So give me back my studio.

You can have it.

I can't get it to work.

Is yours working?

Let me see yours for a second.

Maybe my batteries just I can't get to work at all.

Commissioner Healy, I just gotta have you check in, please.

I'll bring the Butte Silver Bow Council of Commissioners, Committee of the Whole Meeting to Order for Wednesday, September 24th.

Uh can I please have a roll call?

One presiding, seven present, four absent.

Okay, please let the record reflect that Commissioner Shea, Walker, Mankins, and O'Leary are excused.

Commissioner Thatcher, can you lead us in the prayer and the pledge?

Almighty God, we implore you.

Look upon us and guide us this night as we make decisions which so greatly affect our community of Butte Silverbow.

Direct our thoughts, words, and deeds so that we please you and best serve our fellow citizens.

Amen.

Next item on tonight's agenda is any public comment on any items on tonight's agenda.

If there's any member of the public that would like to speak on any item that is on the agenda tonight, now would be your opportunity.

Okay.

Seeing none, I'll move on to the report of the chair.

Um I don't have anything to report tonight, so I'll move right into section one, bid openings, public hearings, and or presentations.

We do have a couple of presentations tonight.

Number one, communication 2025-459.

Stephanie Feast Feist.

Thank you.

Um excuse my uh small cold that I have this morning.

Um I believe you have a um a short notice from me and then an invoice related to our ongoing relationship.

But also you would have received um the what I call a general impact statement.

It looks like this.

Um it just talks about the different things that we do.

But specific to the pool, in addition to what relates to the pool on that side.

Um just this evening we passed out something that has a swimmer like this on it.

So you've got two documents that talk about statistical stuff in general terms.

Um what I'd like to point out that's not on the general impact statement, is we bring roughly 1900 athletes from outside the Butte Silver Bowl area to come and compete in swim meets here.

That brings in revenue related to hotel space and restaurants.

Some of those meets span over two days, so likelihood of one to two nights versus just one night stay.

An additional use also beyond the Fritz Apostle third grade learn to swim.

Each spring six to seven elementary school use us for their year-end field trip.

This also extends to people living in the White Hall, Ramsey, Sheridan, Drummond areas.

So we truly do have uh outreach that goes beyond and comes back into our community to serve all of Silverbow area.

People actually travel from as far as an hour away to come and make use of the aquatic center that was built roughly um 25 years ago and supported by a bond by the Butte Silverbow area.

We also provide a location for a local scuba and deep water rescue group to train.

And within this past year, we've had the naval reserves in our aquatic center doing training.

The rest of it is kind of in those stats.

I don't like to read stuff that people can obviously read themselves.

I've certainly made myself available for any questions you might have related to the YMCA.

We are very proud of our Fritz Apostle Learn to Swim, bringing in every single third grader from in the Butte district from Butte School District number one as well as Central, and we are trying to work out something with Ramsey on transportation, but also our active teens program, which brings in every sixth grader from the Butte School District number one central, and then again we're trying to reach out and figure out transportation beyond Butte.

I would like to say that without the support of Butte Silverbow and what's been ongoing for the last 20 plus years, we wouldn't be able to keep our aquatic center open and maintained in the direction it is.

I've been um a proud resident of the Butte Silverbow area for two and a half years, and within that time, we've spent the 42,000 dollars on repairs each year that I've been here and just completed some this fall.

I'm open to any questions that anyone might have.

Thank you, Ms.

Feist.

Um I just want to thank you and your group for what you guys do for this community.

I know there's a lot of children, adults that utilize your facility, and it's always good to see that we still have that going on in our community.

So thank you for that.

Um just some information for the council.

So this communication that's before us tonight is is kind of in two parts.

One part um is the request to do the presentation as we just had, and then the second request is that um there's a copy of an invoice for 42,000 that Ms.

Feist would like this council to accept.

And so just procedurally, just so everybody's aware, this first section is just the presentation, and then later on in the agenda is where we would you know confirm or deny the the invoice later tonight.

So just so you know we won't be taking a vote on this particular item on the agenda until later in the agenda.

So um at this time I would just open up um for any questions or comments that the commissioners might have.

Uh Commissioner Callahan.

Thank you, Chair Boborgan.

I want to also thank you for what you guys do.

Um without the YMCA and all you do for the young children in our community, we'd be at a loss.

So we really appreciate what you do.

But I also would like maybe you could explain what the Fritz Apostle Scholarship is about.

Oh, Ms.

Feist.

Certainly.

Um thank you, Chairman.

Um what I understand the Fritz Apostle family is local to the Butte area.

