Whitehall, MT

March 6, 2008 Minutes
Community Development Board Meeting
Submitted by Tammy Johnson, Secretary

Mac Smith, Chair of the Community Development Board, called the meeting of the Board 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; Marc Groy, Town of Whitehall Planning Board representative; Ann Smith, Whitehall Chamber of Commerce representative; Tammy Johnson, Secretary and member at large; Sue Patacini, member at large; and Taylor McQuesten and Josh Liebers, youth representatives from the Whitehall School District. A quorum of the board was present. Also in attendance were guests Jim Jacobson from the Whitehall Chamber of Commerce and Greg Corr from the Whitehall Ledger.

A motion was made by Tom Harrington and seconded by Tammy Johnson to approve the minutes from the February 7, 2008 meeting of the board. There was no discussion and the motion was unanimously approved.

MEMBER REPORTS

Marc Groy reported that Great West Engineering, who has been contracted by the Town, met with the planning board and has requested narratives, mission statements, data, etc. to begin the growth policy planning. The Growth Policy for the Town of Whitehall is a non-regulatory document, just an overarching growth plan for Whitehall. Marc stated that it would be about a year long process. At a future date, there will be opportunity for public comment. Any help will be appreciated. If any member of the CDB board can offer assistance or ideas, please contact Marc Groy and he will forward information to Great West. The Board suggested that we should make certain that Great West review the approved Action Plan and the adopted community Vision Statement and supporting documents. Through the Horizons project, the community committed significant time and resources in discovering how citizens felt about the town, the desires for the future of the Town and the adoption of Whitehall’s Vision Statement.

Terri Marx reported that the walking trail group will be meeting again before the next CDB meeting and that she will have more to report on the group’s progress at the next meeting.

Mac Smith said that there is insurance available for town functions such as a street dance, Frontier Days, Beef Breeders Show, etc. through Montana Municipal Insurance Authority (MMIA). Jim Jacobson said that the Whitehall Chamber is looking into insurance coverage in more detail to ensure that Chamber sponsored/hosted events are adequately covered. Mac Smith said that the Town will need to develop a form for all events that approval for events will require the submission of an insurance policy covering the event, because of liability issues. Likely, the Town will be responsible for making sure that the insurance and forms are available and the sponsoring organization would be responsible for filling out the forms and obtaining the insurance. Details will need to be decided by the Town Council.

OLD BUSINESS

Holly Harper reported that the latest draft CDB Policies and Procedures document will be placed on the next CDB agenda. The document has been modified after input was received from Board members and members need more time for a final review before a vote is taken. Although the Council said they did not necessarily have to approve the Policies and Procedures document, it was recommended that the document be submitted for approval anyway. It is important for everyone to have knowledge of how the CDB will operate.

Holly presented a revised budget for consideration. The Rural Communities Conference line item was not utilized due to scheduling conflicts. Also, three additions were made to the budget, including support for the MSU Extension Core Four course to provide some funding for scholarships, child and elder care, transportation and meals. Also added to the budget was funding for childcare to allow attendance of a life skills adult education class. Assistance for transportation and registration for the Building Vital Communities conference was also included. The Board approved the budget changes and Holly will submit the budget revisions to the Council for approval.

At the conclusion of the capacity building phase of the Horizons Project, there will be an $8500.00 grant available for project oriented funding. Holly Harper spoke with Dan Clark (MSU Extension) about how grant monies are required to be handled. There appears to be two ways to handle the funding. MSU Extension/Horizons can handle the grant making on an individual grant-by-grant basis or we can request the entire amount be granted to the Town of Whitehall. If we request the entire amount on behalf of the Town, then the CDB will need to develop procedures for administering the grant money. The board recommended that the grant go to the town. The CDB will need to draft procedures and criteria for the grant dollars. Terri Marx will provide copies of procedures used by the Community Foundation and Holly will send out procedures and criteria used by the Metal Mines committee. These two examples can be used to aid the Board in developing its criteria, etc. The Board will need to move quickly to ensure that policies and procedures are in place in plenty of time to administer the grant funding.

Tammy Johnson reported on the progress of the website assessment action item. Tammy and Holly completed work on a grant application for Mayor Terry Ross and the Town of Whitehall, which was submitted to the Metal Mines Committee in the amount of $3,215.00. The Grant Committee will meet on March 21 for review of applications. The approved CDB budget will allow for printing, advertising, meetings with interested stakeholders, gathering of information and development of a draft template. The grant request from the Metal Mines committee would allow the CDB to use its budget as matching funds and coupled with grant funding, the Web site could actually be built and all expenses associated with hosting and maintenance would be paid in full for the first nine months of operation. Once the web site was built and the community had an opportunity to review the site, the Board could discuss future funding of the site and review options such as having the Town of Whitehall pick up the ongoing maintenance costs and duties of the site.

