Good evening and welcome to the May twelfth twenty twenty six City of Bozeman City Commission meeting.

We're glad you're here with us this evening.

A few notes on how to participate as we're going about our business this evening.

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Welcome everyone to the May 12th, 2026 City of Bozeman City Commission meeting.

We'll get things started a second time, hopefully, no more infinite loops of my voice.

A few notes on how to participate with us this evening.

Those in the room, you'll have your opportunity to give public comment on each of our associate action items.

For those streaming online from our video conferencing page, you'll be able to as well using the raise your hand feature.

And of course, more passive ways to follow along is either dialing in on the phone number that is on any of our posted city city commission agendas or on cable TV channel one ninety.

As we're going through our items today, there will be several opportunities to provide public comment, each of our action items as well as our consent agenda, as well as on non-agenda items when we call for those.

Those comments were distributed to myself and the rest of the city commission and the associated staff.

And so that is more or less how our run of show is going to run this evening.

Um when we will have public comment as an opportunity so folks don't feel uh that they're gonna miss their chance.

Um so without further ado, we will kick off our meeting the way we always do with a with the pledge of allegiance and a moment of silence.

Thank you.

Okay, moving on to changes to the agenda.

City manager, do you have any changes this evening?

Yes, we do, Mayor.

There are two changes.

Uh we'd like to add a mail or proclamation right after public comment after G between G and H.

And then I would like to move uh item H7, which is the Midtown Urban Renewal District Financial Year 2026 annual report to item H3.

So that will be the first uh plan and budget after the downtown, the two downtown items.

Okay.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, City Manager.

Um, moving on to FYI.

Is there any FYI from the commission this evening?

I would like to Commissioner Sweet.

Thank you.

So today, uh, members of the Historic Preservation Advisory Board did submit their letter of recommendation to this body to consider an interim zoning ordinance.

And I just wanted to read a few excerpts of that.

Um, and remind everyone that this board, the historic preservation advisory board, is made up to include architects, design professionals, and certified planners.

Part of their letter states, currently, there is a stated scope and schedule to the NCOD rewrite process that should fit within the one-year time frame of an interim zoning ordinance.

It is not undefined or arbitrary.

An interim zoning ordinance seeks to regulate or prohibit, meaning there is room to define how it gets implemented and what the parameters of its influence are.

It's not an all or nothing approach, but can be defined, it can be fine-tuned for specific scenarios.

Implementing an interim zoning ordinance in this instance aligns with the city's stated priority of historic preservation, as there is currently a potential threat to public welfare in the rush of projects being submitted prior to the implementation of any changes to the NCOD design guidelines.

It is urgent that these concerns are addressed before we have an actual emergency.

While the UDC rewrite addressed the creation of Bozeman's future, the NCOD design guideline rewrite addresses the stewardship of Bozeman's past, a finite and threatened commodity.

While the loss of its historic preservation with the loss of its historic preservation officer, Bozeman currently lacks credentialed staff member to preside over the COA process, potentially weakening the evaluation of appropriateness for projects within the NCOD.

Other staff members have limited resources for filling that gap in a meaningful and enforceable way, and IZO would relieve staff of having to make potentially charged decisions during this transition period.

While form use and regulation have all been debated and canonized into the city's unified development code, the pending changes to the NCOD design guidelines and certificate of appropriateness have not.

From the perspective of historic preservation, one year is negligible compared to the city's 162 years of history and its next 100 years in the future.

Saying that, you know, addressing this during FYI feels inappropriate.

It is not a conversation.

We are not allowed to respond to each other, and we don't involve the public.

I can understand how there's a feeling of predictability because the zoning matches our neighborhoods.

The most change we are likely to see is an ADU on the block somewhere.

For thousands of our citizens right now, that is not the case, and every day feels like a race against the clock, hoping that a demolition will not be approved before the new NCOD design guidelines update and the landmark project are codified.

When we dismiss these concerns with statements like we have to keep our eyes on the whole city, that's a very dangerous moment because it allows anything to be justified, and it allows anything to be disposable.

Nobody is saying we want to freeze the city in time.

Many are suggesting an interim zoning ordinance as a tool to be responsible and proactive as we move forward in the process of updating the NCOD and the landmark program.

Thank you very much, Mr.

Mayor.

Thank you, Commissioner Sweeney, and thank you to the Historic Preservation Board for that letter.

We got it just this afternoon, but I'm looking forward to chewing on a bit more.

Any further FYI from the commission?

Yeah, Commissioner Magic.

Thanks, Mayor.

If you happen to be in the area of Mendon Hall in Black, you'll see progress on the Eho Palmeroy Peace Park.

And it's exciting.

The peace poll actually went in, I believe, today.

And the peace poll is kind of a special part.

It's obviously kind of why it's a piece, well, in part why it's a peace park, but it's part of Rotary International.

They have these polls that say in a variety of languages you get to choose.

May peace prevail on Earth.

And they're all over the world.

So it's great.

I think now that Bozeman has their own.

We chose uh eight languages versus four.

Those were choices.

And the language is we tried to choose people who either have a history here or who have come through or coming through currently.

So Korean, of course, English, German, Italian, Jutch, Dutch, Chinese, French, and Spanish.

And there's also on site, and this should go in here in the next couple of weeks, a land acknowledgement, which is acknowledging as well, all the tribal members.

And we toyed with the idea of putting tribal member in, you know, their native language.

Maybe he's prevail on Earth, but it would probably have taken us five years to get the language correct of all the eight different tribes who have come through the area, which include the Crow, Shoshone, Blackfeet, Bannock, Salish, Kunai, Northern Cheyenne, Lakota, and Sioux.

So we'll have a land acknowledgement and acknowledgement for EHO and a ceremony celebration is planned for August 14th, even though the park itself is probably going to be open for sit-down business here in the next couple of weeks.

The first, excuse me, is Friday, May 22nd.

So a week from this Friday, it's five o'clock at Story Mill Park.

We thought we'd take a look at the splash park.

Commissioner Bodie will be joining me.

We're gonna do, we're opening either to get staff or we'll do our own research on the splash park.

And then talk about some of the history of the park and how it came to be.

And then Monday, June 1st, a walk of the Figgins neighborhood with Commissioner or Deputy Mayor Fisher.

It's gonna be a four o'clock start.

And I'm not sure where we're meeting.

We're gonna figure that out.

Back to the story mill park real quick.

We thought it would be great, Commissioner Bodhi and I to have a group actually ride bikes to the park because it's Friday afternoon parking lot's likely to be busy.

So those who want to ride bikes and want to do it together, we're gonna meet to have wild crumb at 5 o'clock.

Otherwise, no, 4 30.

So wild crumb, 4 30 if you want to ride a bike.

Otherwise, 5 o'clock at the Story Mill Community Center.

That's it.

Thank you, Commissioner Magic.

Any further FYI from the Commission.

Okay, just one from me.

As you can see, the graphic uh on display at the moment.

Um, I'm reading uh sharing an FYI uh requested from our municipal courts, our judges over there.

Um our next, our second year of doing food for fines, uh, is coming up on May 29th, 2026 at the Bozeman Public Safety Center.

Um there will be volunteers from the HRDC to accept food donations.

Then the court will register the credit to their cases.

These donations are in lieu of fines owed to the court, and defendants will receive credit at $10 per item, up to 20 total items per person or a total allowable credit of $200.

This is only for fines assessed in the Bozeman Municipal Court.

No other court or jurisdiction will qualify.

There are certain eligibility requirements that can be found online on the poster and at the court itself.

When we hosted this event uh just last fall, we had really good feedback from the folks that were participating, made a good dent in a lot of the fines owed to the court or even to finish up their cases entirely while providing a sizable donation to the food bank.

This program ensures that people are accountable for their sentences from the court, but it also recognizes that income disparities exist in our community.

100 speeding ticket can be felt very differently by two different members of the community.

For one, it's maybe just an inconvenience, while for another, it could mean having to delay payments for essential needs and serious sacrifice.

So it's a great program that we're really glad that our municipal courts have been wanting to uh champion this effort.

Um yeah, and so this all the information is uh on the court's website and um in now in the record of this meeting.

Any further FYI?

Yeah, Commissioner Bodie.

This is in relation to our our consent, but I just want to take a moment to lift up that um we are getting grant funding for a fully electric bucket truck in consent and also um connecting a full voltaic system, the library.

And I just think that you know, we all care a lot about sustainability and climate change, but don't oftentimes have the opportunity to talk about it at this body, and just want to lift up those wins for this community and that um yeah, I show that the city is still making progress towards our climate goals.

Thank you, Commissioner Bodie.

Um see no FYI from staff.

Uh, we'll move on to commission disclosures.

Any disclosures from Commissioners this evening?

Okay.

Seeing none, we'll move on to our consent agenda.

City manager, are there any items on consent that you'd like to make sure the public is aware of?

Sure, I'll highlight one tonight, uh F12.

Pretty excited about this one and the continuing efforts at the commission direction and the staff efforts to calm traffic in our neighborhoods.

Uh we were able to complete two traffic circles on Black Avenue in April this year, and now we have enough with the commission's allocation of the STR20 traffic um STR20 traffic multimodal fund.

We're able to put a third traffic circle, extend a contract that existing contract at West Olive and South Sixth Street.

So super excited those do make a difference.

They do slow people down in our neighborhoods, and uh we're excited to uh continue our efforts to uh increase safety uh on our roads in Bozeman.

Thank you.

Thank you, City Manager.

So before bringing up here for a motion and vote, um we'll open up for public comment.

Um any public comment in the room this evening on our consent agenda.

Second request for public comment in the room.

And one final request for public comment in the room on consent.

Mr.

Newby, are we seeing any public comment requests online?

Mayor Morrison, I see no request for public comment online.

Okay.

Seeing no requests for comment on our consent agenda, we'll bring it up here.

I'll close the hearing and bring it up here for a motion and vote.

Uh Commissioner Bodie.

I move to approve consent items F1 through F 13 as submitted.

Second, it's been moved and seconded.

Mr.

Newby.

Commissioner Bodie.

Aye.

Deputy Mayor Fisher.

Aye.

Commissioner Sweeney.

Aye.

Commissioner Magic.

Aye.

Mayor Morrison.

Aye.

Consent agenda is approved 5-0.

Now moving on to public comment on non-agenda items falling within the scope and purview of the Bozeman City Commission.

Um, so, just as a as a quick disclaimer for how to participate and how this is going to work, um, you'll uh you'll step up to the podium, you'll have three minutes.

Um, please introduce yourself and your relationship to the city, whether you um live here, you own your home, you own a business, you you know, you come through the city often, etc.

Um, anyone is welcome to give public comment.

Um you'll have three minutes, it'll after two minutes have passed, the yellow light will um illuminate, indicating you've got one minute left, then it'll turn red and it'll have a slight alarm telling you that your time is up.

Um we've been pretty liberal with when we cut that off, but uh just wanted to be respectful of everybody's time.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Good evening.

My name is Courtney Johnson.

I'm a resident, homeowner, and business owner.

First, I just want to say a quick thank you to Deputy Mayor Douglas Fisher and Commissioner Jen Magic.

Uh, they attended last week's community workshop, our neighborhood hosted, um, with five days to plan.

I would say it was wildly successful.

We had over 60 people come, strollers, kids, um, and I just want to say thank you, your presence matters.

Um, you represented the type of engagement this community really wants to see.

So thank you for that.

Um, however, I'm here not to talk about that.

Um, again, I I come to this body in July of 2024.

My neighbors and I submitted a resolution to establish a residential parking district.

It was reviewed by the transportation board in September of 2022.

Since then, we have received no formal response, approval, denial, or clear step forward, and no commission date scheduled.

A process that cannot move, is not a process, it's a roadblock.

I'm here not to re-explain every detail.

Those details are in the draft commission memo that I have provided.

Uh I want this commission to know I also have in hand all of the petition signatures from all the residents.

We've gathered that as a group.

Um, I do, however, want to ask who has the administrative authority to keep a request for moving forward when residents have followed the outline city code.

I asked this as someone who understands the process.

I'm a former senior uh planner for the city of Bozeman.

I worked on all the contentious and political projects, annexations, entitlements, reviews, exemption hearing, staff reports, and I supported public decision making in that role.

I also proudly served as the liaison between the city and the school district, and we as a team proudly delivered Gallatin High School, Van Winkle Stadium, and the expansion of Bozeman High School.

I've also trained alongside the school resource officers and I'm septide certified, which is crime prevention through environmental design, a very important aspect of this.

So I hope that substantiates the draft memo I've provided.

I hope that alleviates staff's time and under.

I know this better than anyone else.

There's a few of us that worked in that period of time, and we are seeing the warnings that we had in 2018, they are coming to fruition.

Um I know this, I know how issues do take time, but I also know when a process is not being moved forward.

This started as a search for solutions to a planning problem, but after nearly two years of no formal response, it has become a public process problem.

Residents have brought solutions.

We were the ones to request 150 additional striped parking along Flanders.

We brought that to the transportation board.

Um it wasn't the city, it wasn't the school, it was the neighborhood.

That helped, but it did not solve the issue.

Those spaces remain underused, and a new parking lot at the sports park will not erase the safety impacts on residential streets.

I've sat with several upset teenagers after these car crashes.

I've talked with investigator Griffin and helped him in those investigations.

I've seen underage drinking and driving.

I've seen fire hydrants being blocked, mailbox being blocked, people can't get out of their driveways.

I've seen it all.

Last week, my daughter who spoke to you a month ago was nearly hit by an 18-year old high schooler on a motorcycle on the sidewalk.

And I had to witness it half a block away and not be able to do a thing.

The student was not sighted, and in fact, laughed at the responding officer after he left.

A fourth grader was nearly swiped in a crosswalk a few weeks prior.

That's what our neighborhood came together to try to bring solutions in that workshop because of that incident.

These are not abstract impacts, they are our children, and they're now my children.

This parking district and student parking can work in tandem.

There are no conflicts.

Please allow this request to follow the process outlined in Bozeman Municipal Code, Section 3604-330, and the expectations established during the site entitlements that were initially approved.

We have the right people at the table, Deputy Mayor Fisher and Commissioner Bodie.

Their care and engagement at last week's event showed what we need from this body and an engagement with the residents.

Tonight I'm asking the commission to request that the city staff place the Gallatin High Residential Parking District request on a commission agenda for consideration with enough time for potential implementation to happen concurrently with the new parking lot starting the 26-27 school year.

Please let the public process work.

Let the decision-making body make the decision.

Thank you all.

Thank you, Ms.

Johnson.

I believe our city manager wants to, for moving on to public, the rest of public comment wants to give address that comment.

Yeah, thank you.

Um Courtney for that.

Um there have been many, many conversations about this.

Johnson and the neighborhood deserve an answer.

And uh I will get to the bottom of this.

I'll find out what where it happened where it is in process, where it was left off if a decision has been made and we've not communicated that, then that's on us.

But let me look into it.

I understand the passion and the concerns of that neighborhood.

We've had many conversations with them about it, and they deserve an answer one way or another.

So I'll get to the bottom of it and get back with all of you.

And Ms.

Johnson, thank you, Courtney.

Thank you, City Manager.

Good evening.

Uh Dan Cardi, Bozeman resident.

First, I want to thank Historic Preservation Advisory Board and Commissioner Sweeney for their letter and comments, respectively, citing the need for the city to immediately adopt an interim zoning ordinance within the NCOD.

So, in support of that letter and those comments, I'm speaking tonight to ask the commission to immediately adopt an interim zoning ordinance within the city's neighborhood conservation overlay district.

An ICO would pause all exterior construction, adding more than 20% of square footage to an existing building, pause any exterior demolition requests proposed within the NCOD, and remain in effect until completion of the NCOD update, and hopefully the city will hire a historic preservation officer sooner rather than later to guide this process.

An ICO is useful to prevent new developments that couldn't be in conflict with the intent and provisions of a zoning proposal being considered now.

What is being considered now, of course, is the NCO update update.

The intent of the NCOD is to protect and enhance our neighborhoods and ensure that new construction contributes to the character and function of our existing neighborhoods, including mine.

For many years, the NCOD was largely working as intended.

Hence, it was successfully promoting public health, public safety, and general welfare, which is now all three are now under threat.

However, because of recent disagreements on what language is compulsory in the NCOD guidelines, Bozeman residents are currently undergoing a citywide discussion to overhaul the NCOD.

Adopting an IZO will give us all the time we need to work through that update.

Please consider adopting an ICO now to minimize conflicts with the intent of the NCOD.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any further requests for public comment in the room this evening?

Second request for comment in the room on our non-agenda items.

Final request for comment in the room.

Mr.

Newby, are we seeing any public comment requests online?

Mayor Morrison, I see no request for public comment online.

Okay.

Seeing no further public comment requests to come before the commission, I will close the general public comment portion of this meeting and bring it up here for our first item of this evening, a mayoral proclamation.

Yeah.

I didn't, I didn't forget.

This request came from uh members of the community as well as some uh momentum that's gaining around the country on the uh the push to get our federal government to approve uh to ratify the equal rights amendment.

Um for those unfamiliar, uh, the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920, and just a few years later, as that guaranteed that the right to vote could not be discriminated upon based on sex uh in 1923, there was push for uh the equal rights amendment that says basically extending that to all forms of discrimination that has reached the threshold as of 2020 uh to enact the mechanism that takes to our to amend our constitution, which is ratification of two-thirds of states, state governments, which fortunately are the state of Montana is one of those that approved that recommendation in 1974.

And uh then the other mechanism is two-thirds approval of both chambers of Congress, which has also been accomplished in the past.

Um, however, those uh there's push to uh drag one's feet on adopting and amending the equal rights amendment to uh out of saying that it we we've eclipsed the the deadline.

The deadline was in the 70s, and so we can't we can't do anything about it now.

Um, and so there's now gaining momentum, and there's an organization that's coming through town tomorrow morning uh at 8 a.m., right across the street here at uh the Extreme History Project, that are touring in an identical vehicle to the original car that the suffragettes toured the United States back in 1916, a 1914 Saxon roadster, um, which is presumably being transported onto a trailer because I don't think it could go 70 miles an hour.

Um there is a call for mayors around the country to uh to sign on and in support of passage of the equal rights amendment, and I'm thrilled to join the ranks of some really incredible leaders around this community, around the state, and around this country.

Whereas the proposed equal rights amendment or ERA states that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex, and whereas the ERA is a tool to ensure the full equality of people of any sex under the law in the United States of America, which could ensure that laws that perpetuate sex discrimination are met with the strictest judicial scrutiny, and whereas women's labor, both paid and unpaid, has been fundamental to the growth and development of our cities and should be valued equally with men's.

And whereas national events in recent years have heightened our awareness of the systemic barriers that women face in all spheres of life, including gender-based violence, sexual harassment in the workplace, underrepresentation in decision-making positions across all sectors, which have persisted since the very first introduction of the ERA in 1923.