And the story I've been told is that um generations ago, perhaps, when a part of the family was coming over to Ellis Island, one of the family members fell in and was um positioned between the boat and the dock.

And if um they were rescued, thank you, uh, or thank goodness.

Um, but that gave them the passion to help make sure that generations as they went on learned to swim in some regard.

So every third grader from the Butte School District number one in Central comes into our facility two days in the spring, each class comes to us, and we teach two days worth of swim water safety, because no one could learn to swim in two days, correct.

But we actually put them in a um in a boat with a life jacket on, tump it, and then they learn to self-rescue out from under the boat, which is a very advantageous skill to have here in Montana.

And then also those that have absolutely no swimming ability.

The thought process is if we can teach them to float until someone can come and rescue them, then um that's advantageous skill to have as well.

And they also go into where the slide area is and learn what rushing water feels like and how to self-write.

Um we're working with um at one point uh the water rescue here in town, Swift Water Rescue, had reached out and we're seeking to bring them in perhaps with scuba gear and such so that the kids could be used to if someone was coming to rescue them, much like a firefighter in smoke, that they're a good person to help them, not Darth Vader coming through.

So follow-up, Commissioner Kelly.

Thank you.

I just wanted to give Mr.

Apostle some recognition because he's done great things for our community.

He was also involved in the uh Butte Ski Club that ran Beef Trail Ski Area.

And when they sold that property up there, they turned that into scholarships for the students to be able to go up to Discovery and get ski lessons as well.

Yes.

They've been supportive over the last several years.

I think within this last year, um, they're coming to the fact where they have to choose between skiing and the in the water.

But we're continuing on with that particular program and are currently seeking out other funding to help subsidize it.

Um but the why will stand behind this program regardless.

Great.

Thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner Callahan.

Any other questions or comments?

All right.

Seeing none, thank you very much.

Thank you.

All right.

Moving on to number two, communication 2025-466.

Kelly Hazlet, Tibbet, Executive Secretary requesting council of commissioners authorization to schedule a presentation on September 24th, 2025, regarding the Butte Silver Boat Tourism Business Improvement District, Tibbid, uh work plan and budget, and schedule a public hearing on October 1st, 2025.

Ms.

Hazlet.

Hello, Commissioners.

Uh I have had Barb pass around a handout.

I just want to take note of this so you're equipped to understand how tourism affects butte before we go into my presentation.

Uh the 2024 Montana Travel Industry Flyer explains that there are 13.7 million visitors that come into Montana and spend five billion dollars.

So how does this affect us?

Sixty-eight hundred well sixty-eight hundred well, no, six hundred and eighty uh average tax burden reduced on every Montana household by tourism.

That's an important number for you to know.

Every household in Butte receives six hundred and eighty dollars of property tax relief from tourism.

I would like to also direct you to the last two handouts.

One has the overnight residence overnight visitor profile, along with uh so one is for 2023-2024, the other one's 22 uh 23.

Uh there are 3.2 million people that drive through Butte, Montana every year.

This is done through ITRR, which is our um research arm at the University of Montana.

So that explains a lot why tourism is important to Butte, but how do we get the 3.2 million people off the road?

We have to do events, we have to bring them into our little town, and that's what the tourism bureau improvement district does.

Um forgot that remember everything else but the clicker.

So, what does the TBID do?

Um what we do is we're there are board of hoteliers uh designate designees that meet every month.

Um we boost, well, every quarter, uh, to boost lodging occupatency and to increase average daily rate.

Um we encourage overnight stays through September through May, which is our low tourism times.

Uh we support new events in gaining traction, provide promotional funding for existing of new and existing events like folk festival.

Uh funds may not be used for brick and mortar projects, and the grant applications are required for funding all projects.

So, what does that mean in numbers?

So this year we went from having a dollar for about half the year and then moving into two dollars in May.

What that means is that we'll receive around $395,000 this coming um January.

What we'd like to do with the money is the following.

Um we pay six six sixty-five thousand dollars for my position.

That's goes in half with the state of Montana for the center uh convention and visitors bureau.

Uh then we pay for grants for events and tournaments at $35,000, meetings and groups, that's 20% of the budget at 20,000, leisures 30 percent at 40,000, festivals at 65,000, and special products projects at 50,000.

Now we have to maintain a balance of 25,000 at at that time.

We're also planning on doing community marketing to help all of our business and local visitors, locals have marketing materials to hand out or send to their families, whether it be social media, um pictures of uh events or uh drone footage.

Those are our current focuses by the TBID.

And thank you so much for your time.

Does anybody have any questions?

Thank you, Ms.