Greg Corr interjected some concerns about the future town’s website competing with the Ledger site, and Jim Jacobsen asked how the long-term maintenance of the site would be funded. Johnson responded that the first meeting, once the course of action was approved by the CDB, would be to ensure no toes were stepped on. This first meeting would include those parties with existing web presences such as the Ledger, the library, the school district and would also include the chamber. Johnson also expressed the belief that ultimately the town would see the website as an asset worth paying for to maintain.

The Community Party, which was originally included as an action item and budgeted for, was designed to reengage the community and as a means of building enthusiasm for all of the projects moving forward and to precipitate enthusiasm for new projects. It was agreed that this event will be placed on hold for now. If the CDB does not see a need to host the community-wide gathering, it may look at other capacity building efforts that need funding.

It was reported that the grant writing workshop is on hold for the time being. Glenna Waltee, board member and instructor for the workshop needs to focus on some immediate family concerns.

Tom Harrington reported that E-bay/E-Commerce training will occur on March 22 and that fliers and notices about the training were out in the community.

Harrington also reported that Core Four classes in Boulder were nearing completion and the Whitehall classes would be kicking off at the end of the month. The Building Vital Communities program will be on March 25^th in Bozeman. The program will be held at the Holiday Inn from 9:00 AM-3:00 PM. The price of $15.00 includes lunch and the program should provide some valuable information for anyone who attends.

Tom also attended a meeting with regard to CREBS funding along with Mayor Ross and Commissioner Weber. He reported that it was a good meeting with lots of information being shared.

Harrington reported that the Boulder affordable housing development is being kicked off in Boulder tonight with a ground-breaking ceremony. The first five houses are being started with the senior housing component getting off the ground very soon. Information about Whitehall’s anticipated affordable housing project will be updated in April.

Holly Harper reported that the animal shelter road trip hasn’t happened yet. An organization has been located that provides some great ideas for construction and building of shelters. This organization will provide a first stage sketch of a shelter that may be suitable for the area. The group of people who are working on the animal shelter project would like to see a shelter that this group has already built. Harper also reported that grants were submitted to both county Metal Mines Committees. The grants would cover associated costs for spay-neuter clinics.

Tammy Johnson reported that four events would be scheduled for blog training and that she would be working with Holly to get these events scheduled. Tentatively, one event would target high school students, one event would be held for senior citizens and two events will be available for general public attendance. A draft budget has been developed to cover advertising of the events and a 16-week reminder to the community to become engaged through the blog. Details will be reported at the next CDB meeting.

Glenna Waltee, Roy McBride and Holly Harper will schedule a visit with Darcy about CDB finances to ensure that everyone is on the same page and the Board is assisting with necessary follow-up on funds being transferred to the Town of Whitehall.

NEW BUSINESS

There was no new business to report.

Guest Jim Jacobson presented information to the Board on the effort to obtain the A-Frame building from the FWP currently located at Lewis and Clark Caverns. About a month or so ago, the Chamber received a letter stating the building is theirs if they still want it and if they can move it. The building being offered to the Community was built in the 1950’s and the historic structure will fit into Whitehall nicely.

Jacobson is visiting with every organization and group he can about the Chambers’ “dream” project. The project is a big task but could be valuable to the community. Jacobson reported that the Chamber has applied for a Metal Mines grant that would cover initial costs associated with getting the building moved. The building would be used as a Chamber office and a Visitor Center. Jim would like to see everyone in town get behind the effort. He believes that it will provide a professional good first image for the town. Jacobson admitted that the project presented a host of challenges, but that he and Chamber would take the challenges one at a time and see them through.

Taylor McQuesten said she would take the information to the Interact Club for discussion. Jim said he would be enthusiastic about having the youth involved. Jacobson also said there are plans to restructure the Chamber so they can have a full-time fundraiser. Terri Marx said that she would share any grant opportunities and valuable information that she receives through a non-profit association mailing that she receives.

Holly Harper reported that information on a 4-day school week will be presented to the public on March 19 and that the school board will be making a decision at its April 1 meeting. If the 4-day school week were to be approved, there could be more opportunity for internships, job shadowing, etc. for Whitehall youth.

Tom Harrington reminded those in attendance that the Safety Fair would be held in conjunction with the Jefferson River Rally on April 25. He also reminded everyone that the Gun Show will be held next weekend, that a talent show is in the works for May, that the Montana 4×4 organization has expressed interest in returning to Whitehall during Frontier Days on July 18-19 and that the Black Tie and Blue Jeans event is next month.

The Board discussed moving the Board’s meeting date to the last Wednesday of the month. This would allow ample time to place CDB items on the Town Council agenda, which isn’t possible currently because the meetings occur too close together. Tom Harrington made a motion to move the CDB meeting date to the last Wednesday of the month, Sue Patacini seconded the motion. Following discussion, the motion was approved unanimously.

The next meeting of the Community Development Board will be held on March 26, 2008. There being no further business, Tammy Johnson moved that the meeting be adjourned. Tom Harrington seconded the motion. The motion was unanimous and the meeting was adjourned.