And whereas the proposed ERA represents nearly a century of women's tireless organizing and activism in pursuit of legal equality enshrined in the Constitution of the United States, and whereas women's pursuit of legal recognition of the United States of America began in the nation's earliest days when Abigail Adams advised John Adams to quote remember the ladies, and whereas the 2019 annual meeting of the U.S.

Conference of Mayors was held in Hawaii, which was the first state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.

During this conference, mayors from around the country ratified their support for the ERA.

And whereas the Equal Rights Amendment has been ratified by 37 of the 38 states to become a constitutional amendment.

Whereas Congress has previously extended the ERA's ratification deadline, demonstrating that Congress has the authority to again modify the deadline to ensure the ERA's full ratification.

And whereas the ratification deadline originally set for the ERA by Congress, is placed within the proposing clause of the ERA.

It was not part of the amendment itself.

And whereas the plain language of the United States Constitution and the precedent of the ratification of the 14th Amendment render any rescission of a ratification of a constitutional amendment after ratification has taken place, legal nullity.

Now, therefore, I, Joey Morrison, Mayor of the City of Bozeman, do here by hereby proclaim my support for the Equal Rights Amendment and join in the momentum of the mayors for the equal rights amendment.

I will share that proclamation with our community tomorrow morning.

All are welcome to see a cool car and hear some hear from some really incredible leaders in our state and around the country tomorrow morning.

That covers our proclamation, and now we are moving on to our first action item of the evening, city manager.

Thank you.

Mayor, the first action item is a downtown business improvement district fiscal year 2027 work plan and budget.

And the fiscal year 2026 annual report.

And to welcome Emily Cope to the podium.

Good evening, Mayor and members of the commission.

I'm Emily Cope with the Downtown Bozin Partnership.

I'm here to present the fiscal year 27-28 work plan and budget.

The downtown BID was originally created in 2000, was recreated in 2010, and then get in 2020 with an expanded district.

The BID is a voluntary assessment to downtown property owners, and that is created by a petition in which we must receive at least 60% of property owner consent for this voluntary assessment.

The proposed VID assessment for fiscal year 27 is 295,000, which is about 0.0227 per taxable dollar value.

The BID receives additional income for contracts with the city, including the parking garage, cleaning and maintenance.

We collect sponsorship income from our flower basket sponsorships and our holiday lights, as well as the street lamp banners that are displayed downtown for nonprofit organizations.

Our BID board unanimously approved our work plan and budget on our February 18th, 2026 budget, and the BID board, as a reminder, is appointed by the city commission, and are all required to be downtown property owners.

And just to highlight some of our programming, um the downtown boson partnership manages the downtown BID.

That's made up of myself, Ellie Staly, who's our executive director, and two other staff members who run the downtown Bozeman Association, which oversees the marketing and events and membership organization downtown.

So this management fee goes towards our operation expenses to run our office health insurance, our salaries, so on.

Our maintenance program is small but robust, totaling just about 120,000.

We employ four-time part-time employees throughout the year.

Um Mike Great has been with us for over 10 years, and Trishriha has been with us for almost eight years, or if not over eight years now.

And then we hire one part-time maintenance employee on the weekends, and then a flower water throughout the summer.

Um, these maintenance program expenses also include all of our supplies, vehicle insurance, um, trash bags.

Um we do graffiti removal.

We have a contract with Clean State Group, which the city also does, but this is to remove any graffiti off of property owners' private property within the downtown BID.

Um, they kind of do things like what's pictured here, that's a little bit too high for our maintenance team to grab.

Um, but we do strive to get all graffiti tags removed, if not within hours, um within a day or two from the downtown corridor.

And the city, like I said, has a contract with Clean Site Group to remove graffiti tags throughout the rest of the city limits.

Um we have a lineup in our budget which goes directly towards the DBA support.

Like I said, they redo all of the events and marketing and membership organizations downtown.

So Musica, Maine, Christmas Droll, Restaurant week, which just wrapped up.

Um anything that you see forward facing is really run out of the DBA portion of the downtown Bozeman Partnership.

Downtown Safety Program, this has been a little touch and go.

We have had conversations with the Bozeman Police Department to have a dedicated downtown resource officer.

That's a little bit um further off, but we are keeping those conversations active to have somebody hopefully downtown by foot or by bike someday.

Our conversations, which are a little bit more, I guess, tangible in the foreseeable future.

We are discussing installing AEDs in the downtown corridor.

The first location would be um that we would manage would probably be on the parking garage.

It's accessible 24-7.

Um we're able to keep it inside.

Um, and then we would look to expand that.

They do have a bit of expense to renew every five to seven years to have the equipment replaced.

Um, but this is a new conversation that was just brought up, and um many downtowns, including downtowns in Montana, are also moving forward with this project.

Um probably our most recognizable program is the downtown flower basket program, those will be hung mid-June.

We have um a couple years ago, switched completely to the earth planar baskets, and those only need to be watered a couple days a week rather than seven days a week, which is a huge saving on labor costs, um, which is just great because the flowers get watered about 3 a.m.

So if our flower water doesn't show up, it's usually me or Mike or Ellie showing up to water.

So that's a huge um plus that they can go a day or two without having to be watered every day.

Um our holiday decoration program, we just wrapped up this last year.

Our fourth and final spider was just restored, the light one.

Um, and I just want to give a shout out to the Boseman Fire Department, which they're really the ones that do this program.

We're just the funding behind it.

Um, but we did receive a preservation craft award this past year in 2025.

Um, so just a huge shout out to Travis Barton, Travis uh Tim O'Toole, and the rest of the Boseman Fire Department who really take care of the spiders and they have a great time with it.

Um, they bring their families down for the days that they replace the bulbs.

Um, so huge thank you to them.

Um, and then this upcoming year, we've already ordered um new garland lighted garland and bows that will be installed this holiday season.

And I'm available for any questions.

Thank you, Ms.

Cope for that presentation.

Um, bringing up here for any questions.

Seeing none.

Okay.

Um thank you for that.

Uh, I don't have any questions either.

Um, before moving on to adopt the report.

Correct.

Yes, that's this is the quirky one where we gotta do the report, then the next one.

Um, we'll open it up for public comment.

Any public comment in the room um on the downtown urban renewal district presentation.

Business improvement district, goodness.

Saw the next one come up and second request for comment in the room, and one final request.

Mr.

Newby, any public comment requests online?

No, Mayor Morrison, we do not.

Okay.

Um we'll close the public comment portion of this item and bring it up here for a motion discussion and vote, Deputy Mayor.

So I moved to approve the downtown business improvement district fiscal year 2027 work plan and budget.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded any discussion.

I just want to speak to the fact that this is a kind of a self-imposed um uh budget.

You know, it's a budget that that the downtown business owners bring to us.

You know, that it's funny that they voluntarily um, you know, uh tax is the wrong word.

We're just um, you know, levy of themselves to to uh bring flowers to bring you know just just a lot of beauty and and um robustness to downtown.

So I really appreciate the community stepping forward and uh making Boseman a really special spot.

Commissioner Sweeney.

Keep up great work, Commissioner.

I would agree.

Um, this is always such a fun outlay of money going to spruce, set up our downtown, the spiders, the flowers, the banners.

It shows in the cleanup, just to care for our community.

Um wanted to thank you guys for getting on the graffiti.

We found on a walk behind the bridge a couple weeks ago.

You guys got on it right like that.

Really appreciate it.

Commissioner Bowdy.

Yeah, I have nothing but positive things to say about this.

The aspect that these businesses are choosing to come together to make their collective experience for their you know retail folks, a more positive experience and a place where people want to go visit.

It's great, and I'll be in support.

Great.

Thank you to my colleagues.

This position, you know, it comes with a lot of stress, a lot of challenge, uh moments of you know, getting to see uh projects and initiatives and things that we care about come to fruition, right to council, completing the UDC, uh rewrite other things that have taken you know years and months and months, but they all feel as though they pale in comparison to the holiday spiders.

Being able to support the holiday spiders is the highlight every year that we get to see in front of us.

Grateful to see them getting revamped, their true Bozeman treasure.

Um, Mr.

Nooby, would you poll the commission?

Deputy Mayor Fisher.

Hi.

Commissioner Sweeney.

Aye.

Commissioner Magic.

Commissioner Bowden.

Mayor Morrison.

Aye.

Motion passes five to zero.

Moving on to our next downtown related action item.

Thank you, Mayor.

Next is the downtown urban renewal district fiscal year 2027 work plan and budget and the fiscal year 26 annual report.

And I'd like to welcome Ellie Staley.

All right, before I get started, thank you so much for your support of the BID.

I also love listening to this presentation, and the flowers and the spiders are so special.

So thank you so much.

All right, we'll get more to the technical stuff here.

And whoopsie.

God, that just wants to hit that right there.

All right.

Okay.

I will try to stick to my script here because I'm notorious for maybe chatting off script today.

But um, hello, good evening, uh, commissioners and uh mayor mayor.

I am Ellie Staley, Executive Director of the Downtown Bozeman Partnership.

Um, I am excited to share our update on the downtown URD, including our programs, projects, and priorities we have planned for the next fiscal year.

And really, just to um I guess bring this to um your all's attention.

This is really a focus on long-term future plans for downtown.

Um, our sunset is in 2032, and so you may see a distinct change from our approach here.

Um first off, I will mention that um the downtown URD is a um board of uh made up of dedicated volunteers who deeply care about downtown and are committed to the thoughtful planning and investment as we look forward to the district's 2032 sunset.

Uh, we feel this plan work, this work plan reflects a strong balance of ongoing infrastructure and investment, strategic planning, and support for downtown's long-term vitality and success.

All right.

Okay, first off, the downtown urban renewal district, the DERD, was established in 1995 through ordinance 1409.

District Sunset is scheduled for 2032 with the retirement of the garage bond payment, the final garage bond payment.

The downtown URD mission focuses on investment, strengthening the downtown tax base, and supporting downtown vitality.

All right, a few high-level facts about the downtown town URD district.

I try to stay away from saying DERD, so I'm just gonna say downtown URD as much as I can.

Um high level facts about the downtown URD district, including projected uh fiscal 27 revenues and expenditures.

Uh the downtown URD was established in 1995 using it tax increment financing or TIFF.

Uh base property taxes going go to taxing entities, growth above base funds to downtown projects.

2011, we established an interlocal agreement, which return returns the portions of the increment to the Gallatin County and the Bozeman School District.

Uh, the fiscal 26 projected ending balance is just over 11 million.

The fiscal year 27 projected revenues are just over just under 3 million.

The total FY27 available funding is nearly $7, $14 million.

With that, the estimated fiscal year 27 expenditures and allocations total about 19.7 or 9.7 million, and the estimated remaining balance after fiscal year 27 is just over just under 4.3 million.

Alright, of course, none of this work happens without the day-to-day operational support that keeps downtown projects communication and coordination moving forward.

The fiscal year 27 downtown Bozeman Partnership Management Fee is estimated at 270,600.

As most of you know, the downtown URD is partner of the organization, the downtown Bozeman Partnership, alongside the BID and DBA, which I think Emily outlined pretty remarkably.

This funding supports downtown office operations, staffing, marketing, branding, and communications.

You will see a refresh refresh of our DTN BZN logo over the next few months, so look out for that.

We're very excited.

The fiscal year 27 city economic development staff support is at $71,000, and we really appreciate David and Jeff Jesse and the city economic development team.

They help us out a whole lot.

All right, a major focus of this year's work plan is continued investment in downtown infrastructure, public spaces, and long-term mobility improvements.

Fiscal year 27 park improvements include continued surrogamus upgrades to lighting, specifically solar lighting, tables.

We will be replacing tables.

And completion of the Ihoe Pomeroy Peace Park with an opening celebration on August 14th.

Please add it to your calendars.

We're really excited.

Parking garage pavements will continue through 2032 with the sunset of the district.

5 million remains allocated for future parking supply.

1.6 million remains encumbered for the fire station one workforce housing, and that does stay encumbered through October 2027.

Additional investments include minor Bozeman Creek improvements in preparation for a larger project in fiscal year 28.

And I did mention to John Henderson, who I've been working really closely with, that I wanted to remind you all there will be some potential asks in the way of really taking hold of some of these projects in fiscal year 28 of the Bozeman Creek.

We're very excited.

Also, wayfinding and parking signage upgrades.

This has been established by the research we've done with our current parking vision plan, and we're excited to move into this with the partnership of the city parking employees.

Alternative transportation and pedestrian safety improvements with a focus on Babcock and Mendenhall.

Okay, notable URD planning projects.

A major focus this year is planning ahead, both for future downtown infrastructure needs and for long-term transitions towards the 2032 URD sunset.

50,000 is allocated for surroundings park improvement planning to support future park project potentially in coordination with the Bozeman Creek Improvements as mentioned.

20,000 is allocated for wayfinding and parking signage development with additional grant funding being pursued for the 20 fiscal year 2728 implementation.

Efforts focused on long-term district priorities and preparation for again the 2032 URD sunset.

All right.

Planning projects, including a downtown public realm plan.

Um I bring this up.

Um I'm not sure if many of you know what a downtown public realm plan consists of, but it this is going to be a very important project for the URD now and planning for the 2032 sunset.

I am looking at Commissioner Fisher, I'm looking for some guidance and some help.

He is our URD liaison, and I think this is really gonna be a great project to help us really get to the point that we need to be for this sunset.

We are in currently establishing a SILD, a special improvement lighting district in downtown.

If you can believe it, the first special improvement lighting district was actually formalized in 1945, 1946 in downtown Bozeman, and was never particularly used.

So we're gonna get that going and we're going to figure out how to probably manage our pedestrian lighting in downtown Bozeman.

We are planning a wayfinding plan and we're really looking forward to coordinating with the city on that plan.

Blight study and potential URD expansion at the federal building site.

You guys will see future planning for that, and you'll potentially learn quite a bit more about that process.

We are looking to adopt a three to five year parking vision and action plan, and this will be presented to you in the coming months.

Parking site planning and parking data collection for future infrastructure project is also currently a large priority for this board.

Our current DURD grant programs continue to be successful.

We see strong demand for URD grant programs, particularly for projects tied to public infrastructure and downtown investment.

In this budget, we do have 1.5 million allocated for public infrastructure, utility grants, supporting things like sewer, water, electrical, lighting, and fiber improvements.

Our grant program was revamped over the last year to better support larger scale public infrastructure investments tied to development projects, recognizing the district wide needs and deficiencies.

Residential incentive grant continues and is slated to be funded at 100,000 through this next year with one current fiscal year 26 encumbered application for 100,000.

Additional grant funding includes 75,000 for technical assistance grants, which are essentially planning grants, and another 40,000 for art enhancement or SEPTED grants, which is uh planning through environmental design, crime prevention through environmental design.

Who which has already been mentioned this evening, which was quite impressive.

And this does include placemaking grants, and these have been incredibly incredibly successful.

All right, to wrap up, thank you for your continued support of the downtown URD and the downtown partnership as a whole.

We're worried about where we are excited about the work to have work ahead, and we continue to as we continue to invest in downtown's infrastructure, public spaces, and long-term future leading up to the sunset in 2032, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Um questions for Ms.

Staley, Commissioner Sweeney.

Believe it's to you.

Sure.

Excuse me, thank you.

Um, mayor.

So um earlier, let's see, about a year ago, actually, I was privileged to take the Citizens Police Academy and was able to go on a ride along.

And um the downtown area is one of the busiest areas for patrol and lots of incidents.

Um in 2011, you guys decided to remit some of the money back to the county and the school.

Have there been any conversations about directly supporting um police presence from the downtown urban renewal district?

You know, I'll tell you, Commissioner Alison, I'm not fully aware that that would be an allowable expense for the urban renewal district.

I believe that would probably follow under the purview of the BID.

Um, the URD is by statute um connected to permanent infrastructure improvements.

And so I would say just in general, my mind goes to that that would not be particularly an allowable fund.

Although I will tell you that just most recently, the county and school board have had some cool projects come about.

So we do hope to work a little bit more intimately with our school board and county than we have in the past because we remit back, there's no real um you know connection or tie to them through statute.

And so um we are looking, and and this is a cool thing, but we're looking to build an actual ADA compliant park up at the Wilson School.

So that's a most recent um project with the school board, but no, um it's not my understanding that we could support something like that, but certainly would look into it and be open to chatting.

Okay, yeah.

Um, you know, and it might be the kind of thing where you decide to remit some funds, and then this commission agrees to use it for public safety.

Um thank you for that.

Absolutely I will tell you that if that was brought to us, I think that that would be um of huge interest for sure.

Um public safety, um, you know, of course, ours has revolved around infrastructure and transport transportation safety from that perspective, but yes, very much.

Excellent.

Thank you.

Um, and then I was very happy, happy to see Siroptimus Park um called out.

I a lot of people know that um Seroptimus Park and specifically the mural has a really special place in my heart.

My father knew Mike Hoy, the artist who painted it.

Um so I have a couple questions about um, you know, it was recently brought to my attention that that may in fact be lead paint.

It is, yeah.

So have there been any conversations about stabilizing that, um, rehabbing that, any environmental concerns?

Um, and I'm also curious about the sinkhole.

Yeah, well, yes and yes.

So I will tell you that mural has been of discussion for many, many years, and my predecessor actually went into a project hoping to redo that mural and to really bring it back to its original luster, but um, it is going to be a very difficult project.

Um, from what I understand, it is lead paint.

It's not only lead plant, but it's deteriorating the building itself.

So those those bricks are exterior building bricks.

Um, we have a huge um you know uh issue to get over to to really make that happen.

To me, it's a legacy project.

I really want to see that mural, that park, that area be used in the best of its ability.

And so um, yes, do we have some hurdles?

Yes, we do.

Are they too big to overcome?

No, they're not.

We can do it, but it is gonna take an army, and we are really gonna have to figure out how we can do it.

Um, the last I heard it was a very specialized, not sandblasting, but a way to remove it and then individually going in and filling in the bricks.

It's um the process, I'm sure.

Repointing the bricks, repointing, repointing, yep, exactly.

Um, and repointing the entire structure.

So it is gonna be incredibly costly.

I think it's doable.

Um, I would love to see it happen.

I know that the Bozeman Creek plan will focus on the access to the creek in that area.

I think that we can take the ideas that we get from the Bozeman Creek port um plan and that we can expand on that and really make it that whole area into a special place.

All right.

Does that answer your question at all?

Uh, yeah, it's great context for me to know that yes, you guys have been talking about it for a long time.

Um, let's see.

Okay, I just had one more question about the residential incentive grant program.

Can you tell me a little bit more about what that is used for?

And so you know, this um this grant was um developed before um my time, um, and we have seen some kind of iterations of this grant um currently as it sits, it does it is a grant that supports developers' um ability to build workforce and or studio or one bedroom um apartments in downtown.

Um it is not incredibly substantial, um, but it does incentivize um workforce housing or um more.

