HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-12-15 Quatraro, Beautification Board, Public Comment6/12/2015
Dear Mayor Krause and Bozeman City Commissioners,
It has been brought to my attention that an item on the agenda for the Commission meeting on
Monday June 15th is to consider disbanding the Bozeman Beautification Advisory Board. I am
shocked and disappointed to find out at such short notice with no prior indication.
I have been a member of the Bozeman Beautification Advisory Board since 1997 and I feel very
strongly that this board has helped to inspire a tremendous amount of community pride. The
Bozeman Beautification Advisory Board has been primarily responsible for two yearly events
that are extremely popular with the community. The Bozeman Clean-up Day and the
Beautification Awards ceremony both play a very vital role in establishing a strong positive
community connection between the City offices and the people of Bozeman. Over 200
businesses and individuals have been recognized. The Clean-up Day event involves several
hundred community members each year. At these events the feedback, enthusiasm, and
cooperation has been 100 percent positive. Also recently the Bozeman Beautification Advisory
Board initiated an Adopt a Park Program in connection with the Park and Rec Board.
I believe our board provides a vital connection between the City and the community that
establishes a sense of pride and cooperation in a positive supportive role. I do not understand
why this board has been singled out. It can't be due to budget concerns as we have an unspent
balance on the books with the City. I am appalled and saddened at the way this issue is being
handled by the City. As you can imagine this is disturbing and disheartening to me as board chair
and to our board members as well. We have faithfully served the City of Bozeman with
collectively thousands of hours of volunteer service and to be treated in this way is very
unprofessional at the very least. My hope is that before the Commission makes a decision that
we as a board can at least be told the reasons for this action.
Sincerely,
Terry Quatraro
BBAB
Board chair