Hazlet for the uh presentation tonight.

Is there any commissioners that have any questions?

Commissioner Callahan.

I just thank you, Chairman Morgan.

I just want to comment and thank you guys for number one.

You know, as long as I've been on the council, we've been trying to get you to boost it up to $2 and finally give it in this year and do that for the community.

We appreciate it.

Uh I think uh it's as you showed us tonight, it's a huge benefit for the whole state of Montana and everybody in the the receives some of those monies.

And like you said, just pointing out the tax break people get because of tourism is huge.

My other question would be though one of the biggest complaints I have about you guys' deal is your application is tough to maneuver.

You know, there's things on there that some people just I think one of the biggest questions is you have to you have to be specific on how many bids you people you can put in bids for your event.

Most people say, you know, without reaching to the stars, how can you come up with that answer?

So I I would appreciate it if you guys would maybe look into how that's addressed or we have.

Oh great.

Thank you, Commissioner.

Um it's $20 times times one hotel bed.

Um so if you have two hotel beds, it's $40.

Um we do work with the organizations, they call me and we work out um what possibly the estimate might be for their heads and beds, and then we bring that to the council.

Commissioner Callahan.

I think their concern is though, when you ask the question on the application, you know, how do they know how many people are gonna stay in a motel when they're applying for this money?

So I think that's where they struggle the most.

Yes, Ms.

Hazlet.

And we're aware.

Umfortunately, there's no we are working on it.

The the problem is is working with the hoteliers and being able to put in a code for events, and there seems to be some pushback on that.

Um I think that if events were more forthcoming in early on about finding out about how many heads and beds they might see during that time.

Uh we could work with the hoteliers to get that number um more exact.

But until events start contacting their hoteliers, my hands are tied.

I can just work with them on an estimated number.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

Ms.

Hazlet, uh I guess I would follow up with a question as well with that.

In regards to that grant application, how much weight is added to that specific question?

Meaning, are people penalized if they say, hey, I'm gonna just throw, I'm gonna put a hundred heads in beds, and it ends up being 20.

I mean, what's the what's the weight on it?

It would probably be 20 to 30 percent.

Uh we do weight that considerably, but we also talk to the person throughout the application process and say, is do you think this is really uh realistic estimate?

And are it and how much do you think you know you would really need?

So we've discussed this with different um entities, and you know, they can put in 300 rooms, and we're like, well, that's not really feasible.

We appreciate you doing that.

Let's talk about maybe having that, and what do you think about having 20 times 150 rooms, which equals anybody good with math?

We're not in math class tonight, Ms.

Hazlet.

Commissioner Morgan, it is always math class.

So take a hundred rooms, times it by 20, it's two thousand.

So they would be up eligible for two thousand dollars worth of the grant.

Now, once again, we don't do brick and mortar.

This is all marketing and supporting that.

So when people come in and ask us, would you like could we could we possibly do this?

And we're like, we can't give you anything brick and mortar, um, which has been uh still it's still an issue.

However, we continue to try to say, well, you can apply for this grant or this grant, um, but to go before our board, we have to table you.

So uh we are are trying to work on the grant application being clearer that it's only for marketing and again clearer on how to do the math, Commissioner Callahan.

So then one last follow-up on that is the actual application itself.

I know in the past you've had like a window that's open that people can go through and uh and ask for the funding, just so the public, if they're listening, what are those windows and when can people apply for this this funding?

Uh our next application will be open on January 1st and will close at the end of January 31st uh at 5 p.m.

Uh that will be our winter cycle.

Uh our summer cycle begins uh at the beginning of May and ends about end of May, or sometimes we go into June.

So uh it's a month.

However, we do have special applications that can be asked of.

They have to contact uh the board president uh Paula Ruark, and she is able to open that application with my support um for special applications if they don't fall within those guidelines.

Thank you.

Any other comments?

Commissioner Callahan.

Thank you, Chairman Morgan.

I just come up with another one.

Uh in the past, you guys have underwrought numerous tournaments at the Civic Center.

And that's what helps the Civic Center be able to get these tournaments, but we have to bid on them two to three years in advance.

Are you guys gonna still continue to okay that in advance?

I think was it last year, the year before you turned over the money to advantage butte.

Advantage Butte.

So is that working smoothly or yes, it is.

Okay.

Um we are now giving 25,000 to Advantage Butte for just events throughout the year.

Um we give that check in February, and then if anything goes over and above uh for a sporting event, we work with Advantage Butte to help them pay for it.

Okay, thank you.

Okay, any other follow-ups.

All right, seeing none, thank you very much.