I don't want to use the word affordable housing, um, but more attainable housing in our district.

Nice.

Um, do you have any idea how many numbers or what how many number of units, studios, one bedrooms have been brought online over the years with this?

Um we've only actually submitted one residential grant to date.

So it was a smaller grant.

We did increase the amount about two years ago.

We have um paid out one 100,000 grant to the fifth and main project, 21 bedroom and studio units, and then we have one that is encumbered for the national building.

I'm not totally sure how many units they are, but they're all studio and one bedroom units in the national building.

All right.

Thank you very much.

Um I think that's all my questions from here.

Thank you, Commissioner Sweeney.

Commissioner Magic.

Thanks, Mayor.

Thanks, Ellie.

Um, given all the wonderful things the downtown New York D does and everything that's in your work plan and budget, the 2032 sunset seems a little intimidating.

Can you just uh you kind of touched upon steps that are going to be taken prior to getting there?

But what what's kind of the the big plan?

How are we gonna uh in the downtown survive post 2032?

Short summary.

It's very scary.

Um it's a little scary.

I will tell you.

Um we developed our downtown URD well before uh places like Seattle, like urban districts in Seattle.

So we're ahead of the game, and we are ahead of the game.

This is Bozeman, right?

Um, but I will tell you the um the fact that the URD sunsetting is is a little bit scary for our community because there are projects that need to continue in our downtown area.

What I think is that we're just gonna have to be creative.

We're gonna have to work together and we're gonna have to come up with solutions that are best for our community.

I believe that our downtown is so important, and that our community recognizes that it's so important that we'll come together with a solution.

There are some solutions I believe that are um you know on the table currently.

Um none of them are the end all be all solutions.

I believe that we will have um net funds at the at the end of our sunset that will be available through a revolving loan fund.

I think that that's a uh a reasonable and and pretty obvious solution.

Um from there, I think we need to have some pretty difficult decisions and decide what is the future.

Uh, I think this downtown public realm plan will be a great plan to really allow us to figure out what are the priorities in the way of infrastructure improvements and the dollars that we have in our downtown area.

So that is the plan is to really um you know dig our heels into this downtown plan, um, downtown realm plan and to really come back to you all um with what are those solutions moving forward.

Uh we have some time, not a ton of time, um, but I think that together we we can figure this out.

So I don't have all the answers, but I guess that's where I'm at right now.

A local option sales tax could be one such.

Well, it sh certainly could, couldn't it?

All right, thanks.

Commissioner Boating.

Any questions?

Yeah, thank you.

Thank you, Mayor, and thank you for this presentation.

It's really great to see some of the projects that this money has gone towards.

My only question is just looking through the other urban renewal district budgets we're gonna approve or um this evening.

We're approving both fiscal year 2027 and 2028.

And I'm I'm seeing a 2028 column on the report, but more of a focus on 2027.

I'm just curious if you could um loop me in on whether we're gonna see fiscal year 2028 next year and why that might be different from some of the other district.

You know, this is really um, I believe the the city process to to approve the 27 and 28.

The 28 budget, I believe, is truly uh an estimated budget based on projects um you know that that we see, you know, in our future.

I can't really elaborate on 2028 other than if they are encumbered or allocated funds, of course, those will cross over into the next year.

Other than that, the 2028 budget is very much an estimated just stab out at where we think we'll be at.

Um, yeah.

So I've worked very closely with financial department, Jonathan with the financial department, truly to make estimations on on where we think we'll be.

Great.

So it sounds like the 2028 budget is included in this document, but I'm just seeing in the motion um that we're only approving fiscal year 2027.

And I'm just wondering if we need to amend the motion to say fiscal year 2027 and 2028.

Yes, I believe that needs to happen.

Thank you.

Thank you for noticing that.

Great.

I mean, the motion yet.

So we can do it.

We don't necessarily need to amend the motion.

We can um make that change from the recommended motion from staff when we make the actual motion here on the floor.

Gotcha.

Okay.

That was my own.

Thanks for noticing.

Yeah, thank you so much.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Deputy Mayor, any questions?

Um, I have just one that's less about uh this report and budget and more on projects happening downtown that I'm I'm I'm guessing you've been looped in on.

But have you been connected with the folks at Ability Montana with some of the work that they have been doing downtown?

Absolutely.

Okay.

And you know, actually they the way that we got connected with them was when we hosted the Montana downtown conference um in downtown last year, and they came in and we had an incredible speaker, and they came in and and did some walk arounds and some audits of downtown, and I'll tell you what they do is incredible.

Um they have been now making their way across the state, and uh downtown walking audits is a really special intimate way to see your downtown.

Um I recommend walking it with um folks who may have disabilities or may have a hard time getting around.

Um you learn a whole lot about your community when you do that.

So, just wanted to um make sure that that connection has already happened, and I'll I'll share some pieces of that in our discussion.

Um, but I have no other questions.

Great.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thanks very much.

Um we will open it up now for public comment on the downtown URD.

Any public comment requests in the room this evening for the downtown urban renewal district?

And second request for comment in the room, and one final request in the room.

Mr.

Newby, are we seeing any public comment requests online?

Mayor Morrison, I see no request for public comment online.

Okay, we will bring it up here for um a motion discussion and vote.

I believe it's to Commissioner Sweeney.

Um, with the catch from Commissioner Bodie to include the 2028 budget as well.

Yes, thank you, Commissioner Bodie, for identifying that.

Um I move to approve the downtown urban renewal district fiscal year 2027 and 2028 work plan and budget.

Second.

It has been moved and seconded.

Would you like to speak to your motion?

Yeah, um I think it's no secret that you know, as someone who grew up here, downtown has changed a lot, and different people experience that change in different ways, but I think there's no arguing with the success of the district in increasing the tax base, um, and just attracting a lot of investment to our downtown.

And I think a lot of that has to do with um, you know, the management structure in place for that.

And so I appreciate the work that they've done, and um you know, I I do struggle at times with um we are a cash-strapped municipality funded entirely through property taxes, and so while the expiration of the downtown urban renewal district seems scary to some people, um, it also seems like maybe a lifeline for some of the you know public safety funding that we are really struggling with right now, fire and police.

Um, you know, it's obviously not enough to fix those budgets, but um yeah, it it's it's been a success in raising the tax taxable income from the area and for a municipality.

That's a that's an achievement.

So thanks.

Thank you.

I'll be approving, I'll be voting in favor of the work plan and budget.

Commissioner Sweeney, or sorry, Commissioner Sweeney just spoke.

Commissioner Magic.

Thanks.

Thanks, Mayor.

Uh I'm gonna be supporting the motion as well.

Um both this and the URD just shows, I think, a real commitment by our downtown business owners to make our downtown both thrive but function.

You know, we have kind of the the glitter and the celebratory stuff, but we also have to take care of the infrastructure and hardscape and these two budgets kind of show the tremendous amount of work that go into doing all of that.

And I think all of this cannot happen without the two from the downtown partnership.

Uh Emily and Ellie both are terrific to work for, work with, excuse me.

So maybe I work for you in some ways.

Um, but just a really impressive sort of group and um, yeah.

It's got my full support.

Great.

Thank you.

Commissioner Bodie.

Yeah, thank you, Mayor.

Um, I'll join my fellow commissioners and being in support of this budget, and um also want to speculate on you know the sunsetting of this district.

I don't think any of us will be serving our current terms at that at that point.

So um I a question for a future commission, but I I do share the sentiment that um the point of an urban rural district is to get an area back on its feet.

And um I don't think anyone would look at downtown and say that it's not thriving.

And that has a lot to do with the um really tactical and strategic investment from folks in this room and um the investment that we've made in this district.

And I I hope that in 30 2030, 2032, we can look at this district and say, wow, that was a really great success.

And um, it's all grown up now and ready to support support the city.

So um with that, I will be in in support of this motion.

Deputy Mayor, I don't have much more to add.

I do will say it is an honor to be, you know, the your liaison to the urban renewal district board, the downtown urban renewal district.

Um I agree that this uh I want to certainly associate myself with the other comments about the expiration is going to be um something this the very next commission is going to have to grapple with, I would suggest.

Um we have some time as Ms.

Daley said, but we don't want to squander that.

Um, and we need that don't or get complacent.

So coming up with a solution, coming up with you know, working towards that I think is going to be the work.

We cannot wait until 2032 to start dealing with this.

Thank you to my colleagues.

Um, I'll be brief as well, just wanting to yeah, lift up and celebrate the work that's been accomplished by the downtown URD.

Um, and yeah, over the next uh couple years, the next commissions we'll have to grapple with that uh dichotomy of you know, uh essentially wanting to maintain the balance of what I think is often given the impression that downtowns are permanent engines that are immutable and powerful in their own right.

Um when I think if we look around downtown's around the Rocky Mountain West, they are fragile, um, and there is a delicate balance of uh catering services to to local residents as well as to visitors and how to make them feel um like they're accessible places for everyone, which I think has led to one of the one really exciting thing that I'm not gonna go into too much detail on because we'll have future opportunities to to hear about it is this project that Ability Montana has been working on.

Um so I think Commissioner Sweeney, you were you were in the room when we hosted a disability community chat here in this room last summer, um, wherein we heard a few recommendations from community members saying, hey, uh I have a disability and I uh don't know where all the parking spaces are downtown.

There's no map to say where the accessible parking spaces are.

Um not all of the grades of the sidewalks and crosswalks are ADA compliant, um, and a desire to uh add accessibility features to Windley Park so that folks with mobility needs can participate in beloved uh local events like Bozeman Pride, Sweepy, the Tuesday Farmers Markets and things like that.

And both of those ideas came out.

Ability Montana's been running with them, working with city staff with GIS, with our parks department, with our transportation division to make those changes happen this year, already translating into new features, GIS trying to translate the walk audit into a map, or perhaps something into that can be exportable into an app or something like that, so that folks that are coming to downtown that have accessibility needs know where they can park and know how many spaces are available, and hopefully at some point, not gonna promise this this year, uh that that app will update in real time if those spots are taken so that folks don't come downtown and struggle to find a place.

Um so just lots of really exciting work happening downtown to keep it vibrant, and um there's always going to be a challenge to push and fight to make sure downtown is accessible to everyone across class, across ability, etc.

Any further discussion?

Okay, Mr.

Newby, would you pull the commission?

Commissioner Sweeney.

Hi, Commissioner Magic.

Commissioner Podium Deputy Mayor Fisher.

Mayor Morrison.

Aye.

The 27-28 work plan and budget for the downtown urban rural district are approved five to zero.

And now moving on to our changed uh agenda moving midtown up, city manager.

Thank you, Mayor.

Next is the Midtown Urban Renewal District Fiscal Year 2026 Annual Report, fiscal year 2027 work plan and budget, and fiscal year 2028 work plan and budget.

I'd like to welcome David Fine up.

And then I understand there was um some public comment earlier conversations with commissioners.

Chris Saunders has uh graciously agreed to stay in case there are any questions specifically with the design and connectivity plan or other uh plans that have changed and uh evolved since 2006.

So Mr.

Fine, welcome.

Thank you, City Manager, Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and Commission.

I'm pleased to be able to present the Midtown Urban Renewal Plan, work plan and budget for the biennium.

Uh before I jump into that, I whichever presentation went first, was going to get a little bit of an addendum up front.

Just a little bit of background on tax increment financing for anyone joining this conversation for the first time.

Um what is tax increment financing?

It's it's fundamentally a public infrastructure tool that encourages new private investment.

It's incremental tax above a set base, and it's a tool for eliminating statutory conditions of blight, which in Montana really blight is a very antiquated word.

If you look at the urban renewal law, what we're really often looking at is infrastructure deficiencies and things that prevent um reinvestment or even adequate upkeep in our neighborhoods.

Um when we created these districts, going back all the way to 1996 for the downtown, 2006 for the Northeast and Midtown districts, and some of these other districts that came in later, um, we create them in areas where there's property values that are stagnating or declining, and where those statutory uh conditions or blight are present.

This is a little bit of an example of of how where does tax increment revenue come from?

Um you can see kind of at the start, you may have declining or stagnating property values in the midtown district specifically.

We saw them go up a little bit, and then when right when I took it over, they went down and down.

I think we had two or three years where they actually went down as businesses became vacant and things happened.

So I only point that out to say the these districts are really are created to address real challenges as buildings reach the end of their useful life, as investment is necessary.

Um but what you start to see is as as we change the tide, as we eliminate barriers to investment, we start to see property values reverse and we create this increment.

Now TIFF is not a new tax, it's really a tax diversion.

I like to call it a delayed gratification strategy for the taxpaying entities and their taxpayers.

The idea is that but for some sort of intervention that we would not be seeing this increase in taxable value.

And so, yeah, some things might happen without TIFF, but we really try to focus on doing things that will be impactful that honor that sort of pact we make with our other taxing entities when we create one of these districts to get a good return on investment.

I hear are things that TIFF is not.

Frequently, and so I like to address this a little bit when I'm talking about this.

It's not a newer additional tax, so everyone in a district pays the same tax based upon the value of their property they would pay whether they're in a district or not.

So in the downtown, when the district sunsets, the district pack fares will likely not see a change in tax in the tax they pay, but it will go different places at the end of a district.

Um they're not tax expenditures unauthorized by local elected officials.

We are here today in a public meeting that was noticed ahead of time to talk about this budget, and that and this budget ultimately rests with you.

Um it's really not a handout for developers or corporate welfare.

The things that we can spend TIF money on are narrowly prescribed by state law, and they're often things that we needed to do anyway that would fall on the scarce maintenance resources of the city.

So things like replacing 100 year old sewer pipes that are undersized and often somewhat leaky, right?

We have a finite amount of money to do that, a couple blocks of that a year.

This is a place where either the TIFF or sometimes developers are fronting the money to replace those pipes more quickly and then eligible for TIFF reimbursement.

Um another one here is a threat to school funding.

Um, this comes up a lot.

Um because of the way the schools tax structure set with school equalization, it has a really negligible impact on school funding.

Um I think our schools uh financial officer Mike Waterman, who now serves as the school's representative on our tax board, um, said basically, if you assumed that every dollar of increment in these districts um would have happened regardless of TIF and spread that across the taxpayers, it comes out to about $36 a year, something like that.

So it's not, it's not a very significant drain per se.

And again, you're assuming that those $36 would have existed without the TIFF in the first place.

And finally, a TIF tool that lasts forever.

I hear this every single legislative session.

They think that when people do things like an expanded district, like we did in the midtown, like we're contemplating doing in the in the downtown for a parking project, that this will allow us to extend these districts forever.

The district ends uh 40 years is the longest a district can be, and it's based upon when the longest term of bonds that's issued in the first 15 years happens.

So just to put that in perspective and for anyone paying attention at home.

Um these are created by state law, but they really are a matter of local control.

They're locally driven, they're decided by the governing body and with the assistance of their advisory board, and and I will say about this advisory board, um, the legislature um asked all of the districts, um, not all the districts, all of the um all the all the communities where where districts exist to create TIFF tax increment advisory boards.

And they also said all the urban renewal agencies, which are a little bit different to create advisory boards.

So we have an advisory board for the downtown, and we have an advisory board for our remaining districts.

Um, and I think this is this is exciting because it it gives a public forum for us to discuss these work plans and budgets and and have these conversations as we move forward.

Now, um Midtown was the last item, I believe, and the last shall become first.

So let me scroll down to Midtown.

So for each of these districts, I went into the plans and looked for an intent statement and a plan.

In 2017, which is the most recent plan we adopted for Midtown, which really focused, focused the efforts of the broader principles in our 2015 urban renewal plan, which is really more about the statutory underpinnings of what we're doing.

This was like, what are we gonna do within that framework?

And the intent of this plan was to attract targeted private investment by removing barriers to development through strategic infrastructure investments and incentives.

You can see this in the way that we've had our approach, and really it's to take that private investment and fix the blight faster.

Now, we with this action plan, we had a list of over 80 million dollars in potential.

There was a parking garage in there, so that's part of the part of the rounding, but like a really significant amount of public infrastructure that needed to be done.

And that this was just in I think five development nodes where we thought redevelopment was likely to occur.

So there's a lot of infrastructure deficiency in these districts.

Um we could say, well, we'll just start at the north and go to the south, but that wouldn't necessarily cause any due development to happen.

So a lot of times with these development agreements, when a development agreement comes in, we propose the developer front the money to fix the infrastructure, and then we pay them back.

And so that is part of the prioritization process, something for you to think about anytime you're considering a development agreement.

That's part of what you're doing, is you're just like you are with the budget, you are prioritizing future infrastructure spending in one of these districts.

So this is a um it's a big list of projects.

Um you can see in FY27, some of these are design, and then the project is completed in FY28.

So I'll just go through some of these highlighted projects now.

Um, first of all, we issued bonds for the streetscape between Durston and Mendepal, as well as the construction of the festival street.

That festival street was um called out in the design and connectivity plan back in 2006.

So we were finally had in a financial position to execute on that in 2020, as well as a sewer line.

Um, there was really there was no sewer line in North Fifth Avenue, all the way from Aspen Street to connecting to the larger sewer system down in Oak Street with that project.

So that's that is the continued payment on the bond.

Um, as part of this uh partnership with the school district that I think TIFF represents, we have a school within this district, Whittier School.

It's a great community uh elementary school, and so part of what we're doing is trying to work on the public infrastructure there during the life of the TIFF so that we can we can uh assist during this long period of reinvestment of the area.

Um so they identified the Whittier parking lot project, that project's been bid, and um is expected to start in July as soon as the new fiscal year starts and be done before school starts.

Um we're pleased to have a uh a couple of lighting projects in here.

So the first one, Fifth Avenue Pedestrian Scale Lighting.

This is lighting along the the BMX and uh mountain biking park there at uh Tamarack and North Fifth, all the way uh down to Oak Street, uh installing pedestrian scale lighting along that path, um, more pedestrial scale lighting along that park frontage because we received feedback that it's still kind of dark, even with what what we've done there along that park frontage, and just increase the the safety for multimodal um transportation through that area.

Um we're also working on upgrades to the Aspen Street intersection construction.

We went through the process with MDT to improve the crosswalk at Aspen and North Seventh Avenue.

So if if you're familiar with the villard crossing, instead of essentially crossing seven lanes, a parking lane, two travel lanes, the middle, two more travel lanes, and another parking lane.

Um we're putting in bull bulb outs, a refuge island, rectangular rapid flashing beacons.

And so you can cross two, then you can cross two right there on Aspen's Aspen Street, and you know, I believe there was um bicycle accident there earlier this week that some people know.

You know, I don't know the particular circumstances of that, but I think given the number of pedestrians at a festival street, um, upgrading the crossing there is likely a really important step.

Um we also released uh an RFP for uh a partnering with a developer on a parking uh garage along the corridor.

Um we're continuing to work on getting that one response we received moving forward into the design stage.

There's some um additional um property acquisition they're looking at doing, but um we we want to we want to be able to do that.

