EBS STAFF
BIG
SKY – The fourth installment of EBS’s virtual Town Hall meetings brought key
voices to the weekly conversation, kicking off the evening with Montana Gov.
Steve Bullock.
The
state executive joined the meeting in between conversations with business leaders,
public health experts and others to determine the best way to roll out a phased
reopening anticipated to begin April 25, the day following the termination of
the governor’s stay-at-home directive. Bullock echoed statements he made in his
own press conference last week, advising Montanans to reshape their
expectations of what life outside of quarantine conditions will look like.
“Our
new normal is going to look a lot different,” the governor said. “The virus
isn’t going to go away, and we are going to have to adapt to how we are going
to live with it for the next while.”
Bullock
stressed the importance of adequate testing availability and capacity in order
to achieve progress toward recovery, a feat yet to be achieved. “We’re working
on it but as every governor will tell you, we need the federal government to be
working with us, not against us.”
Forty-five
days after he issued a state of emergency for Montana, Bullock remains wrought
with concerns. He acknowledged the reality that his directives—aimed largely at
protecting public safety—keep kids at home who are safer going to school and
strain economic welfare. “Keeping people from getting sick and dying have been
part of what has kept me up for the last 45 nights, and the next 45 is making
sure we don’t get in that position where we’re spiking.”
Joining
in on the reopening discussion, Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam
Sholly followed the governor. Sholly, clad in his national park uniform, touched
briefly on the series of events leading up the park’s complete closure to
visitors as well as how reopening may take form in the coming weeks.
The
vast national park, which in recent years has seen the likes of 4 million
visitors on an annual basis, many of whom are international, will be challenged
with implementing social distancing measures, particularly at hot spots like
the Old Faithful boardwalk, which hosts around 11,000 spectators
shoulder-to-shoulder every day.
“People
talk about wide open spaces,” Sholly said. “The fact of the matter is that when
people come to parks like Yellowstone, they go to specific areas normally.”
The
superintendent, who referenced the potential of opening the park in stages, also
discussed workforce issues due to public health guidance for dormitory housing,
as well as rising tension throughout gateway communities. Sholly said that the
decision on how and when to reopen will not be as unanimous as the decision was
to close the park.
Focusing
the meeting locally, Karst Stage CEO Dan Martin offered insight to the
visitation climate through the lens of a transportation provider. Martin said
Karst’s summer bookings have “fallen off a cliff,” with cancellations extending
into the summer. He compared Big Sky’s early closure to a replication of the
trend he typically sees now, when shoulder season begins. “We were busy one day
and we weren’t the next,” he said.
It’s
this adaptability, however, that Martin and others have said will serve the
resort community well compared to others. Martin is taking this opportunity to
make room for innovation. He shared that a portion of Karst’s Paycheck
Protection Program loans are being used for sales training, and he adopted the
town hall format within his own company, hosting a virtual forum with around 50
of his employees.
Big
Sky School District Dustin Shipman reported success with the transition to
distance learning early on, which has been in place for six weeks now. Due to a
proactive approach and a 1:1 device program, BSSD was able to get students
online within three days of Bullock’s directive to close school facilities on
March 15. “[We’re] far from saying we’re business as usual, but I certainly
think we’re one of the top two to three school districts in the state that are
operating in the current context,” Shipman said.
Shifting
gears, the superintendent of the 384-student school offered up a bite of
information on the bond ballots that recently
landed in mailboxes across Big Sky. Due to current and projected growth, a
group of representative community members met with architects in the fall to
draft a master facility plan, which includes additional educational and
extracurricular programming as well as expansion to athletic facilities. Ballots
are due for the $23.5 million bond by May 5.
To
close out the town hall, CrossHarbor Capital Partners Managing Director Matt
Kidd rehashed the decision-making that ultimately led to the closure of businesses
overseen by CrossHarbor—which include businesses in the Yellowstone Club,
Spanish Peaks Mountain Club and Moonlight Basin as well as those operated by Lone
Mountain Land Company. Kidd said the choice to shut down was ultimately made to
protect the Big Sky community and its healthcare system, which at the time had just
one ventilator.
Kidd
imparted a perspective on the current real estate climate in the area, as well,
another primary facet to CrossHarbor’s local presence. Despite the absence of
new real estate transactions, he said deals currently in progress are carrying
on, and the future looks promising as people in metropolitan areas consider
shifting their lifestyles post-pandemic. “If we look … five to eight years down
the road, Big Sky looks more desirable than it ever has,” he said.
The
fifth EBS Town Hall meeting, which will feature U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, among
others, will stream live on the EBS Facebook page next Monday, April 27 at 5
p.m.
