The afternoon part of the April 30 Jefferson County Commission meeting will start at 6 p.m. to encourage more public involvement in talks about economic development on the west side of Boulder’s I-15 interchange.
The meeting, which normally starts at 1:30 p.m., will occur as usual in the Clerk and Recorder’s Office meeting room.
The commissioners have been discussing development projects for the site most recently since last spring, when the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center solicited proposals for where it could locate a facility. Prior to that, in 2017, a rest area was proposed for the site but turned down for being too close to Helena and Butte.
After the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame turned down the county’s proposal, county officials began discussing whether to develop some variation of a Montana Western Legacy Center at the site.
Commissioner Leonard Wortman has said that the Montana Historical Society, the Museum of the Rockies and the Montana Pro Rodeo Hall and Wall of Fame all have expressed interest in somehow participating.
The April 30 meeting agenda lists two items regarding the proposed site: to decide whether to spend up to $50,000 for a preliminary architectural report, or PAR — a feasibility and cost assessment required for financing and other decisions — and to recommend professional services related to site development.
The commissioners had previously approved funding the PAR at their Feb. 26 meeting, yet were subsequently advised by the county attorney that the decision item was insufficiently described on that meeting’s agenda.
The item was then placed on the March 26 meeting agenda, where the commissioners decided to postpone a spending decision until it could get the public more involved in planning.
While trying to attract the Hall of Fame to Boulder, the County spent about $25,000 on preliminary architectural and feasibility documents in support of its proposal. Those documents shed light on the site’s potential beyond the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame, yet their price tag and the subsequent, additional funding request raised questions among community members.
The county has anticipated Sky Top Ranch to provide 25 to 30 acres of its land for the site, based on ranch owner Nelson Chang’s prior commitment of seven acres for the rest area project and subsequent preliminary talks with Chang’s attorney Tom Hattersley.