This is uh been paired back from our kind of original estimate.

We have we put the whole like 10% of project cost in is design all the way through building permit.

We've paired this back, moving towards maybe a little more than what's necessary for getting it to site plan, but I think within the realm of time we're working in, that's gonna be okay from a financing perspective.

Uh we we also want to focus on some improvements that help the adjacent neighborhood.

So on North Fifth Avenue, we're looking at design and then construction of improvements.

Um, really kind of from woody or school uh north to Tamarack.

There's areas where there are gaps in the sidewalk network.

There's places where we could probably do something to reduce speeds in the area.

There's some drainage issues, and so the goal of this is to identify some of those things we can do to improve quality of life along the edge of the district and um and make some of those improvements in FY28 after they're designed.

Um the fifth and main intersection improvements is part of the overall uh uh collaboration between the downtown district and the midtown district, which touch there at North Fifth.

Um downtown is building pedestrian scale lighting to extend main street up on the south side to connect to the midtown district, and then we're continuing it north seventh and midtown, and they meet right there at this intersection.

So we will be essentially painting the signal and adding different power services and lighting the pedestrian crossings at that as at that intersection.

Um, and then some additional parts of that agreement are um there's a fifth and menon hall lighting agreement.

So we worked with the developer of the hotel at Fifth and Mendon Hall to coordinate the lighting installation around their project and a little bit beyond it, just so that we aren't in the middle of their construction site.

And so that's also something the city commission approved as an agreement earlier this year.

Um we're also looking at shipping away at public infrastructure.

So in the action plan, one of those last pieces of infrastructure that we hadn't touched was a sewer line between um on Menon Hall between 7th and 5th.

We did a piece of this line between 5th and Grand a couple years ago as part of a development agreement, um, which has allowed both uh a residential project in the downtown as well as a hotel that didn't receive any other TIFF support in the midtown to uh to redevelop as well as future things um uh west of North Fifth in the area.

So it's um and we'll be with that sewer project, we're splitting the cost with the sewer maintenance fund.

So this is an example where we can make our sewer maintenance funds go further.

Um so we're we're covering half of it is the proposal here.

Um finally, a couple of big items.

The midtown Aspen Development Agreement.

This is something a previous commission approved.

It's uh involves 96 units of long-term affordable housing at 7th and Aspen there.

And um, they're expecting to wrap those up within this fiscal year.

And then finally, uh we have uh 2.5 million dollars for other programs and projects.

Um, there was quite a bit of discussion uh about this item with um the advisory board.

I do have kind of a slide.

I got some feedback from someone who listened to the meeting that uh maybe we could clarify that that item's language a little bit more.

But the way I would characterize the language is this.

I'm uncomfortable with staff putting a huge blank item in a work plan and budget for you.

We're here to get your direction.

Um what we'd we're looking into doing, which is legal under the TIFF statutes, is making a shorter term low-interest loan to a nonprofit housing developer if they had an opportunity to attend the uh district to acquire property and get it get it uh in a position where they could fundraise, work on a project, make make things feasible, and then ultimately take take out that TIFF funding.

Um, I think there's a lot of detail that can go into that, and we'd certainly like to work with our advisory board on what that could be.

What we heard from the advisory board is we love this idea, and we encourage you to keep it other so that if this doesn't work out, you aren't taking two and a half million dollars off the table and requiring a budget amendment for the next few years.

So that is why it is other.

Um, but that's also why we're proposing some clarifying language, which when you get into motions, I've given you a suggestion uh related to that.

Um the total budget request, we've we've accumulated some funds in order to do some big projects.

So it's 8.3 million dollars in fiscal year 2027, and then 2.9 million dollars in fiscal year 2028.

And I am available for any questions that you may have.

Oh, I did, sorry.

If I could just add the the TIFF advisory board did vote 6-0 to uh recommend this, uh, but they did make the amendment that that we discussed related to other.

Great.

Thank you for that presentation.

Um Commissioner Magic, any questions for staff?

Yeah, thanks, Mayor.

Thanks, David.

I miss having your kids here tonight.

Um let's see.

We had a couple of letters, and I think I'll start there.

One from the Lewis and Clark Hotel folks, and I seem like I've heard this request before.

They're asking to be removed from the district.

Uh they must be on the edge, they're on Main Street.

Um, is there a process for removal?

How do we feel about that?

So to the best of my knowledge, there is no process for removal from a district.

Part of the reason for that is that we've entered into bonds for this district, and so the revenues of the district are pledged to those bonds, and so the entire district is part of that pledge.

Um I have reached out to that property owner and said, you know, we do have ideas for what we could do on your property.

We'd like to engage.

I think they're a little more interested in making a point about tax agreement financing uh based on the conversation that we had.

Um but I but I think we we expanded the TIFF district in 2015, and like part of the reason to do that was part of that original plan again from from 2000 2006 was to have more gateway features at the intersection of Maine and North 7th.

You know, all of those are tough, they will require some participation from private property owners or at least working in some limited streetscape real estate with drive approaches and and other sorts of things out there.

But you know, if I would if I was just thinking about what could go there, um I noticed the property lacks street trees, it's got some old rusty um overhead lighting, and I think we could allow it to match some of the other things that we've done in the district as we incrementally work our way uh down south, down north seventh and round the corner.

So um that that's that's on my mental work plan.

It's not in this proposed biannual budget, but I think it's it's something the board should certainly consider as they think about their future work.

Great.

So that property has been in the strike since the beginning.

Since 2015.

They're part of an expansion that kind of included the triangle area and then down to 9th Avenue.

Got it.

Okay, um, street trees, that's great.

And this is just a comment.

Um, I feel like this part of our city has experienced, you know, kind of some deforestation and a lot of uh complaints about losing trees.

So that seems like a nice um opportunity plus the lighting.

Um let's see.

The second letter.

There's two of them from Ms.

Talego.

I really appreciated just kind of the thoughts behind her initiative and her thoughts in general about kind of bolstering this district with uh task force um involvement from you know some of the locals have beyond the advisory committee.

Um, and do you have it?

I assume you read those letters.

Yes.

Do you have any kind of thoughts about um first her ideas and then you know if they're good ideas, how to move forward?

Sure.

So I you know I think um a couple things.

First of all, you you have a new TIFF advisory board, um and I think because of the timing and the way the the state statute and commission action appointments played out on that, they've sat for three meetings so far.

They've they've sat for three meetings so far.

Yeah, they've they've held three meetings.

So I think I think there's a real opportunity to have the advisory board dig into what's happening midtown and indeed a number of these a number of these districts look at the policies programs.

This this could be part of that.

I think um and I think there's there's more structure than just this type of meeting that you can have with an advisory board uh in order to get different kinds of public feedback.

So I think that's that's the first thing.

Um the second thing is uh just from a planning perspective, um, there's a lot it's important to have a long enough planning window that you can actually get started and do what you say you wanted to do, you know, and the big preeminent project of the 2006 um plan was completing sidewalk gaps and setting back the sidewalks and doing the lighting on North Seventh Avenue.

Where we just got an easement um for near we had to stop Amendon Hall because we ran out of easements, um, but we just got an easement for for South Amendment Hall there.

Um, and I think there were over 46 easements we got from private property owners along that corridor.

But the result of that, the financial sorts of things were started in 2006, and we finished the project to Mendon Hall in 2020.

So like I think it is important as you think about these long, these are these are long games and they require some long some long-term planning.

So we are working on some things from the last plan, even though it's been here for 10 years that are not done exactly.

Um, but I also think it's worth putting the time into revisiting these plants, like the 2017 plan was transformational for um our ability to get good tax revenue, get results out of this, advance towards getting bonds uh in place and and seeing the kinds of investments that we envisioned back in 2006 and then in 2015 with the with the plan and then really focusing.

So I think another action plan would be a really good step.

And I think we could work with the advisory board on on some process related to that, some um, you know, putting together some engagement, coming up with an engagement plan, and then and returning to you with a recommendation related to how we we move forward with an action plan.

That's great, great to hear.

Part of her letter talks about funding.

Um, so would you see enough kind of cushion within your current budget to kind of if some of this needs to be addressed, or would the advisory board gonna take on some of this?

How do you see that one?

I would probably just again, based on timing, recommend reducing um the parking garage funds um right now again.

Again, some of this money is I'm proposing to loan, it'll come back.

Um, and we'll we will have other money revenues come in, uh, but reduce that by $100,000 dollars and and and make an item specifically related to action planning.

Great.

Um, one last question, and I don't know if you're gonna know the answer to this, but and it's it's kind of an aside, but we see Main Street with the BID business improvement to history, kind of having another level of funding to kind of do different things with.

When I see trash around in midtown, I'm like, oh, wouldn't it be nice if we had a program for trash receptacles, which of course the BID pays for, or when I see graffiti show up, or even when I see you know uh suckers sprouting up around the trees, and I'm thinking someone ought to take care of that.

Um so it it it it hasn't been, you know, we we continue to receive prioritization of new projects as we work on old ones.

Um, but you know, this is something we've worked on.

We have a couple of recommended boundaries, and we're hoping to get some some key property owners together and have a little conversation so that we can research, you know, gold, silver, and bronze options.

Great.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Commissioner Bode, any questions for Mr.

Fine?

Yeah, thank you.

Um I wasn't able to find the amended um motion language you you mentioned.

Is that something you could pull up just so I can for the for the moment?

Let you guys look at that and read it.

Um what it would just working through this, I gave a little background.

I know it's a dense slide, um, but hopefully you could read it on your screen.

We have what was in the TIFF board packet, what ended up in the commission packet.

Basically, we we kept the other line, but added the description of that had been in the in the direct loan program, and then I'm proposing some suggested hybrid language down below that I think captures the spirit of what we're trying to do.

We just like leave that on the screen for a second.

That's uh it's like in math, show your work.

And I just want to all interject really quickly while uh folks are absorbing this to clarify what I heard in Commissioner Magic's question and your response was question about uh action plan update.

That your recommendation would be cut a hundred thousand from the parking garage design and due diligence.

That's not included in this current proposed motion.

So we would need to amend this to would that be best appropriate to also put under other.

I think you could make it its own item for the work plan.

Let's say add a hundred thousand dollars and then subtract.

Okay.

And I really appreciate that the earlier I can get these kinds of things, the more I can think about it.

Like I did with this.

Commissioner Sweetie, any further questions?

You mean Commissioner Bowdy?

I don't know what I mean.

Uh I sure knew.

Great commissioner Bodie, any further questions for staff?

Um, yeah, I I think I I also um really appreciated reviewing um the Salago's two different public comments and um one proposed kind of outline of of different um budget amendments to use that kind of other bucket for, and I appreciate looking at this hybrid language and seeing this kind of prioritization of of what we're working on.

I'm just curious what the um future plan is for the urban renewal TIF TIFF board to be kind of sinking their teeth into this.

I heard you say they've only had three meetings, they haven't had a lot of time to um weigh the different options, but can you just lay out for us um what's what's the kind of roadmap in in the future for them to grapple with this other bucket?

Sure, and and we and we had to um we had to dive straight into budget.

So we did TIFF education and then budgets so far.

So we really didn't even have the like kind of work plan discussion for the for the two-year term.

Um so I mean, I think I think for the this other sort of thing, you know, with um I think it needs to be a fairly sizable loan.

Like smaller bits and pieces don't usually go very far in development.

Um, so like the these things are mutually exclusive, but I think on the on the loan side, we would talk about you know, kind of at uh deal point level loan terms, and like what we'd be want to see.

I think I'm envisioning less than two year sort of term, so kind of within the biennium, making sure that any loan is secured by property, but we would dive into all those details uh with the board and then come back with uh work with our legal department and come back with kind of a recommended um loan program and opportunity for for people to apply.

Okay, great.

Thank you.

Um I will pass it on.

Deputy mayor, you need questions for Mr.

Fine.

Yes, thank you.

Um a couple questions, but basically sitting here, you know, reflecting on Commissioner Magic's questions and on the success we've seen with uh with the BID and the downtown redevelopment, understanding downtown is a whole different beast.

Um just kind of is that would that be a city-led effort to create, say, a business improvement district, you know, like what we'd have for for downtown.

Um, or is that something that like we're like I guess almost I wish I had you know uh the scope here to but is the BID that struck me that that came out of the business owners coming together, realizing they wanted to um you know self-assessing their own properties to create flower baskets, support trash cans, etc.

Have we seen any effort like that out of our kind of midtown business owners?

We've definitely had outreach and conversations with them and uh they've in those probably handful of conversations with some of the larger property owners.

Um they've asked us to um kind of you know they're they're interested in it if they know what it costs.

Um they can't know what it costs if they don't tell us they're interested or at what level or what services.

So I think we're trying kind of trying to do some initial engagement, get together a menu, do some more engagement, and then they can lead it from there, but give that give them enough information that they're actually able to decide if it's something they want to mobilize around.

Sure, and that's probably it's a whole conversation for a whole other day, but that's helpful.

Um when does this district expire?

Twenty, I think it's 2045.

Okay.

And then, and then I'm sorry, I am 100% confused about the potential list advisory board amendment and what we may be proposing here.

Um the action plan we're referring to is that is that the 2017 action plan?

Yes, okay.

And that is what it's yeah, what's the I mean the lifespan of an action plan is tends to be about 10 years, so right?

Sure.

This is the first one for this district, but it worked really well.

So um I I have um it it is short, succinct, and actionable, and came with a a robust list of actual accomplishable projects, and I like that kind of plan.

So then of this um, I won't call it a jumble, but of this these multiple paragraphs here.

What is the the um amendment or the language that we you would like us to sit down here?

I did the bottom paragraph.

The bottom paragraph.

Like, so just to be clear.

I received public comment from a person I respected that felt like we didn't do the board sentiment judge justice, and so I'm making an effort to give you options related to that.

I know what I think I'm gonna do, which is work on a loan program, and if that doesn't work out, work with the board and the commission on recommendations for new things.

But I I do think this hybrid language does clarify it, and so if the commission wanted to provide that clarification, I'm suggesting that's an option for you.

So we don't necessarily have to move the numbers around.

No, it's just the pros description of what other is.

Perfect.

Be better if it was poetry, but pros will take.

Um fair enough.

I think those are my main questions.

Thank you.

Commissioner Sweeney.

The actual Commissioner Sweeney.

You get to say Commissioner Sweeney and be right.

Thank you.

Um thank you, David, for all the background and the work on the Midtown URD.

First question is in August.

I remember the former commission approving the 47,000 for the codification of the streetscape standards for midtown.

Can you give us an update on how that project is going?

Has it been codified?

Where did it live?

Where are we at?

Thank you.

Yeah, it it's currently on our on our back burner as we and we work on other sorts of things, but like I think it's an important project.

We received some direction that we really think we called it design standards, and people thought that maybe it was actually the NCOD project or something else.

It's not, it's basically just what happens in the 12 feet behind the curb and making it match what we have right now.

But we we haven't moved forward on that because we we received some direction we should do some outreach, and we just haven't been able to put that in place yet.

But it's our goal.

The engineers have done some work on it, and it's it's moving.

Thank you.

Um then since the midtown design and connectivity plan was sort of surreptitiously retired last fall when this commission um adopted the technical update to the growth policy.

Has there been any talk about codifying design standards for construction and development in the midtown to really shepherd um the district uh placemaking and this really human scale um urban infill, or are we just relying on zoning?

I'll give a I'll give a short answer, and then um, if the city manager or I know uh Chris Saunders is here, have anything they think they could add, um, leave that up to the city manager.

But I I think in um 2016-2017, we went through a pretty involved public engagement process right uh related to creating B2M zoning.

Now that was adopted as generally applicable zoning, but like the design process, the analysis, all these sorts of things had that kind of auto-oriented North Seventh quarter in mind.

And we even had an economist come in and think about what we were what we aspire to and what we're likely to get.

I remember sitting at a design charrette and they said what we'd love is Main Street.

We'd like every shop to have ground floor commercial, and like that just I mean, we I think if you talk to the downtown, we it is difficult and and always tentative to keep five very active blocks of main street going.

It's really tricky to try and double that along the north seventh, triple that by adding the north seventh quarter.

And so the advice we got is you're probably not gonna be able to require that in every building because it'll likely be vacant, and the only thing worse than not having activated streetscape is having vacant streetscape in these in these neighborhoods.

So that was really the intent with B2M was to implement the design and connectivity plan.

You know, it has uh a streetscape section with a 12 foot sidewalk.

That was new, it has glazing requirements uh for the fronts of the buildings.

It has a number of things.

So we really did think about this quarter when we adopted that um adopted that zoning.

Um that's that's the standard that we have right now, um, and then how that fits into the overall code is um, you know, above my pay grade, so to speak.

Yeah, I'd like to invite Chris up here.

This is um a nuanced conversation, and um I think Chris has some important background.

Good evening, Commissioners.

Uh, Mayor Chris Saunders, community development manager.

Uh, this is a a project with a fair amount of history behind it.

Um back in the early, or excuse me, yeah, early 90s, the city adopted what was called the entry overlay district.

It followed along North Seventh, West Main, other places throughout the community, and established a variety of um design guidelines for development in those areas.

One of the things that happened over the years was a conversation of if this is a good idea for these portions of town, would it be a good idea elsewhere in the community as well?

And with the uh update to the uh community development uh code in uh chapter 38 in 2018, that district was removed in its entirety.

Uh and then the substance of those standards, things like uh activation of the street, connectivity from the buildings to the street within the sites, uh, whole laundry list of things went out, went from those guidelines into minimum standards applicable throughout the city.

So if you look today under the code uh in Article 5, uh you're going to see a whole number of those things.

Um Division 510 is site design, 520, uh I think is building design.

So where you're starting to look at the detail materials, uh sidewalk connectivity, vehicle connectivity off street, um, landscaping placement, all those kinds of things have moved into a minimum standard that every development going through a site plan has to conform to other elements that uh were mentioned in the public come in and that uh Mr.

Fine just mentioned things like street activation uh with the recent code amendments that uh were adopted end of last year, those expectations were further elevated.

So there's been several substantial revisions throughout the municipal code to um increase the qualitative aspects of the expectation uh for any development program.

Thank you.

Um so yeah, there's no current conversation about like placemaking design guidelines for North Seventh or Midtown.

That is not a task that has been assigned by the commission.

Okay, thank you.

Okay, and then yeah, my final question I think was already um covered a bit by Commissioner Magic, um, the district being expanded, the public comment we got from the property owners, um, on the edge of the district.

Um, you know, I was wondering about what were the you know the blight identified in that area as part of the finding of fact to increase the district and you know, do we have any plans for that area?

Barmuda triangle.

I'm glad to hear we're talking about like streetscape and trees.

That is a great question for Mr.

Fine to answer.

Totally.

Thank you.

Commissioner, could you please repeat the question?

Right.

Yeah, so um I I found myself wondering what were the findings of fact of blight in the area used to expand the district um at that time, and do we have plans to address any of that?

