By Jen Clancey STAFF WRITER
WGM Group, ECOnorthwest and M2O Group are expected to hold another public meeting this summer to present findings of surveys and insights collected regarding Big Sky’s potential local governance options. The date is a few months after an expected March meeting, which would have reviewed survey results, and was postponed after a busy local election and Montana legislative season.
Meg O’Leary, president of M2O group and community outreach leader for the study, explained that she hopes to learn more about community perspectives after Big Sky voted to approve large infrastructure projects like the Cold Smoke workforce housing bond and the Big Sky Community Park bond. Other notable developments this spring happened in Helena, with the passage of Senate Bill 260 and property tax legislation expected to impact Big Sky.
“So we’re watching how the Livable [Big Sky] campaign is mobilizing. We’re watching how the effort to go to Helena and go to bat for Senate Bill 260 is mobilizing,” O’Leary said. “We’re saying, ‘I wonder if maybe the outcome of these efforts will change some people’s outlook on representation based on the results.’”
More than 360 people responded to the February survey, which collected feedback about Big Sky’s goals.
“We were really pleased with the results of that survey,” O’Leary said. “We thought that was a great turnout.”
In the Madison-Gallatin Joint County Commission meeting on Wednesday, May 14 in Big Sky, Dylan Pipinich, land planner with WGM Group and study team member, provided updates on the local governance study.
“We took a little bit of time and decided we’re not going to present survey results in March, we’re going to present what all of the community engagement has meant so far, and how the survey results relate to that,” Pipinich said. “And we decided to hit pause, because there’s some big changes that happened a couple weeks ago in how you view things—not only from a local election status, but also from a state legislation status that has changes all over the state.”
The study team is using the survey results to inform a final report, which will present governance options to the Big Sky community alongside the expected impacts of each option.
“The work that’s been going on since the survey and other research is getting ourselves into a place where we’ve funneled it into about six different options. And from those six, it’s got to get narrowed down to three,” O’Leary said. When the study team engages the public in the upcoming summer meeting, she hopes to learn if any attitudes have changed about options, and which of their findings resonate with Big Sky, to make the final report as informative as possible.
“We want that … chance for the communities to, to say, ‘yeah, those feel right,’ or, ‘yeah, you missed the mark,’” O’Leary said. A meeting date and presentation agenda is not yet confirmed due to scheduling conflicts and venue availability in the busy summer season.
Ahead of the meeting, the study team will also be working with the Montana Department of Revenue to learn more about the property tax changes that will be represented in the report.
“I am very interested in hearing perspectives and if there has been shifts in people’s perspectives after … what’s been going on,” O’Leary said.
