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Park District

Status: Closed
Assigned To: lkunz (City Commission)
Ticket ID: 2460184ef

Greetings,

I'll get straight to the point so there is little confusion.

1.) Did Mayor Bob Kelly or staff agree with the Commanding Officer of MAFB or staff to find a funding stream for the construction of this new proposed facility before the passage of the Park District?
2.) Was the Park District always intended as a funding stream for this proposed facility, disguised as "much needed park improvements?"
3.) Did Frmr. Park and Rec director Patty Reardon and staff purposefully deliberately mislead the public, including Neighborhood Councils, on the fact that the funds from the Park District could be used for whatever funding stream the Commission desired? Was this information included in her Powerpoint presentation and/or communicated to the public?
4.) Did the Mayor or staff have communications with benefactors (swim teams, groups or clubs) of this project well before this "funding stream" of a Park District was approved on how this project would be funded?

I am well aware of the answers to these questions. To think this is how you decided to accomplish this goal of a new pool for the city and the base is not surprising, but very disappointing. I suggest you send these questions to your legal team.

Matt Ott
1505 Balsam Court
Great Falls, MT 59405
406-788-3107

Ticket History

Closed
Updated By: lkunz
Assigned To: lkunz (City Commission)
10/07/2020 - 8:58am
Public
Open
Updated By: lkunz
Assigned To: lkunz (City Commission)

Good Afternoon Mr. Ott - Park and Recreation Director Steve Herrig's responses to your inquiries are as follows:

In response to your questions submitted to the City Clerk’s office dated September 17, 2020, the Park District #1 was approved by voters on May 8, 2018. The opportunity to consider applying for the Defense Community Infrastructure Program grant did not occur until it was authorized by the Department of Defense in May 2020.  Mayor Kelly was notified about the grant.  The City Manager had referenced using the Park District funding after year three to fund another indoor pool when the Natatorium was closed.  

As part of the Park District #1 being formulated, the first three years of projects were identified and presented to the community and commission.  During all presentations, it was clearly stated that Park District dollars could be used for Parks, Forestry, and Trails; capital, staff, and operations as well as Recreation and Aquatics facilities, with the Electric City Water Park already benefiting from the program with renovation to the bathhouse.  Park District funding could not be used for Recreation and Aquatic programming.  A new combined facility was identified in the Park Master Plan that was adopted in November 2016.

At no time did staff mislead the community when presenting the Park District information.  The first three years of the Park District projects were identified, and presented to the community and commission.  During all presentations, it was clearly stated that Park District dollars could be used for Parks, Forestry, and Trails; capital, staff, and operations as well as Recreation and Aquatics facilities.  The dollars could not be used for Recreation and Aquatic programming.  A new combined facility was identified in the Park Master Plan that was adopted in November 2016.
 
I cannot speak for Mayor Kelly, but with regard to staff, conversations on how this project would be funded did not come about until the possibility of a Federal Grant was made available in May 2020.  Without the Federal Grant, this project would not be possible for many years, if at all.  Now that the City has been awarded the DCIP grant, the citizens of Great Falls will be able to enjoy a new Recreation/Aquatics facility for many years to come.

Please feel free to let us know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Steve Herrig, CPRP
Director, Park and Recreation
1700 River Dr. North
Great Falls, MT  59403
(406) 771-1265
sherrig@greatfallsmt.net

09/28/2020 - 2:54pm
Open
Updated By: lkunz
Assigned To: lkunz (City Commission)
09/22/2020 - 8:51am
New
Assigned To:

Citizen request/question created.

09/17/2020 - 4:36pm

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