So I don't remember off the top of my head, there's uh I think it's chapter two of the 2015 um mid tenor renewal plan is the includes the blight study.

So it it talks about the six expansion areas that we included in that plan.

Chapter two or chapter three.

Um, and so they they taught you basically within each of the three expansion areas you with in each of the expansion areas you need to find at least three of the statutory conditions of blight, and so it enumerates them there.

Um it's it's a big long quarter with I think over 350 properties.

I think it's accurate to say we just haven't gotten there yet.

Okay.

Excellent.

Um that is all of my questions.

Thank you, Mr.

Mike.

Um thank you to my colleagues.

I uh I think all my questions were asked, most of mine were related to the to the public comment, kind of two buckets of public comment um categories that we got.

Um any further questions from anyone for Mr.

Fine?

Yeah, Commissioner Magic.

Yeah.

Just um clarifying the parking grudge design and due diligence.

So here in your report, um, the budgeted amount is eight hundred and eighty-nine thousand.

Has that already been reduced by six hundred and ten thousand?

Yes.

Okay, cool.

And you're saying it's all right to further reduce that by a hundred thousand to help with the correct.

I I think I think the story there is that we it's very on the pro early in the process.

We think the ultimate project will cost about 15 million dollars.

We budgeted 10% of project cost towards a complete set of plans.

But at the speed we're moving, we're probably more likely to get through site plan within the biennium, which is probably more of like a half million dollar proposition.

So I think I think we'll be okay.

Okay, just check.

Great.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Um I think that's all the questions from the commission.

So we'll move on to public comment before bringing it up here for a motion commission motion and discussion.

Um so we'll open it up for public comment requests in the room this evening.

Good evening.

Uh good evening, uh, mayor, deputy mayor, commissioners, and staff, um, and neighbors.

Uh my name's Nathan Stein.

I'm the executive director of Headwaters Community Housing Trust.

Um, I'm also a member um of the Economic Vitality Board, but not speaking in that capacity tonight.

Um, appreciate the opportunity to comment tonight.

Um, really just commenting tonight in support of the Midtown URD budget and work plan as proposed by staff and the TIFF board.

Um, in particular, we are extremely supportive of this this new idea to create that two and a half million dollar um land acquisition fund for affordable housing.

Um we think that that is um a really interesting and and special and unique new tool um that the city can use to um support its um its goal for the biennium.

Biennium of of continuing to create a more affordable uh Bozeman.

Um Headwaters ourselves, um we're looking really closely at opportunities to bring more permanently affordable homeownership opportunities to Midtown with the hope of preserving the kind of income diversity that that really defines the character of of this part of Bozeman.

Um the addition of a loan fund for this purpose um could very well mean the difference between that kind of project happening or not happening, so so um we urge the commission to move forward with that idea.

Um we're also sympathetic to some of the comments that were submitted um in support of a renewed commitment to multimodal infrastructure and human scale development in Midtown.

We think that's really important for this area, and and we hope to be a partner in future conversations to that effect, um, and help Midtown continue to grow into a truly walkable and vikable neighborhood.

Um for now, we think that the creation of a land acquisition fund will allow the city and partners to jump on timely opportunities to create permanently affordable homeownership for middle income households in Midtown, and we urge the commission to approve the budget and work plan as opposed as proposed.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening, Emily Telegra, Bozeman resident.

Uh it's lovely to be here with all of you this evening.

Um, and thank you for reading my comments.

Um, one thing I'm I have to say it's the most important thing.

Um the concept of doing a North Seventh uh traffic modality summit is critical for this area.

Um, as it stands right now, it's my opinion.

You know, I've been there since 2012.

I've been in Bozeman, you know, on uh before that was on North 11th renting.

Um if we cannot unlock a way to where it's not functioning like an urban highway anymore, we must pivot.

I mean, like in my head, I'm like we we let's let's put up concrete walls, let it be a highway, dig up all the permeable pavers, and then let's put it on the street on the outside.

Because if we can't do something about that, all of these other things can never fall into place.

Um the idea of bringing together stakeholders, MDT, we do have a new governor appointed commissioner at District 2.

Um, you know, like I let's be relentless about that.

Um, you know, it's as as midtown has evolved, it's so I remember years ago talking to Danny Hess about this concept of like an agrihood because I was so impressed by all the gardeners there.

And while at the time I hadn't really contemplated cannabis dispensaries, I mean like agriculture's agriculture, and so they're part of our fabric now, too.

Um, it's a different situation.

I do think it's time to make the rounds, make some postcards, throw an event, and invite business owners and have a conversation about the BID because we do need trash cans.

That's what we do.

Um but yeah, uh, you know, special places, districts, unique identities, they don't happen by accident.

They do take consistent non-stop focus, and I do hope that we can get to a point where like I mean, my fantasy is like somebody it's like they live, eat, breathe midtown, right?

Like they build those relationships.

Um, I don't like single point of failure systems.

I don't think that's fair to anybody.

We're all humans, we have lives, we need to be able to attend to other things.

Um but yeah, like I I was walking down the old Kmart parking lot the other day, and I was struck actually by these big honey locusts that are there in like the little landscaping things from that are surviving despite severe neglect.

And in my head, I was like, we should be planning and having the conversation with the Wesley property owners there to like root prune those in the fall, get them balled in burlap so that they're prepared to maybe transplant to the middle of North Seventh.

But we need that kind of dedication, we need that kind of structure.

Um that is not a slate to staff at all.

What is on the plate for that tiny department is um respectfully too much.

Um, and so I think if we can reinvigorate the stakeholders that are there and do some sort of summit, um even if it's just like we are gonna meet twice a year a group of people, um, I think it would move some things forward.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Any further requests for comment in the room this evening?

Saw a few stirs.

So I'm gonna wait and do a second request.

Okay, one final request for comment in the room.

Mr.

Newby, are we seeing any public comment requests online?

No, we are not, Mayor Morrison.

Okay, um, we'll close the public comment portion of this hearing and bring it up here for um commission motion discussion and vote.

Are we two, Commissioner Magic?

We are, yeah.

Uh I move to approve the fiscal year 2027 work plan and budget and fiscal year 2028 work plan and budget for the midtown urban rule district.

Um, second.

I guess I'm confused about which language we're we're using.

I think the other would be an amendment to this motion.

Yeah, that's what I'm prepared.

Gotcha, gotcha.

So we make the main motion.

And then we gotcha.

Okay, so I've got two amendments.

Great, it's been moved and seconded.

So now we've got the full motion on the floor.

Now, if there's any amendments, I think.

Here's the window.

So second first amendment is to reduce the money allocated for the parking garage by a hundred thousand dollars to put into development of a new action plan.

It's been moved.

Is there a second?

It's been moved and seconded.

Would you like to speak to sure?

Yeah, let's do one at a time.

Yeah, I'm energized uh and believe in the public comment that we were saved on this.

I wish we could dedicate more money, but I think it is wise to kind of start with a plan and be able to kind of build off the work of the advisory committee.

So I kind of feel like we're hopefully in a good spot with that.

Um, I see an action plan in this case as kind of like a neighborhood plan.

Um, I do agree that you should update these at least every 10 years.

Things change, things have been changing in this neighborhood for quite some time.

So that's why I'm supporting this amendment.

Great.

Commissioner Bowdy.

Yeah, I'd just like to ask a question in the context of the amendments that I, the second amendment that I think you're going to make here.

Are you suggesting that 100,000 less dollars go to that other bucket?

Or that it goes to the action plan, which would be similar to a neighborhood plan, and that's in response to the request we received from public comment.

The money should be dedicated, and we heard David make that suggest 100 grand from the parking fund.

But it is my understanding, just to make sure I understood what Commissioner Body was asking, um, that your proposal is not to then make this total 2.4 million for the housing acquisition loan fund.

Is that what you were correct?

That's what I heard in Commissioner Bodie's question.

No, no, to keep the housing acquisition 2.5, but that there's an additional a hundred thousand that we can take out of the parking lot that is not already.

Okay, I think I got a little lost in the test here.

It's all kind of confusing.

So the parking garage budget right now is down to 610 or 889, excuse me, 889.

So we're taking a hundred grand from that, and it will be 789.

Great.

I'm seeing nods from um Mr.

Fine.

Is that what you had said as well?

Yes, yeah, okay, cool.

I'm I'm looped in.

I'm back on track.

Thank you for that.

Um yeah, I think with the support of our our staff saying that's um a lot of money that we can kind of move around without having some unintended consequences, and also the the compelling public comment, um, I'd be in support.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

Yeah, here's my concern, which may ultimately end up with a question for either Mr.

Wynn or Mr.

Fine.

Um, I you know, I generally support this.

I think we need to you know agree this this action plan is a little stale and needs to be updated.

Um, my concern is that uh we as a commission are tweaking a budget that has been kind of vetted through a legitimate process with with uh with a board that we've appointed to look at these things.

It's um, you know, they they are looking at things that we maybe don't, and I just wanted to make sure either from Mr.

Fine or Mr.

Wynn that that we're not kind of um micromanaging or that that that this that this you know I don't know how you know is this board that we've approved to look over these things, develop these things.

Is that is this a change that they have discussed, agreed to maybe would you know see?

I mean, this is what I we're making a change here.

You know, it feels a little bit like in response to a public comment.

Yes, we have staff support for it, but I'm concerned about you know some downstream impacts and stepping in over a legitimate process that's kind of already in place.

I appreciate that concern.

Um I really do.

I think that and David can correct me if I misspeak.

This is the kind of review and modifications to the budget that this commission is supposed to do, and and I think we're okay um with the intent of this and um with the um the TIFF board as well.

Okay, I'll I'll support that with those nods and on the thank you.

Commissioner Sweet.

Yeah, um, I would definitely support this.

Um, I would love to actually see us go further.

I think this district, when you compare it with downtown Bozeman, and the success of that, is due in huge part to that agency, really shepherding that district, and you know, as public comments said, eat, sleep, breathe, downtown.

You know, the the advisory board has only met three times.

And you know, while it I kept prompting them as the commission liaison to have a discussion about what they would like to work on, we really needed to get this budget conversation done.

So there wasn't a lot of room for discussion about the future of Midtown.

But this district is becoming very productive, and we have 20 years left.

I feel like we're at a pinch point, a breaking a breaking point where we need to decide you know it.

Kudos to staff for all of the work incredible work that they've done.

A department of four people is in charge of an incredible amount of really important work for this city.

And I really want to see midtown succeed in the way that downtown has succeeded with a vision and um, you know, someone to really stay on MDT.

And so I'm what I'm wondering is, you know, Mr.

Fine said in the biennium, we're looking at about half a million dollars in cost for the parking garage to get it kind of through site plan.

I wonder if you know we'd be able to go a little bit further in our allocation for this and undertake the creation of an agency to you know really shepherd this district from the auto-centric highway through a town to the multimodal, revitalized, human-scale um actual full-on district that it was originally envisioned to be.

But I wonder if we'd be willing to go any further.

Just to with the motion that we have on the floor here, um, it sounds like in support.

I think we'll have more opportunities to discuss more broadly, but just wanting to make sure I'm following your support of this motion as it's presented right now.

Yeah, and and I don't know how what the process is for us as a board, but I've seen the community development board someone make like a friendly amendment to say let's up that to 200,000 and extend the purview of what we're talking about to the creation of an agency that would facilitate a BID that would you know shepherd the update of this plan that would stay on MDT constantly and have that working relationship.

I don't know.

Okay, I yeah, I think we can have that conversation probably here, but I also know I I'm seeing staff whispering, so I want to make sure that if they have a if something they want to make sure that we're considering.

So you manager.

Yeah, thank you.

I I think we share that vision for North Seventh.

It's you've been around, many of you have when this when this district was created, and it was a completely different place in our community back then.

This takes time, this takes effort.

The amazing work that has been done by the three or four people working on this is has been transformative.

I believe we know we have more work to do.

I think those kind of amendments tonight would um would um go a little bit further than I think you should go tonight.

It's your decision.

But I think commissioner Deputy Mayor Fisher's point, those kinds of things.

I think this board is brand new.

It was created as a result of state change in state law, and I think it's just getting its feet on under it, and I think it needs time to evolve to um that level of sophistication and um um ownership of that area, which I believe is coming.

I think we just need a little bit more time to make that happen.

And the board does also cover the other urban renewal districts as well.

So it's not just a midtown urban renewal board.

That is correct.

Yeah, Commissioner Magic.

So we're setting a budget and expectations for the next two years.

City manager brought up the point that these things take time.

I think in realistically to look at the next two years to get that advisory committee up and to set up everything that it's gonna take to probably hire out to do the action plan.

That's probably gonna be a two-year process.

I would love within that two-year window to create a BID.

And I would love also to have you know a significant housing project with some level of affordability and um market homes.

So that to me is in addition to the other parts of this budget a lot, uh, and I don't want to bite off more.

They can chew, um, I share your vision, and I do hope that through the action plan, we get to that vision, um, because I do agree that Norway 7th could it just had so much opportunity to, you know, kind of do just that, kind of make it a second main street that is more friendly to walkers and bikers, and um kind of bring the human scale quality to it.

So I think we've got a lot on this plate to get done in two years.

Great.

Um, Commissioner Bode, do you have a response to that?

Or can I hop in and share what I'm thinking about?

Go ahead.

Okay.

Um, yeah, I'm I'm thrilled to support this amendment.

Uh, if if nobody was gonna bring it forward, but I suspected somebody was.

I was gonna ask if someone would um as a presiding officer.

There is a I think midtown um one uh TIFF TIFFs fall into an odd spot, uh, the ways in which they are are scrutinized and attacked from advocates of TIFF to detractors of TIFF, hearing arguments in the state legislature, you know, it's it's either if it it sort of loses every time narratively.

Uh it's either uh a handout to developers at the expense of the taxpayer, it is not productive enough because it's not producing increment yet, um, or uh we didn't need it in the first place because the increment is there and then it's unsets, and it's like wow, you know, we didn't even need it, um, except for so often if it if it weren't there, the tax base would not have been there either.

Um, and so it's a uh a challenging web to mix.

And I think midtown is in this liminal time where it's seeing some production come online, but not you know, dramatic big ambitious projects that downtown has done and undertaken.

Um it's sort of the quintessential, you know, changes slow and then all at once, and it it and that seems like sort of where where this is at.

And to me, the action plan is exactly the type of thing that we need to be updating because there's so many spots where within our our growth plan, you know, existing midtown um plans that say, yeah, we don't want this to be auto-dependent, we want this to be really intimate, human-scale, a mix of housing types, a mix of business types, and it still seems to keep creeping toward um, you know, diet 19th, which is you know, a commercial hub for the region, um, that is extremely auto-dependent, and trying to shift that is feels like turning an ocean liner, that we're doing it little chunks at a time, and I think an action plan can be that piece that says every time a point of tension comes up, we get to say action plan says this is what we're gonna do.

And to me, that's that's the impetus, and I and I think 100,000 um is a pretty meaningful step toward toward updating that.

That's a lot of engagement.

Um, working with uh, you know, design folks, architecture, architectural folks, um, probably some folks in the the economics world on what's feasible, the neighborhoods.

Um I think this is you know what we're seeing in front of us to clarify is in this odd, um, said odd a few times uh in this in between state of the old TIF system and the new TIFF system with the boards.

And so I think us providing this oversight saying we think that board maybe didn't have the due diligence or the the levity, the space to um embark on this in this way, and we're gonna offer this correction to say we think 100,000 is needed for this action plan is is completely appropriate, and I'm I'm thrilled to to support that discussion um separate from uh any other discussion on the budget work plan as well as the potential other amendment, yeah.

Commissioner Boat.

Great.

Um I just wanted to take a moment and make sure 100,000 is the amount that a um improvement plan costs.

You know, I'm looking at the 2019 downtown improvement plan and wondering what what the cost of that um planning process was, and um I'm curious if any staff can kind of give us some guidance on is 100k the right ballpark to be shooting for here.

The initial estimates that we got were between 50 and 100, um, based on the amount of public engagement that we want to do.

That's the expensive part of these plans.

But um, that would allow us what I think is a reasonable level of public engagement, public process as we go through this effort.

Great.

That's super helpful.

Thanks.

Great.

Any other discussion on this amendment?

Mr.

Newby, would you pull the commission on this amendment?

Commissioner Magic.

Commissioner Bodie.

Aye, Deputy Mayor Fisher.

Commissioner Sweeney.

Aye.

Mayor Morrison.

Aye.

Amendment is approved five to zero.

Back to you, Commissioner Magic.

Okay, I'm gonna try this second amendment.

So what I'm gonna do is take that suggested hybrid language, turn to turn it into a proposed amendment that is going to speak to kind of what the other part of the budget is intended for, the 2.5 million.

Am I giving that?

Right?

Nodding.

I see nodding.

Okay, so the other is gonna mean that's my amendment.

The entirety of the expected increment is allotted to be responsive to opportunities, including support for city-led infrastructure projects, neighborhood planning and development agreements as a first priority.

The commission asks staff to return with a pilot project to provide short-term low-cost direct loans to nonprofit housing builders to acquire land for portable housing.

Second, it's been moved and seconded.

Would you like to speak to your motion?

I'm gonna trust all this.

I understood what um David Fine said, and it makes sense, and it always helps to kind of clarify what other means.

Great.

Commissioner Boat.

Um, yeah, I I just want to before I give my my comments here, make a disclosure.

Um I didn't know that this particular language was gonna be proposed until this moment, and so I just want to name that I think there are only three nonprofit housing um developers in the community the HRDC through the Southwest Montana Community Housing Trust, Headwaters Community Housing Trust, and maybe Habitat for Humanity from doing a stretch here.

Um and my partner now works at the Headwaters Community Land Trust.

And so I don't believe that this is a conflict of interest requiring recruit because we're not directly choosing said nonprofit housing entity at this moment.

We're just you know earmarking the budget.

But if in the future um there becomes an issue, I intend to recuse it at that time.

But just want to make sure that was on the record for for folks in the room here.

Um and with that, I think that this is a really um innovative and strategic way to be looking forward for um affordable housing projects, and I'm excited to see our staff in the community coming together to um think about new ways that we've been using the TIFF increment.

And um I appreciate the kind of other prioritization to make it clear what what the intent here is, but also keeping the door open in case that doesn't work out.

Um, and I think that we have a number of really great suggestions, including a number of the ones that Ms.

Talago sent to us in public comment to fall back on, fall back on if this um doesn't succeed.

So with that, I'll be in support.

Deputy Mayor, I like both the aspiration and the clarity of this prose.

And I think we're setting a new standard, frankly, for TIFF budgets and budget language.

Um, because it'll be kind of fun to see this kind of aspiration and thinking in and you know for the you know some of the other stuff we we do here, but this this really helps, I think if it really focuses and clarifies.

So thank you.

Yes, I'm uh also excited to support this.

