Whitehall, MT

April 30, 2008
Community Development Board Meeting
Submitted by Tammy Johnson, Secretary

Mac Smith, Chair of the Community Development Board, called the meeting to order.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited and the roll call was taken.  In attendance were Mac Smith, Chair and Town Council representative; Terri Marx, Jefferson Valley Community Foundation representative; Holly Harper, Vice Chair and Whitehall School representative; Tom Harrington, MSU Extension representative; Roy McBride, Whitehall Financial Institution representative; Barb Sunderland, Jefferson Local Development Corporation representative; Marc Groy, Town of Whitehall Planning Board representative; Tammy Johnson, Secretary and member at large; Sue Patacini, member at large; and Josh Liebers, youth representatives from the Whitehall School District.  A quorum of the board was present.  Also in attendance were guests Greg Corr of the Whitehall Ledger and Donna Worth from the Whitehall Library.

MEMBER REPORTS

Marc Groy reported that there is no new information with regard to the Town’s Growth Policy and that the Planning Board has received no new information from the contracted engineering firm.  Marc will discuss the CDB budget allocation to assist with expenses associated with a potential public meeting on the Growth Policy with the Planning Board at its next meeting.  He will report his findings at the next CDB meeting.

Terri Marx reported that the Walking Trails Committee road trip will be on May 17.

Tom Harrington reported that the grant writing workshop will be held on June 3.  It will be an all day training, beginning at 9:00 AM and continuing until 4:00 PM.  It will be held at the Extension Office.

Harrington also reported the second e-commerce workshop would be held May 17^th at the Extension Office.

OLD BUSINESS

Grant Requirements and Application Package

The Board reviewed the grant application package for the Horizons Action Grant III.  A few slight revisions were made to the language in the package.  The package will be finalized and will be presented to the Town Council at its May meeting for final approval.

Amendments to the grants application include the insertion of the following language in the “About the Grants” section:  “Grants will be given for projects that address the issue of poverty in keeping with the Horizons Project goals and objectives.”  An amendment was also made to the “Proposal Narrative” section.  Language was inserted in that section as follows:  “How does this project address the issue of poverty in keeping with the Horizons Project goals and objectives?”

Tom Harrington made a motion to approve the 2008 grant guidelines and application package, as amended, for the poverty reduction grant.  Terri Marx seconded the motion, there was no discussion and the motion was approved unanimously.

Policies and Procedures

The Board reviewed the CDB Policies and Procedures document.  Terri Marx moved to approve the document, Tom Harrington seconded the motion, there was no discussion and the motion was approved unanimously.

Holly will have the Policies and Procedures document placed on the May Town Council agenda for approval by the Council.

Tom Harrington said that other communities have been in touch with him expressing interest in the model of the Community Development Board and would like more information from the Whitehall CDB.  There is interest in copying the model elsewhere.  Tom will send information about the Board and its formation, policies and procedures, etc. to those requesting information.

Budget

The Board discussed the budget and potential revisions.  The following changes will be incorporated into the budget:

-          Grant Writing Workshop allocation needs to be increased to a total of $500.00

-          Animal Shelter Road Trip allocation will be revised.  The action item will now be a trip to Dallas and the budget will be increased to a total of $750.00.

• The reason for the change is that construction costs for an animal shelter are currently averaging $200/sq. ft.  A company called Hounds Quarters offers modular shelters for about ½ that rate.  They have two shelters for viewing in Dallas.  These shelters are ranked very high for value and sufficiency.  The shelter that the ASCC is interested in seeing is a 3000 sq’ ft. shelter.  The Hounds Quarters buildings look like animal shelters and not like museums but have everything needed in a shelter to assure the safety of employees and the animals.  Also, if the ASCC were to ever enter in an agreement for the purchase of a building from Hounds Quarters, the company will reimburse the cost of travel incurred to see view the shelter.

• Tom Harrington made a motion to increase the budget allocation for the Animal Shelter to $750.00, Sue Patacini seconded the motion, there was no discussion and the vote was unanimous.