Uh, just to make sure everybody understands next week, you know, hot at 7 30 is a public hearing for this this same topic that'll be up here on the council.

So you'll continue to see this on the agenda, and we'll see you next week.

Okay, thank you.

Next item on tonight's agenda, section two communications.

Um is uh communication 2025-249.

Patty and Chris Salmanson requesting council of commissioners approval to purchase a portion of land owned by Butte Silver Bow, which is adjacent to their property located at 17 Tullomore Street.

We'll continue to hold this in abeyance, pending a report back from the land sales committee.

Number two, uh communication 2025-386.

Julie Bushmaker, uh Butte Silver Bow Public Library Chairperson requesting council of commissioners authorization to schedule a presentation on September 17th, 2025 to have Steph Johnson, Butte Silver Bow Library Director, give an update on the annual report of the Butte Civil Silver Bow Public Library.

We did have this presentation last week, so Commissioner Thatcher.

Thank you, Chairman Morgan.

I'd like to make a motion to place communication number 2025-386 on file.

Okay, there's been a motion made and seconded to place communication 25386 on file.

Is there anything on the question?

Would anyone like or would you guys please vote?

Okay, would anyone like to change their vote?

Would the clerk please record the vote?

8 yay 0 nay.

Thank you.

Motion passes.

I feel like a little kid up here.

It feels like I'm at the kids' table looking, can barely see people.

Number three, communication 2025 394.

David Hutchins, 529 South Colorado Street, Butte, Montana, requesting council of commissioners clarify to Butte Silver Bow Law Enforcement, the law abiding citizens are permitted to recreate on the upper level of the parking garage, provided they do not interfere with normal operations and parking.

Commissioner Callahan, do you have an update on this?

Yes, thanks, Chairman Morgan.

I talked to Mr.

Hutchins yesterday, and they're still working out with the insurance company on what type of policy it would take to be able to carry through with this.

So he said go ahead and place it on file, and then when they get everything figured out, he'll come back.

So is that in the form of a motion commissioner?

Second.

Okay.

There's been a motion made and seconded to place communication 25-394 on file.

Is there anything on the question?

Seeing none, would everyone please vote?

Would anyone like to change their vote?

Would the clerk please record the vote?

8 yay, 0 nay.

Thank you.

Motion passes.

Number four, communication 25427, Marlowe and Nicole Carroll's requesting council of commissioners to purchase land owned by Beach Silver Bow located on the southeast corner of Maryland and second.

Marlowe and Nicole Carroll's requesting council of commissioners to purchase land owned by Butte Silverbow located on the southeast corner of Maryland and second.

We would like to use it for our our yard space for property we own at 1006 Maryland Avenue, Butte, Montana.

Uh we'll continue to hold this in abeyance pending the land sales committee's report back to this body.

Number five, communication 25437.

Uh Nokia.

Personal representative for the estate of William Lahood requesting council of commissioners to purchase land owned by Butte Silverbow and approve the sale of lots 16 through 17 to the estate of William Lahood in the amount of 1,000.

We'll continue to hold this in abeyance pending the land sales committee report back to this body.

Number six, uh communication 2025 459.

Stephanie Feastfeist.

One of these times I'll get that right.

Commissioner Thatcher.

Thank you, Chairman Morgan.

At this time, I'd like to make a motion to concur in place on file.

Communication number 2025-459.

Okay, there's been a motion made and seconded to concur with communication 25459 in place on file.

Is there anything on the question?

Seeing none, will everyone please vote?

Would anyone like to change their vote?

Would the clerk please record the vote?

8 yay, 0 nay.

Thank you.

Motion passes.

Number 7, communication 25460.

Steve Maloney, Butte resident requesting Council of Commissioners to purchase a portion of tax parcel number 000-189-2400, pending a survey to be completed and a correction deed.

We'll continue to hold this in abeyance pending a report back from the land sales committee.

Number eight, communication 25466.

Kelly Hazlet, Tibbet, Executive Secretary, requesting Council of Commissioners authorization to schedule the presentation on September 24th, 25 regarding the Butte Silver Bow Tourism Improvement District Tibbid Work Plan and Budget and schedule a public hearing on October 1st, 2025.

We'll continue to hold this in abeyance pending the public hearing that will be on next week's agenda.

Next item on tonight's agenda is any public comment on any public matter that's not on the agenda.

If there's any member of the public that would like to speak on any item that's not on tonight's agenda, now would be your opportunity.

Seeing none, I would ask for a motion to adjourn.

Okay, motion made and seconded to adjourn.

All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed?

Motion passes.

Everyone have a good night.

Thank you.