Um I've you know, we've had conversations about the last few hearings, the last few years on on TIFF of wanting to say, hey, let's see what's you know, be nimble on using TIFF dollars for affordable housing.

Since that was just given to us, you know, it's still a relatively recent tool, um came at the same time as the untimely demise of inclusionary zoning in 2021.

The legislature said, hey, we took away this actually really useful tool and we gave you this other one.

Um, knowing that staff have wanted to you know experiment with some of these, we wanted to experiment with with this as a tool um for permanently affordable housing.

I'm excited to um see us trying to make sure that we're nimble.

Commissioner Mayor Mayor uh Morrison, after calling everyone but me, um Commissioner Sweeney.

We have forgotten to give Commissioner Sweeney a chance to comment on you sure.

Commissioner Sweeney.

Um you get the last word.

I love this one.

Thank you.

Um yeah, I also just want to you know say that the board in the end decided to adopt the language of other.

And I'm really grateful that that is still in here because while this other more specific language was added because of some you know potential opportunities moving really fast in the community.

If they don't pan out, it is important not to lock this huge chunk of money into something.

So um yeah, I'm really glad the other is still in there.

And I'll be supporting it.

Thanks.

Great.

Mr.

Newby, would you poll the commission on this amendment?

Commissioner Magic.

Commissioner Bowden.

Deputy Mayor for sure.

Aye.

Commissioner Sweeney.

Aye.

Mayor Morrison.

Aye.

Amendment passes five to zero.

Back to the main motion.

Is there any further discussion on the main motion?

Uh it's got my full support.

Um, really appreciate all the time, and some of the comments we've received from members of the public.

I think it's helped kind of fine-tune and make this budget bigger, uh better.

Really appreciate the advisory board as well.

I'm glad, quite frankly, that we have these advisory uh boards and their input.

When I first joined the commission, I was on the midtown advisory board, and I just feel um, just once again, feel like there's a lot of opportunity for this part of town, and uh appreciate some of the folks who live in the area's commitment to try to make it better.

Commissioner Bowdy?

Deputy Mayor, I'm glad I'm excited to have these funds.

I mean 11.2 million dollars is real money over two years, you know, and so um I do I do think that the vision, the ownership for this district needs to come from the district.

Um we can prod from here and we can support cheerlead, but ultimately it's it's gotta be the property owners, the business owners, the residents of that district that that I think um kind of determine how they how they their vision for it for Midtown.

Um so if if a bunch of property owners and business owners and residents came to us and you know, came to you know, uh with a vision and asking for a budget amendment to create a midtown VID, I think that's something we can certainly entertain.

And I would be delighted to have that conversation.

But for now, um, you know, realize it's um maybe not perfect, but uh um I'm excited to have this work underway and and pleased to have those funds to to really you know help with some some significant redevelopment to that region.

Great.

Commissioner Sweeney.

Yeah, thank you, Ms.

Mayor.

Um, I I want to thank Chuck for actually clarifying that you know we can make these kind of amendments to budgets.

That is our job, and yes, they've been very carefully calculated by staff, but we that is the lever we get to push.

And so I think we we have to be prepared to push that at times.

So thank you for clarifying that.

Um maybe the I'm I'm thrilled that there is money here for uh the action plan update because you know, maybe maybe we'll find that uh the plan suggests creating an agency to manage the district.

We'll see.

Um, but yeah, it'll be exciting to do the engagement over the next couple years and get those property owners in the district re-involved or re-engaged.

Um, only one of the people on the urban renewal of the TIFF board um is a midtown resident.

We don't have any midtown business owners.

So it'll be exciting to go and you know get those folks re-engaged and um yeah, so prepared to support this.

Great.

Um I have nothing further to add.

Um, excited to support this, these two work plans and budgets.

Mr.

Newby, would you pull the commission?

Commissioner Magic.

I Commissioner Moding.

Aye.

Deputy Mayor Commissioner.

Aye, Commissioner Sweeney.

Hi.

Hi.

Okay, Midtown Urban Renewal District work plan and budget is approved five to zero.

Um, how are folks feeling?

Are we at break time?

Okay.

Um let's do a break for we're gonna do eight minutes.

Um until 8 45.

All right, we're getting the show back on the road.

Moving on to what was our first originally our first non-downtown uh discussion where we go back up to South Bozeman Technology District.

City Manager.

Thank you.

The first is South Bozeman Technology District for School Year Twenty Twenty Six Annual Report Fiscal Year Twenty Twenty Seven Work Plan and Budget and Fiscal Year Twenty Twenty Eight Work Plan and Budget.

Again, Mr.

David Fine.

This is a collaboration with Montana State University and its alumni foundation, the MSU Innovation Campus is a wholly owned subsidiary of the alumni foundation.

It went to through what is now, I think they're on their third executive director since I've been working at the city.

The first one sought infrastructure funding from the US economic development administration twice, kind of to get the park up and going and get a shovel ready tech park.

And they they were unsuccessful in both those endeavors.

The second executive director brought in a solicitation for a private master developer for the campus.

Even then, and selected the current development team at that time.

We were able to participate in that selection process.

And then finally, once there were kind of a couple of tenants waiting in the wings, um, we pushed the developer really, really hard and got them to put in not just a piece of infrastructure, not just a chunk of infrastructure, but the entire infrastructure of this district.

So just to orientate your yourself to the South Boast of Technology District, it's bordered by Garfield on the north, college on the south, and then uh technology uh boulevard bisects uh the district um east-west down the middle there.

So uh this is about 40 acres that was owned by the alumni foundation for uh for a long time, and and the infrastructure that was necessary that went through kind of that um uh preliminary infrastructure planning process uh was was technology to boulevard and what became invention drive uh into the campus.

So um really during the life of this district, um this district was collecting agricultural tax revenue um at a very low rate um and um I believe three years ago, the the development partner um of the innovation campus took the plunge and installed three uh almost 3.6 million dollars in public infrastructure to do the water sewer, fiber optics and everything, sidewalks, landscaping in the district.

And I cannot tell you when we when we say infrastructure drives economic development after being in this conversation since 2013, how much taking this campus from a field of dreams to a shovel ready technology park has changed the ability of the district to have conversations about uh attracting tenants, attracting talent.

Um we were able to retain and grow a Bozeman-founded uh LIDAR uh imaging company, Black War Censor and Analytics.

They were bought by Aurora Technologies, and rather than taking the technology and running off to Texas where they're doing a lot of their testing, they chose to grow their RD team here and commit to a long-term lease on this campus.

And then we'd had a long uh-term need for um tech flex space within our real estate market, and the developer came forward with a proposal to build what is essentially a nearly 80,000 square foot flex space building that initially really didn't have any tenants except for MSU, and uh our ability to commit to repaying the infrastructure funds with tax increment financing is part of the success story of how we came from having a field to having a campus.

Um, so just looking at this budget, this budget is a little more simple.

Um we have a proposal to essentially spend five point 3.5 million dollars or less if you recall some action you took earlier in the year, but up to 3.5 million, 3.6 million in bonds to reimburse the developer, which we have a contractual obligation to do, as well as some funds related to the actual bond issuance itself and contracted services.

And then we expect we will have a lean year following that in which we pay debt service and do a few other odd housekeeping items while uh the campus continues to grow.

I know they have um a potential biotech building in the wings that if they get a few more tenants, they'll be able to start construction on.

Um so we're we're excited about the the future of this of this campus.

Um, but what you see before you is the entirety of the budget requests and then here for your questions.

Great, thank you.

Um Commissioner Bodie, I think we're back to you.

Thank you, Mayor, and thanks for the presentation.

Um yeah, I just want to address a number of public comments that we got, not specifically on the urban renewal um district, but more for the innovation campus specifically that I think are related.

And I see a couple of folks in the room and I'm actually, and imagine that's probably um why they're here.

So some of the comments that um we received, we're just concerned about the types of businesses that are renting space at the innovation campus.

And I'm just curious if there is any kind of mechanism for us to discourage the big sky ICINF from renting or selling certain types to certain types of like private sector businesses.

Is that is that something that is even a tool within the urban renewal district toolbox?

It is not an urban renewal tool.

It is not a feature of the development agreement we executed with the developer.

You know, we talk to our business community and ask them stuff all the time, but like that's that's not pretty in any way particular to their renewal law or the urban rural district.

Right.

So if if um we were seeing um businesses that were promoting armaments that wanted to build in midtown, for example, it would be no different.

One one urban rural district to the other.

Um it's correct, correct.

And I think typically when this project was actually rare, and that one of the two buildings had a tenant at the time it was announced, and there was a uh infrared urban renewal project, but usually we're we're making this is about public infrastructure and we're making the development agreement with the developer.

Um, and so it's the this was unique in that we actually knew who was occupying the Aurora building, but we usually don't know who any of the tenants are when we are into these development agreements.

Right.

They build the space and we approve the the building design and then the the tenants usually come after.

Exactly.

And and I think from a from a repayment perspective, we we hope that they attract and retain tenants because often buildings are valued based on their income generation.

So it's is it is important to our repayment that they attract and retain tenants.

Okay, great.

Thanks.

I'll I'll pass it on.

Deputy Mayor.

And just to be 100% clear, that 3.6 million um for fiscal uh to repay the you know reimburse.

I don't know.

That's out of the increment that um from that is being created by this district.

Correct, and and so um I don't I don't have a slide, but if you look in your packet um at the revenue table, you can see the fiscal year 2026 revenue and then 2027 revenue, 2028 revenue, and that's I mean, if you want to see in a snapshot the power of tax government financing, it's that when you get these big commercial buildings that you wouldn't have happened but for TIFF and you see what happens to to the tax revenue within a district.

Yeah, I appreciate that.

That's my only question.

Thank you.

Commissioner Schmeat.

Thank you.

Yeah, my only concerns were along the same lines as Commissioner Bodie.

Um I have enormous concerns about our community being a place where you know weapons are made and um things used in war and subjugation across the world.

Um but I'm I'm gathering that we have no authority we to exert any kind of encumbrance on the types of tenants.

Yep, our city attorney.

So excuse me, I haven't said anything, so a little frog in my throat.

Um I appreciate what David said.

There's clearly no specific statutory authority in the urban renewal law to do what you guys are talking about.

Um I don't know if you can.

So I'm not gonna be as definitive as David is.

I don't know.

I've never even thought about it, I've never even looked at it.

So certainly the contract is already there in the city's obligated to reimburse for the infrastructure the developer put in for the contract, but outside of that, I've never looked at it, so I can't give you as definitive of a response as David is.

Okay, thank you.

Yeah, so that is a different chore to tackle at another time through some other avenue.

Thank you.

Yeah.

How much magic?

Just would add, um, just to ask um the city attorney kind of another level that um discriminating within a zoning district.

So, I think this might be zoned M1 or is it PLI?

Is it school?

It's PDZ.

PDZ, okay.

So PDZ, there's an underlying zoning that the uses come from.

Yeah.

I mean, you cannot discriminate if you have a list of uses, the type of businesses.

Yeah.

I don't know what you mean by discriminate.

Certainly, uh, zoning authority is pretty broad for the commission to determine the types of uses.

So I'll sort of leave it at that.

I don't really know what.

We would refer to.

Yeah, I won't get into it anymore, but okay.

And I don't have any questions.

Okay.

Commission, did you have another question?

I do, but it's I'm out of turn.

If you want to proceed, um I'm always happy to go to go last.

Usually my questions get answered anyway.

Um a few clarifications.

One, um, appreciated this city attorney opining here because I think that was going to be one of my questions was even if so, understanding in front of us, this is something that we're contractually obligated to um to pay back.

Again, this is not money coming out of the general fund.

This is so there is you know, I think that's comes back to sort of where you started with the midtown presentation of that it's not money that's being handed out.

We said if you commit to pay and build the infrastructure, we will reimburse you for doing so because we see it as a prerequisite step to realize the plan that was set by a previous commission, and in that plan there was not a mechanism to say, and here's the oversight that we have over how that can be used, who can be there.

But the the I guess the question being sort of drilling down a bit more, could that have been like is there even a mechanism for us to say we're gonna put together a TIFF district and here's all these agreements we're gonna make, and we want some amount of authority over who is in your building?

Is that even is has that been done?

Are there is there precedent for municipalities doing that within urban renewal or otherwise?

So I'll let David answer that question about urban renewal in the practice, because I don't know that the way that he does.

Um in Montana under Montana urban renewal law, has the city tried that before?

Has it been challenged in court?

How does that work?

So I can't sitting here, I can't give you that kind of answer.

Certainly, if that is something we want to explore, then we can help you explore that.

Okay, thanks.

But as far as like the practice, I that's uh that's up to David as the expert on urban real.

I just say you I think looking forward, you have the same kind of opportunities in this district that you have in any other district where if you understand things about the project, the choice to enter into a development agreement is mostly discretionary.

Okay, and and just to clarify the where I started, because I editorialized a bit.

This is again just to reiterate, this is not money that is coming out of our general fund, um, so to speak.

This is specific to payback something we're contractually obligated to pay back decisions from previous multiple different commissions over the course of the plan and the infrastructure commitment to pay this developer back for this infrastructure.

Yes, okay.

Any further questions for Mr.

Fine?

Yeah, Commissioner Bodie.

Yeah, I I think my understanding of the way a TIFF district works is that there's kind of a um expected amount of increment available, and that once we've spent through all the increment, we can't kind of approve additional projects.

And um, I'll just note that you know this district is pretty small geographically, and I'm I'm curious if there if we should anticipate more projects coming online during the life of this district, or um, has the substantial infrastructure investment already committed.

Is that kind of spending down the the increment we could expect from this district?

So I I think this is this is the big initial lift.

I'm using initially too many times, but uh at first we're we're probably gonna barely have enough money to pay debt service, and we may even have to issue bonds at a lesser amount than this, and I I know you saw that that amendment earlier.

Um in the long run, I think there'll be significant increment.

And so, like the conversations we've had, we went through significant kind of massing studies, visioning studies as part of that PDZ process um that the city was part of.

And I think the goal is really to have a more walkable park once campus.

So if there's enough increments, there is some discussion of like maybe building a parking structure there in the future that allows there to be a lot more um development there.

So it it could potentially be large, it's also just time-wise and at the speed they're going, this thing could expire before we could do that.

So there'll be discussions about I hope there's surplus increment, and that future commissions get to have a conversation about it.

Commissioner Sweeney.

I did just have one other question that came to mind.

Um it was about this potential bonding in the future.

Explain that situation to me again.

Uh the debt service ratio or something.

Sure, yeah.

So um because of a related to the valuation, there's a potential shortfall.

We've renegotiated the development agreement to um allow us to provide a portion, though not all, uh, it's like not all or nothing of the development agreement, but we maintain the uh additional trigger on that.

So we will issue an amount of debt, provided that the market will buy it, that is covered by 1.7 times debt coverage, right?

So, you know, if you needed a hundred thousand dollars to pay debt service, you need to have a hundred and seventy thousand dollars coming in.

That's like a an easy way to think about more or less, right?

So if if um so uh if that if that coverage amount is less than 3.6, then we'll issue a lesser amount of bonds, and then we'll only pay off the remainder over time through any additional increment that we have until they're made whole.

Right.

Okay, or until the district expires, right?

Or until the district expires.

So if they never build another building, that could happen.

I I think everyone there is very interested in another building.

So, okay, thank you.

That was appreciated.

Yep, Commissioner Body.

I just keep I'm stewing on it.

Um so in in the hypothetical legal landscape where one could um put some some limitations on what uses were allowed within the contract in the future if there was more increment available in this district and um the developer came to us with another project.

Would that be an opportunity for us to put some kind of writer or condition in that agreement?

Seeing as it would be kind of a new contract, so I can work with these guys to sort of think about these concepts and how it could be implemented.

Again, like I can't give you the definitive answer that yes, we could negotiate that through a development agreement and limit their future business that would come in because we were using the power of the contract to do so.

Um I need to be I want to be really careful about that because that's a pretty uh extensive use of the city's authority in urban renewal, and so we can we can have conversations and start to explore that.

We can we can barely pay the agreement we have, so it's gonna be a while.

Okay, yep, Deputy Mayor.

Sorry, I feel like you keep ping-ponging between ethical considerations and financial considerations.

Um I'm gonna go with the financial.

So the bike.

Back to the bond, which I remember we we approved this bond, or this bonding authority if I remember correctly.

Or the change to the terms.

Yes.

Thank you.

Um you said we're providing portion, or we this allows us to provide a portion, but not all.

I mean, I guess some concerns we're bonding against future tax revenue.

Is that is that correct?

Right.

And we're fairly certain that future tax revenue, you know, based on what's in the ground today, is gonna cover the that bond.

May I'm wondering to what extent are we are we are we kind of gambling on oh, there will be another building in there.

Right?

That's the question.

We I think I think the um we are not gambling on another building with this.

Now we can't control for all eventual externalities, right?

Like the economy tanks and everyone in this building stops paying their rent.

And then the developer reports they're making no money.

I mean, that's all that's always a risk, but that's part of why that's part of why we have uh a higher coverage ratio.

Just to give you an example, like we have a 1.3 coverage ratio on our northeast bonds.

We have uh no coverage ratio on our midtown bonds because we bought insurance, but we have four times coverage.

We just it's not a requirement of the bond issuance.

So I think that's that's um, that's the kind of the context of that.

Fair enough.

That's yeah, that's helpful.

Thank you.

Okay.

Um we'll close the question portion of this item and um open it up for public comment.

Um, thank you, Mr.

Fine, for that presentation.

Um so starting with public comment in the room this evening on the South Bozeman technology district.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Um, hello, my name is Julian Staggs.

I'm a lifelong Montanan and have lived in Bozeman for half of my life now.

I am currently a student at Montana State University, having just finished my second year.

I'm also a member of Students for Democratic Society and the Students Against Genocide campaign.

I'm here to express concern and opposition to this agenda item, which approves spending to support the MSU innovation campus.

Um over the past year, students and community members have been raising ethical considerations about the innovation campus, specifically the war industry companies that are tenants on it, the technologies they are producing, and who are they here selling those technologies to one major tenant of the innovation campus is Reveal Technologies, a war industry profiteer which designs, quote, AI powered technology with the objective of quote enhancing lethality.

Reveal technology also brags about the fact that it proudly sells its tech to the Israeli military during the course of its genocide in Gaza.

There are also additional companies and entities of concern on the campus uh that are connected to the war industry and either work with or sell tech, specifically techno surveillance capabilities, to the Israeli military while it's conducted a genocide.

There's more detailed on the students against genocide Instagram and the website students against genocide.com.

Given this, students have been advocating for the adoption of a strong ethics policy governing which types of companies the MSU innovation campus pursues relationships with and placing restrictions on companies working with the Israeli military.

We've received over a thousand signatures on a petition for such.

While we have raised such considerations to MSU and to um members of the board at the innovation campus, uh we have not been met with substantive meetings and a willingness to cooperate on uh mutually developing an ethics policy.