Planning Board

The Board discussed the importance of the Town’s Growth Policy and the importance of proper citizen involvement.  Marc Groy will offer the Community Development Board’s assistance to the Planning Board.  The CDB agreed that providing assistance, coordination, message dissemination, etc. was a proper role for the Board.  Also several members of the CDB have had prior experience in planning processes that could be beneficial.  Marc will report on the Planning Board’s discussion and reaction to the CDB offer of assistance at the next meeting.

NEW BUSINESS

Donna Worth from the Whitehall Library attended the meeting to request some financial assistance for the “Montana Memories Project” workshop at the library.  Donna said that anyone would be welcome to attend and that there was interest in attendance by other areas libraries.  The workshop and training will be focused on digitizing old photos, books, documents, and other important documents.  All articles preserved or digitized are of Montana and local historical significance and all material will be accessible via the Internet.

Holly made a motion to approve a $250.00 allocation, Tom Harrington seconded the motion, there was no discussion and the vote was unanimous.

Holly agreed to e-mail the training facilitator at the Mansfield Library in Missoula with details on the CDB payment procedures.

The CDB discussed what appears to be a slight disconnect or communication issue with the Town office with regard to payment of invoices.  It is the opinion of the CDB that with previously approved budget items, that there is no need for a second and separate approval by the Town Council.  Mac will talk with Terry and Darci to confirm the proper procedure and will report his findings to Holly.  Holly will communicate with the larger group when she receives the information.

Tom Harrington suggested the Board consider the publication of a brochure for the community of Whitehall.  The purpose would be to make the area more visible and could highlight a number of Whitehall amenities.  Some wondered if the brochure could be made available outside the local area.  Roy McBride suggested we call Shelby information center to find out some details on outside distribution.  He knew that they were involved in a similar effort.

Tammy Johnson suggested that another possibility was to work on increasing visibility through better signage in town.  During the Horizon Study Circles, it was brought up on numerous occasions that when entering Whitehall from I-90, there was no ability for someone to know that Whitehall’s main business center was located to the south.  Many may be under the impressions that there is nothing beyond the commercial center close to the I-90 interchange.  Tammy volunteered to contact Montana Dept. of Transportation to find out what requirements were for signage on both Whitehall Street and Legion Ave. since both are part of the highway system.  She will report her findings at the next meeting.

In keeping with the theme of increasing the visibility of Whitehall and its many amenities, it was suggested that the budget line item for the web site, since that was likely not going to occur as originally envisioned, be changed to a more generic title and that we allocate the previously approved $2000 and an additional $550 for a total of $2550 to a revised budget item entitled Community Visibility Enhancement.

Holly Harper made a motion to revise the budget and increase the community visibility line item to $2550.00 Sue Patacini seconded the motion, there was no discussion and the motion was unanimously approved.

Tammy mentioned that there may be a grant opportunity for the CDB.  She will e-mail the grant information to all the board members.

Holly Harper suggested that it may be an appropriate time to update the CDB action plan.  She will work on a draft update and will share with the board members.  The Board will discuss the action plan at the next meeting.

Affordable Housing

The National Affordable Housing Network closed on the land purchased for the affordable housing development in Whitehall last week.  Tom Harrington reported that about 13 people showed up for the recent affordable housing meeting and that the county planner came down and walked through the property and the process.  Part of the land will need to be annexed into the city.  The process is moving along nicely but necessary processes will likely take 18-24 months to complete.  Tom also reported there was quite a lot of interest in seeing some senior condos built.  Harrington reported that it was a good meeting.

Community Update

Holly will request the following agenda items be placed on the Town Council agenda for its May 19^th meeting:

Budget Revision Approval
Grant Application Package Approval

Holly will also update the council on the walking trail road trip, the E-Bay workshop, the grant writing workshop, the NAHN progress, and any other items that we may have information before the Council meeting.

The next CDB meeting will be held on May 28, 2008 at 7:00 PM in the Whitehall Town Council Chambers.

There being no further business, Terri Marx moved to adjourn the meeting.  Tom Harrington seconded the motion, there was no discussion, the vote was unanimous and the meeting was adjourned.