert funding away from our already very limited tax base. During the board meeting, the potential usage of tax increments to environmentally mitigate the Idaho Pole Superfund site was openly discussed. This is exactly one of the main reasons why I voiced my opposition to the City annexing this environmentally distressed property for development. (Recall my two written and one oral public comments on the agenda item for annexation and zoning the L Street property.)Now I realize that during that SAME (!) City Commission meeting on 16 December 2026,Nolan Campell was voted onto the TIF Advisory Board. How is this type of financial-benefit conflict of interest being allowed to proceed, especially with little, IF ANY,public disclosure?!?Utter disgust wells up within me about how my City operates. Interestingly, moving wetlands that are not thought to be "original" to the parcels was also discussed at the TIF board meeting. Who will pay to additionally test the water in the wetlands, drainage ditches, and E Gallatin River when this "reconstruction" is underway, as well as afterwards as the development "settles"?Who will ensure that kids (or adults, for that matter)playing downstream, esp. in the City-owned Story Mill Park, are not receiving acute exposures from the disturbed soils? Recall that these soils are often saturated with groundwater to a very shallow depth, and that the Gallatin City-County Health Department voiced great concerns about soil and groundwater disruption from future development of the site (see my previous public comment and this). Indeed, neighbors of the L-Street parcel convinced Northwestern Energy that running utilities through the site was not worth the environmental risk(and presumed associated liability). There is a term for these sorts of behaviors: "Privatized profits. Socialized risks." Others simply call it "corruption". In any event, I do expect the City to take action on this matter and clean up its act. Please do let me know what action you intend to take here. Meanwhile, I will wait for what seems to be an inevitable proposal to enlarge the Pole Yard TIF district to include the newly annexed L-Street properties. That would track perfectly. Mark Campanelli Bogert Park neighbor LinkedIn facebook Openapp Login Recent Posts * bozehome is at Downtown Bozeman. *�we•m Largest remaining infill development site within close proximity to Downtown Bozeman.Totaling over 24 acres,this property has recently completed all annexation and zone map amendment requirements and is fully incorporated into the City of Bozeman.The Northernmost parcels along L Street have recently been zoned R-B,and the southernmost parcel(-6.9ac) is currently zoned MA The M-1 parcel is also located within the Pole Yard Urban Renewal District and may qualify for TIF reimbursement.The properties are located in Census Tract:30031000600,and may also qualify for LIHTC funding.More information is available for qualified investors/developers. Presented By:bozehome+co Real Estate milli 07:50 AN facebook open app been zoned R-B,and the southernmost parcel(-6.9ac) is currently zoned M-1.The M-1 parcel is also located within the Pole Yard Urban Renewal District and may qualify for TIF reimbursement.The properties are located in Census Tract:30031000600,and may also qualify for LIHTC funding.More information is available for qualified investors/developers. Presented By:bozehome+co Real Estate �, 7 e � � 44, `' MESSENGER bozo ome p SEND MESSAGE Real Estate Agent