Uh therefore we would like to ask the city commission to hold off on approving funds or supporting the construction of the MSU innovation campus while the innovation campus does not meet with students, work to develop a strong ethics policy, or continues to host companies selling AI powered lethality enhancing military tech.

The city has substantial leverage over the innovation campus by voting to approve this um allocation for reimbursement.

By withholding funding, you give students leverage to communicate and discuss with the innovation campus.

Please do not approve funding for reimbursements for the innovation campus if there are not good faith and productive talks about drafting an ethics policy.

This is an actionable form of leverage you can give to students right here and now.

We are not necessarily asking you to enforce an ethics policy yourselves or act outside of your authority, but to at least temporarily vote against this resolution so that students may engage in these negotiations.

We also hope that the commissioners would be willing to be with us students and hear out the breadth of our concerns before voting to approve before voting to approve funding.

We have some meetings scheduled, would love to have more, and would ask you wait to hear more directly from us before allocating funds.

Therefore, we kindly ask that you vote no on this resolution today.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any further requests for comment in the room this evening.

Good evening.

Hello.

Uh, my name is Taylor Pynan.

I'm a Bozeman resident and I'm a student at MSU.

I have lived on and off campus during my time at MSU, and I'm a part of students against genocide and also Bozeman Tenants United.

I'm grateful that the city is trying to take proactive steps to boost the Bozeman economy.

Um, but I urge you to remain diligent and critical about the type of investments that are being made.

Um, the South Bozeman Technology District of the Innovation Campus currently houses multiple tech companies, as Julian mentioned, that directly support genocide.

Um, and because the city, and therefore Bozeman citizens do not have a say in picking the tenants of the innovation campus.

The previous commissioners I recognize have put us in a pretty precarious position.

Overall, investing in genocide to boost an economy is not a route I hope Bozeman stays on.

I urge you to look forward into what it would look like to break the contract that you have.

Um, and if you can't break it, I highly urge you to continue meeting with us as Julian requested, um, so that we can work on being more transparent with concerned citizens about about where our tax money is going.

I look forward to speaking with you, Joey, next week, and thank you for scheduling time with to meet with us.

Any further comment requests in the room.

Good evening.

Hi.

Um, my name is Skylar.

I am an MSU alum and Bozeman resident currently working in Belgrade.

I am a member of the Students Against Genocide movement at Montana State.

We have spent months conducting research into the bloody business dealings at the innovation campus.

These private companies like Reveal Technology, a tenant of the innovation campus, and Nitria, who has a presence on the campus, specialize in military intelligence, AI surveillance, and lethality in their own words.

Both companies have admitted to publicly selling their technology and services to the Israeli military in the past couple years.

The Israeli military that is committing genocide upon Palestinians as recognized by the United Nations.

We are concerned about the lack of regulation and leasing policies that have allowed for companies with direct ties to genocide to be located right here in our college town.

We are angry that these companies are coaxing students into becoming cogs of the military industrial complex.

And there is absolutely no way that we can stand by and let 3.6 million dollars of our precious city budget and tax dollars to reimburse or fund any of these genocidal projects at the innovation campus until MSU negotiates with our students against genocide group.

At this current moment, I strongly urge you all to oppose the directing of TIFF funds to the innovation campus today and to see SALC funding for the innovation campus in the future.

Thank you.

Thank you.

By a rough show of hands, are there others that are wanting to give comments?

You're not locked in to having to.

Okay, great.

Thank you.

Good evening.

Good evening.

My name is Alana Selinger.

I'm a Bozeman resident.

I'm here tonight to urge that you listen to the students who have spent the past year researching, meeting with university representatives, and protesting more criminals on their campus while studying to earn their degree and working sometimes more than one job.

They have not been doing this because it's fun.

They've been doing this because it's the only moral thing to do.

While all universities in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed in the past two years, MSU is hosting companies who are developing products to be specifically used in Israel's ethnic cleansing campaign.

A campaign which has murdered one out of every 33 people in Gaza, including more than one child every hour over the course of two years.

These stats are several months old, so forgive me if they have changed, but if they have changed, they have gotten higher.

In the past two years, 125 hospitals and clinics have been destroyed by Israel.

I'll remind you that it is a war crime to bomb a hospital.

At least 459 people, including 154 children, have died due to starvation.

At least 2600 people have been killed, and over 19,000 injured while trying to collect food aid.

Gaza is also the deadliest place on earth to be a journalist, with nearly 300 journalists murdered in the past two years.

Nearly 11,000 Palestinians are currently being held in Israeli prisons under grave conditions, 450 of which are children.

Nearly 4,000 are being held without charge or trial.

I remind you of these statistics because now is the time for you, commissioners, Mr.

Mayor, Mr.

Deputy Mayor, to decide what your part will be moving forward in the most publicized ongoing genocide in history.

Will the city of Bozeman be complicit by continuing to fund the Alumni Foundation, who remains steadfast in housing these, it's how in housing those directly implicated in these war crimes.

If not, I urge you to look for any way to break or renegotiate this contract that you have inherited and looking forward to figure out how to use the leverage of withholding Bozeman taxpayer money to require the alumni foundation to remove the tenants that profit off of genocide.

Thank you.

Good evening.

I'm a member of the economic vitality board, but not speaking on that behalf.

Speaking as a resident.

Pretty heartbroken about the situation in Gaza.

And it's easy to feel numb that we can't do anything, and I think this is a real chance that we have a local opportunity to actually take a stand on this issue.

So we heard tonight that TIFW's described as deferred gratification for taxpayers.

And this doesn't feel like that.

So I know it wasn't this current commission, but previously a previous commission that locked us into this development agreement.

But it sounds like that commission knew what kind of tenants were moving in.

So we've renegotiated this development agreement once already.

I think we can do it again.

And I think you should look into see what kind of leverage we can do to use a withholder tax to pay your dollars and user connections that we know we have on the innovation campus board.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Thank you, Commissioners.

My name is Jackson Staggs.

I'm a high schooler here at um Bozeman and Gallatin High School.

Um personally, I'm just disgusted by the innovation campus' connections to weapons and genocide in Gaza.

And I think it would be a real shame if you voted yes on this, so I urge you to vote no.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any further requests for comment in the room this evening.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Uh my name's William McLean.

I am a longtime resident of Bozeman and a student of MSU.

I oppose this reimbursement for many reasons.

Uh, but most of all, I don't believe it's in the interest of Bozeman or residents.

Um, bear with me here.

I know it's been a long day and an even longer night, so I'll try to keep this brief for you guys.

Um, first, I'd like to talk about uh war.

War is not new, but we seem to be once again at its doorstep.

We've sparked conflicts back to genocidal nation and staked claims in foreign oil.

Forces are being prepared, weapons are being armed.

Just a few days ago, uh doomsday planes capable of uh sending nuclear codes were sent overseas.

Uh we are gearing up for something that the American people aren't prepared for.

And as individuals, there's not much we can do, but at home, we still have power.

Uh, this brings me to the topic at hand.

War is not what some of the tenants of the innovation campus would like to believe.

For them, war is simply a machine that turns ideas into money.

They are not the only ones.

There are many people that would benefit from bigger, better, smarter weapons.

The people of Bozeman are not these people.

We are the people that when the great machine of war comes to us are the ones that will have to give our time, our money, our land, and even our families.

However, before that door swings open, we have an opportunity.

That opportunity is to keep our beautiful city an example of strong community education, innovation, and natural beauty.

Not one that submits to the interests other than our own or trades blood for money until someone, anyone can be held responsible for this kind of research and its place on the innovation campus.

I and many others would like to see flourish in other ways, such as with Q Corps or the many other research firms that have been mentioned.

If you choose to submit to these foreign powers in immoral organizations, not only will you bring uh a dark mark on the history of Bozeman and be doing the residents a great disservice, but more than that, the seeds that are sown will be reaped.

Maybe not by you, maybe not by me, but when the door swings open that we've been knocking on for so long, and the war machine comes to town, somebody will have to feed it, and we will know that we've played a part.

Thank you.

And uh thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Any further public comment requests in the room this evening?

Second request for comment in the room and a final request.

Mr.

Newby, are we seeing any public comment requests online?

Mayor Morrison, I see none.

Okay.

Seeing no further public comment requests, we'll close the public comment portion of this item and bring it up here for commission motion discussion and vote.

Commissioner Bode.

Um, having a kind of sticky mic button over here.

Apologies, I've I've got it.

Um so the motion is I I move to approve the fiscal year 2027 work plan and budget and fiscal year 28, 2028 work plan and budget for the South Bozeman Technology District.

Second.

It has been moved and seconded.

Commissioner Bodie, would you like to speak to your motion?

Yeah, I um really appreciate the commenters that came tonight and um the work that you've done to find a very specific um Bozeman-based issue that relates so directly to the war in Gaza.

I think I have been following what's been happening in Gaza for a long time, as as many of you have with um horror and distress, and have felt the powerlessness of um feeling like there's not a lot that one person can do here in Bozeman.

Um I think I've seen other groups attempt to have city commissions um pass a resolution opposing open war, and I haven't thought that that was a very tactical or strategic thing for a commission to do.

And so I just want to commend the um the research and the specificity of this ask that you've brought to us today as something that is more directly related to um the the purse strings that we get to pull.

But based on the kind of question and answer that we had with staff, I'm feeling clear that we've committed to a contract that at this moment we're not prepared to renegotiate.

Um, I am interested in having a broader conversation about what kind of um conditions we can attach to future contracts and if there are opportunities in the future to renegotiate, and um perhaps two other commissioners will join me in um asking our city attorney to use some of his time in that way.

Um but I don't think that this is the moment where we can um pull out the rug on a contract that we a previous commission had had already committed to, and I feel that that would put us in a pretty um legally questionable place in delivering in a contract we've already signed.

So I'll I'll be in support of the motion and um want to uh also just state that I think there are a lot of really exciting and cool things happening at the innovation campus in addition to the uh less exciting things discussed tonight.

And so this is not a comment disparaging the innovation campus over whole um overall.

Um and I know that staff in this room and um folks in the community have done a lot of work to make that uh an opportunity space for the future.

But um I do think that the suggestions of um re-investigating our ethics and an ethics policy is a good one.

And um I would love to also meet with um the folks in the room.

I haven't gotten a specific request for that, but um know that I'm I'm open to having that conversation, and uh would be curious to know whether an ethics policy is something that um would come from the city or come from students at MSU, and uh yeah, that's that's a conversation I'm interested in participating in.

So I'll I'll pass on.

Deputy Mayor.

Yeah, thank you.

I I um you know, I share a lot of what what Commissioner Bodhi said here.

I I'm also sitting here worried about you know the militarization of our society, of our economy.

Um and uh like I say, I admire that the uh the pinch point um the students against genocide has identified, right?

We we could send a really strong message to university by saying no to this budget.

Um my concern is that is that we would also create a lot of ripples through a lot of parts of this town that that um help uh both society and help our community.

You know, my role is as a commissioner is to provide predictability to ensure that our processes are legit and to make sure all our voices are heard.

Um, and there are many tenants on that campus that uh that are working really hard to um, you know, that are both building our community and and building um a future.

I mean, part of some of our we've we've we've made a long-term plan to support the photonics and the optics industries, and part of that has produced a company like Bridger Photonics, which which invented the technology that allowed us to use LIDAR to to detect methane leaks and attach those to drones that we could then fly over um oil fields and and production facilities to get data that we just don't have about climate changing uh greenhouse gases.

So we say no to this.

Um that produces from my perspective a ton of you know of unpredictability in these agreements that we rely on to build the infrastructure that a city of 60,000 people need.

So this is yes, we could send a huge message by voting no against on this.

We would also send a huge message out to um to our um larger community um and create a lot of uncertainty and a lot of unintended consequences that would reverberate for years.

So, like Commissioner Bode here, um uh, you know, I would I would support further engagement and talking with with you know the groups um that are concerned about this.

I uh I don't want to get too wrapped up in an ethics, you know, citywide ethics statement, but I'm I'm interested to explore some other options.

But uh you know, I want to I'm going to support this budget tonight.

Commissioner Sweeney.

Thank you.

Um for once I agree with Deputy Mayor Fisher that the ripple effect of saying no to this is too risky.

But I want to say to everyone in the room, please keep the pressure on the MSU alumni foundation and the innovation campus and whoever has authority over the tenants uh there.

I'm really glad the mayor is willing to meet with you guys.

And Commissioner Bodie as well.

You know, if if we had a sort of town and gown board, this is the kind of thing that we could maybe work on this leverage with MSU.

But you know, it sounds like this is not our realm of authority, and that doesn't mean the work is not important and worth doing, so please persevere.

Commissioner Magic.

Yeah, thanks, Mayor.

I agree with all of my health commissioners, and I won't go into it.

Because you guys all stated it really well.

Really appreciate the comments tonight.

Thank you.

Yeah, this is a I uh for much of my time on the commission bemoaned uh the the direction and the defense focus of uh of our innovation campus, knowing that there's only so much leverage and authority that we have.

There's a lot of overlapping components that are playing a role here.

There's the state government, there's federal government that apply grants and support.

There's our tech hub designation that um plays a role in all of this.

There's the relationship between the city with the university and the alumni foundation that's a private entity, um, that leads to us that you know uh in, you know, no uncertain terms.

You know, this is a this is this is the machinations of of a military-industrial complex that's been deepening for a very long time to defend its ability to you know skirt regulation skirt authority.

Um that to say, yes, what's in front of us here um to me is is not something that we have the levity or that the space, the opportunity to deny, um, on the the basis alone of um a tenant of a building on the innovation campus.

However, um I I'm happy to commit and I'm I suspect there's some appetite from the uh others on the commission to figure out what is a way, not only from our side but from the city side, but to sit down and and to um join in in pressure in in some pressure.

You know, this is not this is not just an MSU student issue.

This is an issue that can constituents have called me about since basically the first day I got on the job of you know, before Engine Works was even a building of folks saying what's gonna go there, who's there, who, you know.

They don't tell us, you know, that's not part of uh this agreement.

They don't have to report to us who's interested, who is working there, what kind of work is being done there.

Um, and that's been a sore spot for me since I've since I've been up here and since I've been watching the commission.

Um, knowing that yeah, the the guardrails are intentionally limited for our ability to to um exert control here.

Um we you know we we have individual roles and opportunities and relationships within the community, and and and I hope that we um are willing to explore how we can use those to you know yeah, express, which I think is part of our job to express the concerns of our constituents on what's being being built in our community um and what that that impact is.

Mr.

Newby, would you poll the commission?

Commissioner Boddy.

Aye, Deputy Mayor Fisher.

Aye.

Commissioner Sweeney.

Aye, Commissioner Magic.

Mayor Morrison.

Aye.

Motion passes five to zero.

Um we have two more.

Three more, three more, three more.

Next urban renewal boards for us.

Urban park renewal district, fiscal year 2026 annual report, fiscal year 2027 work plan and budget.

Fiscal year 2028 work plan and budget.

Mr.

Fine again.

Thank you, city manager.

Mayor and commission.

Um the North Park Urban Renewal District uh comprises um a significant amount of our current supply of vacant industrially zoned land in the city.

It's intended to be a rail-served industrial park, and the goal is um for that area to to make us keep some of those industrial jobs in the community so that because I think otherwise real estate market economics would push many of those jobs out of the community ultimately.

Um so right now we we have a district here.

We're expecting there's gonna be a significant infrastructure lift, particularly related to um kind of that's west southwest side of the park.

Um but just based on real estate market conditions, we haven't seen it yet.

So uh right now we're just suggesting keeping the money appropriated and the opportunity we have an opportunity can respond to one of those things, but we'll we'll be back in front of the advisory board and you and if one of them comes in.

I would be happy to take your questions.

Any questions for Mr.

Fine?

So just to confirm this is essential a continuation of a placeholder.

Is that yes?

I mean it it basically says we can we could spend this money on bonding or professional services to advance a development agreement if one comes in.

Any other questions?

Commissioner Boney?

Okay.

Um we'll open this up for public comment.

Any public comment in the room on the North Park TIP district?

Second request for a comment in the room and final request in the room.

Mr.

Newby, are we seeing any requests online?

Mayor Morrison, we are not.

All right, we'll bring it up here for a commission motion discussion and vote.

Deputy Mayor.

I'll just be excited to see this take off at some point.

Um but here we are.

Uh I'll I'll approve this.

Can you help us out with the motion?

Oh yes.

I love that you gave us your opinion.

I'm ready to go.

I move to approve the fiscal year 2027 work plan and budget and fiscal year 28 work plan and budget for the North Park Urban Renewal District Estimated.

Second.

Great.

It's been moved and seconded.

I've already spoken to it, so excellent.

Commissioner Sweeney.

Same.

Decided, no further comments.

Okay, I have nothing to add either.

Mr.

Duby.

Deputy Mayor Fisher.

Aye.

Commissioner Sweeney.

Aye.

Commissioner Magic.

Aye.

Commissioner Bowden.

Aye.

Mayor Morrison.

Aye.

Alright, we got through North Park now on or onto pole yard.

Yep.

Thank you.

I almost hybridized pole park.

Pole yard urban renewal district, fiscal year 2026 annual report.

Fiscal year 2027 work plan and budget and fiscal year 2028 work plan and budget.

By now he needs no introduction.

Mr.

Fine.

Um, Mayor and Commission, the Pole Yard Urban Renewal District.

Um is mostly located uh in the site of the current Simpkins Lumberyard and north of the railroad tracks in Bozeman.

Um portions of the site are a partially uh delisted super fund site from uh pole contamination.

Uh however, the the whole area is zoned industrial, and there's, you know, plans in place for future cleanup.

Um we're hoping to see the redevelopment of this area, um, which has not occurred yet, but we we remain hopeful for it.

Um the values of this area have increased significantly since we um since we did this, and so um the the first project we've been planning for for a long time working with uh BNSF Railray is to implement a quiet zone um project.

We we don't know exactly what it's gonna cost.

It's been several years since we got the first cost estimate for the quiet zone.

So I I think it will cost less than this, but we're essentially putting all the gas in the tank and hoping to get it across the finish line.

You'll see the contract if uh if if those come forward, but that's that's really our ideas for spending at this point in uh in this district.

Um, and their uh other general as as with the previous conversation could be if a development agreement came in and we had funding available, we could bring that to you and you could entertain it.

Any questions for staff on this one?

I think we're at Commissioner Sweeney.

We'll start.

Oh, you're uh I'm not gonna.

I don't even know who how that's decided.

So it's just I decide.

This chair.

Thank you.

I do have a few questions about this one, actually.

Um, so okay, I think I saw on your introduction slide.

The poll yard was created in 2017, the district.

Um poll.

2020.

2020, urban renewal district.

Okay.

Um has there been any development of either infrastructure or construction projects in the area since that was created?

No, we we've seen an um we've seen some infrastructure planning documents, we've seen I think uh um informal site plan application or two.

