There’s sure a lot going on.” That was the sentiment voiced by several people following the June 1 Boulder Transition Advisory Council (BTAC) meeting in Boulder.
Chaired by Drew Dawson, the meeting drew a diverse group of people working on a wide range of projects. The Boulder Chamber announced a community-wide garage sale on June 17. Jefferson High is in the process of replacing their bleachers. The City of Boulder is forming a planning committee to spearhead projects identified in a Building Active Community Initiative training in Butte attended by several BTAC recreation committee members. The goal is to make Boulder friendlier to walking and biking.
A weekly “Come Alive Night” is being planned for the summer to encourage Boulder residents to meet and gather outdoors. The Jefferson County Fair Board is interested in creating a walking trail around the fairgrounds east of Boulder and hopes to work with the BTAC recreation committee to get the project underway.
The Elkhorn Community Foundation announced a $1000 grant to the Elkhorn Water Tower project. The Jefferson County Commission is working with the city to pass a joint resolution to administer economic development funds received by the state. JLDC is close to getting approval for MDC Building Six improvements that will allow AYA to expand. A discussion about Montana Developmental Center included information about additional staff being hired and trained. The MDC swimming pool is operating again.
Some questioned the wisdom of creating a secure unit at MDC tasked with getting newly admitted clients with serious behavioral or mental health issues moved out to community group homes in just six months. Others talked about some MDC clients potentially being moved out of state, and others isolated in group homes in rural communities with little interaction with other people, which they said was a step backwards from the intensive professional care and community provided by MDC. Chairman Dawson shared a draft set of bylaws creating a Boulder Community Development Board.
The board to advise the city and county on how to spend $500,000 appropriated by the 2017 Montana legislature needs to be created, as promised to the lawmakers, he said. Expenditures would be in keeping with the master plan developed by community members in the Making Boulder’s Future Bright process. Plans call for the state funds to be used as matching funds for economic development projects in the community. He also talked about the need for a BTAC staff person to write grants and oversee the resulting projects.
BTAC members agreed that the MDC repurposing committee’s focus will now include advocacy for clients being served at MDC and preparation for the next legislative session. The marketing committee has created rack cards to be distributed around Glacier and Yellowstone, inviting people passing through to spend time in Jefferson County. Jefferson County has created a new brochure for distribution in nearby towns with a similar goal. Commissioner Leonard Wortman said that a rest area on the outskirts of Boulder appears to be moving forward with construction to start next spring.
The public is invited to the next BTAC meeting July 6 at 8 a.m. in the Boulder City Hall.
