Whitehall, MT

March 26, 2008 Minutes
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; Ken Weber, Jefferson County Commission representative; Roy McBride, Whitehall Financial Institution 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 Mark Williams and Jim Staedt. 

A motion was made by Holly Harper and seconded by Tom Harrington to approve the minutes from the March 6, 2008 meeting of the board.  There was no discussion and the motion was unanimously approved. 

MEMBER REPORTS

Holly Harper reported that the Whitehall School Board would be making a decision with regard to the Four-Day School Week at its meeting on Tuesday, April 1^st at 7:00 PM.  Harper said she believed the meeting would be well-attended and interesting. 

Terri Marx reported that April 9^th will be next meeting for walking trails group.  Anyone interested in attending is more than welcome.  Marx also announced that the Jefferson Valley Community Foundation was recently awarded a $15,000 leadership grant from the Montana Community Foundation.  The grant will help the Jefferson Valley Community Foundation take a leadership role in assisting the community and all interested organizations with the walking trails project.  Congratulations to the Jefferson Valley Community Foundation and a special thanks to Terri and her husband, Glenn Marx for all the work that went into securing the grant. 

OLD BUSINESS

The committee discussed grant requirements for the Horizons Action Grant III.  The CDB reviewed grant applications and criteria used by the Jefferson Valley Community Foundation and the Metal Mines Grant program.  The Board made the following decisions:

-          Projects funded by grants will support the Whitehall Vision Statement.  Grant applicants will be required to answer the following question:  How does the proposed project bring Whitehall closer to achieving its vision?

-          Projects eligible for funding must be non-profit organizations or tax-exempt government units

-          Grants will be in an amount from $0-$8500

-          Grantees and projects must be from and located in the Whitehall High School District

-          Applications for collaborative efforts are encouraged

-          All grants will be reviewed by CDB of the Town of Whitehall

-          Three copies of the grant application package will be required to be sent to the Town of Whitehall

Terri will send a copy of the Jefferson Valley Community Foundation cover letter to committee.  Holly will revise the grant application material and bring it to the next meeting for review.  Upon approval, the document will then be sent to Dan Clark at MSU Extension in Bozeman. 

The Board discussed the Town of Whitehall web site.  There was some confusion about the recent press and the specifics of the web site.  After discussion, it was decided that the CDB needed to leave the decision in the hands of the Town Council. 

The budget and associated action items were discussed in detail and some changes were made. 

Glenna Waltee is unable to conduct the grant writing workshop as previously scheduled.  Tom Harrington will find out about a qualified trainer from Montana Tech and see if she would be available to conduct the workshop. 

The community gathering that had been budgeted for will not be held.  The CDB will be able to reallocate the budgeted amount of $1600 to additional projects as approved by the board. 

Tom Harrington reported that the E-Commerce workshop was well attended.  He said that 13 people signed up and 10 people attended.  Harrington reported that it was a great class.  The board felt it worthwhile to try and schedule a second workshop.  Tom will work on the scheduling. 

Holly Harper reported that the tour of animal shelters has not occurred yet.  There has been a decision made to tour the Choteau facility at a minimum. 

 The CDB also agreed that mileage for the animal shelter trip, the walking trail tours, etc. would be reimbursed at the state mileage rate. 

Tammy Johnson discussed the schedule for blog training.  Five training sessions will be held in April and May and would include all facets of the community, including seniors, students, community group leaders and the community at large.  Advertising will begin in the newspaper for the trainings.  In addition to the training ad, an advertisement reminding the community about the community blog and the blog address.  The ad will run for 16 weeks. 

Holly Harper reported that the adult continuing education life skills class was cancelled.  This funding was placed back into the budget to use for other approved projects. 

Tom Harrington reported that there were 13 people taking the Core Four class in Whitehall.  Tom said that Tara Mastel attended the “Building Vital Communities” conference.  The budgeted amount for travel and registration for the Building vital Communities event will be reallocated to other projects that the CDB approves. 

Holly Harper reported that the committee working toward establishing an animal shelter is filing paperwork to obtain an IRS 501(c) 3 designation.  The group needs an additional $250.00 to complete the filing.  Holly requested that the CDB pay the $250.00 to complete the application process and pay for the filing fee.  Tom Harrington made a motion to approve the expenditure of $250.00 to finalize the non-profit application process, Ken Weber second the motion, there was no discussion and the motion was passed unanimously. 

The Town of Whitehall has begun working on updating the Growth Policy.  This is an important planning process for the community.  Holly Harper made a motion to approve the expenditure of $300.00 to fund public meetings and advertising to encourage public input and discussion.  Ken Weber seconded the motion, there was no discussion and the motion was approved unanimously.

Tom Harrington said that there would be meetings in Whitehall with regard to affordable housing in April and May.  Ken Weber said that the Jefferson County Commission has supported a short term loan in the amount of $75,000 from the metal mines loan program to the National Affordable Housing Network.  The loan proceeds will be used for the purchase of 11 acres in Whitehall that are suitable for affordable housing building projects.  Tom Harrington will talk to Barb of NAHN about establishing a committee to work on affordable housing in Whitehall.

NEW BUSINESS

The draft “Policies and Procedures” document that will provide general guidance to the Community Development Board will be put on next month’s agenda for review and finalization by the Board. 

Tom Harrington reminded everyone that the Jefferson River Rally and the Safety Fair will be held on April 30.  The Rally and Fair will be held in the Community Center and the Assembly of God church.  There are many events and the vendors are filling up the spaces quickly.  It should be a really good gathering for the community. 

Guest Marc Williams discussed the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest plan revision briefly.  Williams reminded the committee that the comment deadline is March 31.  He stated that there was a great deal of bug kill in the area.  The dead timber could be a good source of friendly, green wood from the forest.  Sawmills in the area could certainly see some economic benefit from the harvest of the dead timber.  Williams also suggested that if the comment period is extended, the Town Council, the schools, and individuals should weigh in a comment on the plan. 

The next meeting of the CDB will be April 30, 2008.  Tammy agreed to send the minutes to the Ledger since Greg Corr was not able to attend the meeting. 

Roy McBride moved to adjourn the meeting, the motion was seconded by Ken Weber, the vote was unanimous and the meeting was adjourned.