Post by Morris Hallowell on Feb 11, 2024 11:35:57 GMT -7
Money and power are rearing their unattractive heads here in rural Montana once again. No, it is not an episode of that popular Yellowstone show. It is the local Park County Referendum 1 coming up on the ballot this June. Simply put, it is about your property rights. Are your property rights fodder for city and county bureaucrats and special interest groups? Or are they still your hard-earned rights and paid-for property.
What brought this to mind was a recent article entitled “Groups register to oppose referendum on county growth policy.”
With my curiosity peaked, I took a deeper dive into the information and found Park County Environmental Council represented by Robin Addicott and city commissioner Karrie Kahle; Friends of Park County, represented by their new full time director Randy Carpenter; and a new entity called No on Referendum 1, represented by Colin Davis (ex- Chico Hot Springs owner) and Jared White. These are all city residents raising and spending money to “educate” those of us outside of their jurisdiction in the unincorporated county. Hoping to buy our vote.
According to filings PCEC is doing the “education organizing” for these combined groups already spending $43,896.88 in one month for our vote even though they have only $9,750. 00 in the bank, donated by the FPC.
What exactly are they spending that money on to get us to give our property rights to them? $19,550 for a Colorado company to survey 150 people online; $21,000 for campaign management and communications to Tenacious Campaigns of Missoula (unknown to google); $2,000 to Mr. White’s company Strategies North of Livingston and finally PCEC gets $1396.88 for their office work and overhead.
Do you notice the trend there? All the big money gets sent out of town and out of state to buy “a plan” with which to educate the rural population and there by manage their voting power.
This is exactly what our county and city commissioners have been doing with our growth policies for years. Farming them out to people that don’t live here and have no understanding of our local desires. What better way to confuse and distract.
We are forever being told to Buy Local but that is something our commissioners and non-profits don’t think applies to them. We all complain that outsiders come here and change our area in ways we don’t like. We need to take a closer look at our elected officials and the non-profits that influence them. They are the ones bringing in out of town consultants and managers whose ideas are out of sync with our communities.
Referendum 1—For repeal of the Park County Growth policy, is on the ballot this June for citizens of the county. The 2017 Park County growth policy is a perfect example of being out of touch with the people it was supposed to serve. It was written by consultants from Missoula. The oil and water of planning.
I can understand that the city people, PCEC, FPC and Mr. Davis, paying to re-educate us, might like a Missoula social concept group. But, we are voting about a Park County growth policy not a city growth policy. Park County rural is independent, self-sufficient and not wishing to be micromanaged. We want to be left alone.
So why are these city people and non-profits spending other people’s money to buy the county voters off? Power and money. Power over your land and your family’s future. Money because what better fund raiser for the non-profits than a henny penny the sky is falling land-use issue.
Some of you may remember this has been going on for many years since the city sued the county into hiring an outside consultant to write our growth policy. Much time and money has been wasted since then in the battle for who determines the fate of rural county lands.
The people who own the lands have always come up wanting in this equation. This is why the June, Resolution 1 ballot, which lets the people vote For repeal of the 2017 growth policy, if they so wish, has brought out the special interest money once again. You may own your land but they want to control it.
Best wishes, Ann Hallowell
What brought this to mind was a recent article entitled “Groups register to oppose referendum on county growth policy.”
With my curiosity peaked, I took a deeper dive into the information and found Park County Environmental Council represented by Robin Addicott and city commissioner Karrie Kahle; Friends of Park County, represented by their new full time director Randy Carpenter; and a new entity called No on Referendum 1, represented by Colin Davis (ex- Chico Hot Springs owner) and Jared White. These are all city residents raising and spending money to “educate” those of us outside of their jurisdiction in the unincorporated county. Hoping to buy our vote.
According to filings PCEC is doing the “education organizing” for these combined groups already spending $43,896.88 in one month for our vote even though they have only $9,750. 00 in the bank, donated by the FPC.
What exactly are they spending that money on to get us to give our property rights to them? $19,550 for a Colorado company to survey 150 people online; $21,000 for campaign management and communications to Tenacious Campaigns of Missoula (unknown to google); $2,000 to Mr. White’s company Strategies North of Livingston and finally PCEC gets $1396.88 for their office work and overhead.
Do you notice the trend there? All the big money gets sent out of town and out of state to buy “a plan” with which to educate the rural population and there by manage their voting power.
This is exactly what our county and city commissioners have been doing with our growth policies for years. Farming them out to people that don’t live here and have no understanding of our local desires. What better way to confuse and distract.
We are forever being told to Buy Local but that is something our commissioners and non-profits don’t think applies to them. We all complain that outsiders come here and change our area in ways we don’t like. We need to take a closer look at our elected officials and the non-profits that influence them. They are the ones bringing in out of town consultants and managers whose ideas are out of sync with our communities.
Referendum 1—For repeal of the Park County Growth policy, is on the ballot this June for citizens of the county. The 2017 Park County growth policy is a perfect example of being out of touch with the people it was supposed to serve. It was written by consultants from Missoula. The oil and water of planning.
I can understand that the city people, PCEC, FPC and Mr. Davis, paying to re-educate us, might like a Missoula social concept group. But, we are voting about a Park County growth policy not a city growth policy. Park County rural is independent, self-sufficient and not wishing to be micromanaged. We want to be left alone.
So why are these city people and non-profits spending other people’s money to buy the county voters off? Power and money. Power over your land and your family’s future. Money because what better fund raiser for the non-profits than a henny penny the sky is falling land-use issue.
Some of you may remember this has been going on for many years since the city sued the county into hiring an outside consultant to write our growth policy. Much time and money has been wasted since then in the battle for who determines the fate of rural county lands.
The people who own the lands have always come up wanting in this equation. This is why the June, Resolution 1 ballot, which lets the people vote For repeal of the 2017 growth policy, if they so wish, has brought out the special interest money once again. You may own your land but they want to control it.
Best wishes, Ann Hallowell