HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-06-26 Public Comment - M. Kaveney - Work Session on Bond Issue- CC commission.From:Marcia Kaveney
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Work Session on Bond Issue- CC commission.
Date:Tuesday, October 6, 2026 11:34:54 AM
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Dear City Commissioners-
Thanks for asking for public input on things to invest in.
I am writing today as an individual resident of Bozeman and also as a co-founder of the
Bozeman Tree Coalition. I would like to see you invest in the following things this comingyear:
1. Invest in improving Tree Protection codes that support the new Urban Forest Management
Plan, the Parks, Recreation, and Active Transportation Plan, the Climate/Sustainability Plan,and the Bozeman Community Plan that stresses the importance of land and habitat
stewardship. This would be an investment of staff time and resident volunteers. I do notbelieve the cost of consultants is necessary for this task, but some staff time will be. Between
the Bozeman Tree Coalition and The Gallatin Watershed Council, many codes could beidentified and rewritten.
2. Please also invest in reducing the City's light pollution impact. This can be a low cost effort
by actions such as replacing street light bulbs with yellow ones, adding increased shielding tostreet lights, increasing awareness of light pollution on the City's facebook page, and
improving the gaps in municipal code as recently identified by the Dark Sky Internationalanalysis shared with city staff. A reduction in light pollution provides health benefits to
humans as well as cost saving measures and reducing light pollution provides survivalbenefits to birds, wildlife, insects, and plants.
The above two investments are low cost, can be done without consultants, and would fulfill
one of the City's stated priorities for 2027 - a focus on the Environment. They would alsofulfill the goal of bringing code updates into compliance with City Plans.
3. I would also like to suggest that the city invest additional staff time to work on rebalancing
the City's budget so that Bozeman "is living within its means" and not dependent on the nextlarge development and its first year of property taxes and impact fees. Perpetuating growth
and sprawl by being dependent on new property taxes works in opposition to curboverspending by the City or having to initiate ballot bond measures.
In his recent Bozeman Daily Chronicle Guest Column, Commissioner Fischer talks about
Bozeman's westward growth and the civic infrastructure such as housing, fire stations, andswimming pools that have not followed. I believe some of those problems exist from the
dramatic increase of annexations that came in 2021- now. I think part of the work sessionconversation should be about the unintended consequences of some of those new annexations
that came quickly and left gaps in infrastructure.
Thank you for considering my suggestions for your work session tonight.
Sincerely,
Marcia Kaveney