Um I do know that there's um planned discussion of redevelopment of the Simpkin's lumber yard because they are moving and expanding their operation to the new railspur in the polyard district, which leaves I think uh 14 acres in the um pole yard.

They're moving to North Park, leaving acreage in the pull yard.

Okay, so that means this entire increment is attributable to the market value of the land increasing alone, yes, yeah.

Um, and I'm gonna come back and say the thing that I always say about urban renewal is that you know the general fund is struggling to adequately pay for basic services like fire and police, and as a municipality, our only um income source is property tax revenue.

Has there been any talk of remitting any of this increment back to the general fund?

That's a great conversation for the commission.

Okay.

And then I have a couple questions about the uh quiet zone infrastructure stuff.

Um I mean, as a human, I have concerns about a quiet train.

I think a quiet train is never safer than a train that blows its horn.

So I am worried about potential fatalities from a commissioner perspective.

If the increment is used to pay for the quiet zone improvements necessary for the Rouse Avenue crossing, does that change the liability of the city if there was a fatality?

Can you ask it again?

I'm sorry, yes, so um if the tax increment is used to pay for the quiet zone improvements, necessary for the Rouse Avenue crossing.

Does that change the liability for the city if a fatality were to occur because of a quiet train?

Simply because increment was used to pay for the improvements.

Um my instinct is no.

Liability would attach to the design in the construction efforts, and I'm assuming that because it's a rare required zone that any of that work happens through BNSF, and they're approving the design.

Some of it they they do all the stuff related to the tracks, but we would do the civil sorts of things like installing the raised median or the if you want to see like what a quiet zone improvement looks like, we did it, did it for Griffin.

So it would be basically that, but here.

Okay, so the answer is not because of the funding source, but the design of whether it's in the against the tracks or outside of the tracks.

Possibly, if that's a city run project, but the way we handle every city-run project is we transfer the liability of the work to the engineering firm and to the contractor, and then require them not only to indemnify the city, but also then to back that indemnity up with adequate insurance.

Okay.

And that's played that.

I mean, we could talk at some point.

That's played out quite a bit through our through the how the city does public infrastructure work where the claim comes against the city, we look back at the original contract and we see indemnity, and then we go find the insurance document, and then we tender it to the insurer, and then they have a legal obligation to provide defense indemnity through that insuring agreement, and the city's liability is covered that way.

Excellent, thank you.

Um and then I have some more questions about the the physical infrastructure of the quiet zone.

Um so the request what is required to make a train be quiet, is based on population and use of the zone.

Is that correct?

So I think probably the best way to answer this question is back in 2020 when we started this process.

We did a an analysis and did a walkthrough with Federal Road Administration and other sorts of people.

I can I'm happy to have the city manager provide that to the commission.

And I think it would answer a lot of your more technical questions.

In this case, the option solution we chose is that you do a raised median that goes to the end of the gate arm.

So essentially there's bells, there's gate, there's flashing lights, and there's now a median that keeps you from driving around the gate when it's lowered.

Um we also add pedestrian gates.

Like, so we'd be in this case, part of the reason it's so expensive is there's a bike lane now.

We'd be pulling the bike lane out to go around, and now there's going to be pedestrian like dedicated pedestrian gates and like safe access gates around that.

So you just we we built Griffin, we were at the right pace in the process to just add it to the Griffin project, and then we'd be adding it to this crossing and to the um wallace crossing.

Okay.

So I'm not as concerned about understanding what it physically looks like.

What I'm concerned about is the process of like, say, you know, the infrastructure is installed for a quiet zone to move forward, but then we see a huge increase in population of people, right?

Because we we're thinking the pole yard is gonna be redeveloped into mixed-use housing, all kinds of things, and then you know, suddenly are we not compliant for this increased level of population and use, and the horn has to come back on after we spade up spent all this money.

Like how is that?

I I I think the short answer is I don't know.

The the more nuanced answer of what I do know is that basically right now the train has to blow the horn every time it goes across a crossing.

That's the federal regulation.

In order to not be allowed to have to blow the horn every time, and they can still blow it if they see someone on the tracks, right?

They can still blow it if someone if they see someone near the tracks.

I mean, the engineer still has discretion to blow the horn if they have a reason for it, but in general, they don't have to.

Um, and they don't have to because they're making these safety um upgrades to the crossings, and this is um the recommended safety upgrade.

It ranked as one of the cheaper and more effective ones in from the list of options.

Okay, thank you.

That is all my questions about this.

I think I'm gonna have to do some more digging.

Commissioner Magic.

My question was answered.

Thanks.

Commissioner Bodie.

Yeah, I um curious where the taxing commitment is coming for this quiet zone improvement.

I think you showed us like a completely undeveloped yard.

Um, is that taxing commitment coming purely from the like vacant land?

Well, not all the land is vacant.

Like I said, the Simpkins property is in the district.

Um, the state has made changes to the tax structure.

Um the other thing that happens in these districts, and it's like an important thing to note, is that um this district has centrally assessed property in it, so it.

So namely the railroad assets, and um, those can vary dramatically from year to year because these larger corporate folks will contest their taxes and then withhold their taxes.

So it can be feasted famine.

Some years you get a big amount, sometimes you get a lesser round.

I don't know I don't know if you have to get it back.

I'm not quite sure.

Centrally assessed property is a bit of a mystery to me.

But that is is an issue for my colleagues in other places where they they have those features.

The railroad itself is something that the city of Bozeman gets property taxes.

Well, okay, all right, great.

Thank you.

That's my only question.

Deputy Mayor.

I have no questions either.

Um I guess we'll move on to public comment on this item.

Any public comments in the room on the polyard TIFF district.

Good evening.

Good evening again.

Emily Telegro Bozeman resident, uh, thanks to your consideration for the midtown action plan earlier.

Um so some of you may know, but maybe some of you don't.

My uh my baby brother is a safety manager with a railroad.

He worked for CN, he worked for uh Union Pacific, then he got poached by North or what was it?

Uh Burlington Northern, then he got pushed by North Fork Southern.

So that's where he's they pulled him on when they had the massive, massive derailment to uh clean up.

So that's what he does.

Um I also know the toll it's taken on him when he has to go to places after there's been an accident.

Uh and so there is, if you look at any national any of the railroads, um, their official position on quiet road crossings is that they're against them.

They will work with municipalities to do it.

Um I'm not so the things that I do know about it, it's not so much it's about the compliance and staying in compliance.

When you create a quiet crossing, the railroad loses all liability, that liability then goes on to the city.

That liability doesn't, as long as you're compliant with the design.

Typically your insurance rates are okay.

Um, but if it's when they do an inspection, if they find that you're now out of compliance because the design requirements have changed because your population has changed or traffic has changed.

Um there's a town in Michigan, actually northern Michigan, that it it the insurance rate change was threatening to make the community insolvent, actually.

So um, you know, it's it's not a proud thing for us that I think Gallatin County has been said that we're the drunkest county in the nation at one point.

Um so we got some work to do there.

But uh it it this can all be simplified too by the fact that based on the conversation up here, that money should technically be in the general fund because it's not tied to any improvement project that's happened.

So that can just end the conversation that way.

Um, but but I think it would be great for the public.

I know there's been people from Nina actually working on this for quite a bit, so so they may have some more information to share about like it's very likely they've looked into this longer-term liability responsibility for maintaining a quiet zone.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Any further public comment requests in the room?

Second request in the room.

Mr.

Newby, are we seeing any public comment requests online?

Mayor Morrison, I see none.

Okay, we'll close the public comment portion of this item and bring it up here for commission motion discussion and vote.

Um, Commissioner Sweeney, do you have the motion language in front of you?

Yes.

Um I move to approve the fiscal year 2027 work plan and budget and fiscal year 2028 work plan and budget for the pole yard urban renewal district.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded.

Commissioner Sweeney, would you like to speak to your motion?

I like the idea of taking the increment and putting it back in the general fund, but I'm guessing none of my colleagues like that.

So um yeah, I'll I'll do some more research on this quiet zone situation and compliance, and you know if we spend all this money and then we get out of compliance.

Anyway, I'll do that on my own.

I'm prepared to support this budget.

And I'm gonna support it as well.

Um I've been excited about seeing a quiet zone.

We've been making little baby steps towards it.

So yeah.

Thank you.

Commissioner Bodie.

Yeah, thanks.

I I appreciate the the sentiment about um yeah, just being really strategic with our general fund dollars.

And um I I do think we've done a lot of community engagement around this quiet zone um conversation.

And while the community is not unanimous, as it often is not, um, I do think there is um majority or you know, more than half support for for this quiet zone effort.

Um, something that we've been steadily working towards for a long time, and uh I I appreciate the concern around what liability this could could bring, and I think that's um something that's really important for us to consider as as we move forward with um building this out, and I think that's why we're doing the traffic study and the design.

And so I'll just be um watching closely as we implement to um yeah, do everything in our power to avoid a situation where we're we're liable.

Um that's you know, secondary to avoiding the situation where where there's a fatality because of this decision.

So with that, I'll be supporting the motion.

Deputy Mayor.

Yeah, um, you know, I just uh wish we had a pitch point to bring BNSF to the table to help pay for some of this or to you know change some of these rules around railroads, but we don't.

Um I I uh I get the notion that this should be in the maybe should be in the general fund, it's just a general uh there's been no you know real activity there.

But but we're I think lost in this is that this quiet crossing is something that benefits the community.

It's public infrastructure, it's all we're all gonna, you know, we we benefit from this in terms of acquired community, um, which I you know a good portion of our our community has has been asking us to look into.

Um so I'll I'll just I'll support this.

I'll be curious to see how long this this costs and and how long this takes to get out of the ground.

Thank you.

I've uh nothing nothing further to add.

I you know, we could have entertained I guess you know louder zones.

Is it is this make it is it if it's louder, is it safer?

It just has to horn from from the hit from the edge of city limits until it leaves city limits.

Mr.

Debbie, would you pull the commission?

Commissioner Sweeney.

Aye.

Commissioner Magic.

Aye, Commissioner Boney.

Aye, Deputy Mayor Fisher.

Aye, Mayor Morrison.

Aye.

The polyard.

Budget and work plan is approved.

Five to zero.

Thank you, Mayor.

Next and last on the agenda tonight is the Northeast Urban Renewal District Fiscal Year 2026.

Annual report to fiscal year 2027 work plan and budget and fiscal year 2028 work plan and budget.

Mr.

Fine.

Just just so we don't have to interrupt you.

I'm gonna extend the meeting until 10 30.

Great.

Thank you.

Um, so uh the this is the Northeast Urban Renewal District work plan and budget.

Um we have our own kind of internal share of the quiet zone project within within the Northeast district.

This is for the Wallace Crossing.

Um as part of that, there's construction costs as well as purchasing the an easement for Wallace Avenue.

Um currently there is no easement for the crossing at Wallace Avenue, so we're uh happy to preserve that that access there uh through this project.

Um we also did outreach uh to the Northeast uh neighborhood association as part of this, and they were able to discuss things they'd like to see in their neighborhood at their meeting.

Um, the tree program is is one of these things.

Um, they'd like to see us find opportunities to plant more trees in the neighborhood.

This does run into one of the other goals of the districts, which is undergrounding power lines where possible.

We don't really have a good source of money for that, but we will explore wherever we can plant trees under power lines in a safe manner with the appropriate species.

Um, there's also gas lines where we could pant trees, so this might be a lot of engineering survey for not a lot of trees, but we're gonna do our best because the neighbors asked.

Um, the uh church street right-of-way improvements.

We're basically there's church street right-of-way along um Bozeman Creek, um, I think it's part of uh this district's commitment to the creek.

We've already have a pedestrian bridge in the creek in the creek area.

We're gonna try to explore opportunities with adjacent property owners and within the right of way to provide better and different access to the creek as well as upgrade infrastructure, just street curb gutter, those kinds of things in that area.

So we'll we'll be doing some some neighborhood outreach.

We're not exactly sure what the project is, so we'll be doing some charreds and iteration and see where it leads us.

Um, and then we we've allowed for for half a million dollars construction cost based on what the project ultimately becomes in in fiscal year 28.

Um, I will just point out that fiscal year 28, it it is difficult based on how some of these projects evolved.

You know, it it's as likely as not when we do our mandatory work plan update next year that we'll have new things to report.

So we'll we'll see how that goes.

Um we also have um in fiscal year 28 where we uh we'll have bonding costs related to to Bozeman Yards.

Uh we're expecting as well as um reimbursement for the Wallace Works project.

So um the Wallace Works Project has a development agreement there, it's a mixed use building there at the corner of Tamarack and Wallace.

Um that project is being reimbursed through a paygo structure.

So we are doing our best to project how much tax they're going to pay and what our obligations under paygo would be.

But it's it's one of these things.

If the money doesn't, if they don't pay the tax, they don't get the money.

Um, and so with that I'd I'd take any questions you have.

Thank you, Commissioner Magic.

Thanks, Mayor.

Um, David, the only question I have is the wallace uh removing the traffic calming device.

This kind of goes against everything we've been talking about, and I can't quite imagine what that device is.

So the um as part of our community engagement, the neighborhood told us they were very irritated by the traffic calming device that was at the corner there of um Wallace and Tamarack.

There's a little pinned down curb island in the middle of the street.

And I think I think I remember pretty clearly um because it was like one of my first exciting things of the city when we did the Wallace Avenue reconstruction, and they were asking for a lot of traffic calming.

And I think what's happened since then is we have what I call naturally occurring traffic calming, namely parked cars on Wallace, going to the many businesses in the Northeast neighborhood.

And I think the result there is that maybe people are feeling it's calm if not congested.

And so um public works is able to go out there and pull it up.

It was easy and it didn't cost us any money.

So we delivered for the neighborhood.

Appreciate it.

Thanks, Mayor.

Commissioner Body, any questions for staff?

I don't think I do.

Thank you.

Deputy Mayor, Commissioner Sweeney.

I don't know.

I don't have any questions.

Okay, we will close the question portion and open up for public comment.

Any public comment in the room this evening?

Mr.

Newby, are we seeing any public comment requests online?

No, Mayor Morrison, we are not.

Okay.

We will close the public comment portion, bring it up here for a motion discussion and vote.

Are we to Deputy Mayor?

Commissioner Magic.

It's my turn.

I mean, do you approve the fiscal year 2027 work plan and budget and fiscal year 2028 work plan and budget for the Northeast Urban Renewal District has mended.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded.

Would you like to speak to your motion?

Yeah.

I'm gonna try to get this before 10 o'clock.

Let's try to make it.

I'm gonna support the motion.

Um, thank you very much for working with the Northeast Neighborhood Association.

It's great to see the addition of trees, uh, removing the quiet zone, just kind of tending to some of the things.

They're they're an active neighborhood group.

And so I really like to see them integrate in some of these to sit shows.

Commissioner Bowdy.

Okay.

Yeah, um, I'm also excited to support and we'll join Commissioner Magic in that support.

And um just want to lift up the emphasis on trees.

I was really excited to see the church street right-of-way um effort to improve creek access to to Bozeman Creek.

I think that's something that the neighborhood has asked for and identified, and I I just see the the neighborhood's fingerprints all over this, um, which is really great.

And um, I I think it's yeah, really exciting to see a plan that's kind of taking into account some of the suggestions that the neighbors have asked for.

So, yeah, likewise, I'm also very happy to see neighborhood fingerprints all over this, and so I'm gonna support it.

Commissioner Sweeney.

Thank you.

Yes, uh, the fact that we have no one in the room from the Northeast Neighborhood Association either means that they have been beaten into submission or they love this plan.

So one thing I am gonna elevate for this body right now is some of the nuanced conversation that went into this work plan at the board.

Um the neighborhood is really interested.

So church street, I think it's church street, does not continue north of Tamarack, but that trail that that stream access, Bozeman Creek, continues north of Tamarack, and um the neighborhood is very interested in either some sort of funding, TIF TIFF dollars or in conjunction with the Bozeman Creek effort to um have a natural, a more natural area along that stretch of Bozeman Creek that is north of Tamarak rather than an alleyway and a fully paved and heart, you know.

They they do want to see it be more natural, and so I appreciate all the work that um David and the department has done to work with Nina, and I know it'll continue, and so um you know there's there's more conversation to be had there.

Um, but yeah, I'll support this.

Great.

Um I have very little to add.

Um, grateful to support it.

Um I've appreciated yeah, seeing the revitalized efforts of of Nina and their their influence in this, um, and would agree absolutely all the parked cars, you know, enormously traffic calming.

They're calming in general, you know.

If I'm stressed out, I just take a few drags down Wallace between 7 and 10 a.m.

Wow, what a therapeutic experience.

Just rolling up and down the street a few times.

Mr.

Newby, would you pull the commission?

Commissioner Magic.

Commissioner Boney.

Aye, Deputy Mayor Fisher.

Commissioner Sweeney.

Hi.

Mayor Morrison.

Aye.

Midtown Urban or Northeast Neighborhood, Northeast Urban Renewal District budget north plan is approved five to zero.

We have no further action items before us.

Is there any FYI from the commission this evening?

I just want to reflect that.

I've sat through a number of these meetings, both sitting in the chair and now up here, where we go over all the urban renewal districts.

And I would, you know, under a number of different mayors, and perhaps Commissioner Magic, you also have been here, but a lot of them have been kind of performative.

And this one felt really um meaty for various reasons.

And and I just um I also learned two new terms, you know, naturally occurring parking and and therapeutic uh parking.

So uh I just but I do appreciate the the community discussion and um we got a chance to really look at a lot of investments into a lot of different neighborhoods.

I mean, we get beat up for TIFFs, but what I saw tonight was a lot of investment in public infrastructure in a lot of our neighborhoods where we where we you know need some attention.

So thank thank you.

Thank you.

Any more f any further FYI?

Um I just want to extend.

Oh, did you have did staff have an FYI?

Okay, I'll go, I'll I'll go first.

Uh just wanting to appreciate staff.

Um, a lot of, you know, this is the the David Fine show this evening, but there were other staff who were here.

You know, our our economic development director was here um in case any questions were directed that that David could answer.

Um Chris Saunders was here.

Um he had no items on the agenda, uh, but he was here anyway.

Uh after spending years of um significant investment in this room, he was here nonetheless, and and that's um that's not nothing.

And just wanting to appreciate staff, and I know that there are staff that tune in and watch um in real time as we're going um and appreciate them as well.

Thank you for saying that, Mayor.

I did want to express my um personal professional gratitude to David particularly, but to the whole economic development department.

When there are questions of about TIFF across Montana, the first person they call is David.

We have an enormous amount of um organizational institutional knowledge, expertise in that, and TIFS are controversial, no doubt about it.

But our TIFFs are doing some amazing work for our community, and having the commission understand that your participation is how we build trust again in or continue to build trust in our community.

So it's amazing to work with the team that we have here in Bozeman.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um seeing no further business to come before the Bozin City Commission, this meeting is adjourned.

Goodbye.