City awards contract, appoints steering committee for growth policy process
City Commissioners awarded a contract and selected the steering committee for the growth policy process during their May 21 meeting.
City staff recommended Orion Planning and Design and commissioners approved a $371,184 with the consulting firm.
The city released a request for proposals on Dec. 22 and received six proposals by the March 15 deadline.
Those proposals were from Orion, Burian and Associates Cushing Terrell, ECOnorthwest, Houseal Lavigne and SJC Alliance.
Through negotiation, city staff reached an agreement with Orion for the contract price.
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The consultant selection committee reviewed the proposals to make a recommendation.
The committee included:
- Brock Cherry, city planning director
- Lonnie Hill, deputy city planning director
- Andrew Finch, senior planning and co-project manager
- Chris Gaub, city public works director
- Jesse Patton, city engineer
- Melissa Kinzler, city finance director
- Kirsten Wavra, deputy city finance director
- Brian Patrick, Great Falls Public Schools business operations manager
The committee’s recommendation was based on Orion’s “past work in similar communities both in and outside of Montana, their intimate knowledge of the newly adopted Montana Land Use Planning Act, and their demonstrated ability to complete the requested work,” according to the city staff report.
The city allocated $300,000 for the growth policy and that funding is being used to pay for the consultant, according to staff.
During the meeting, Commissioner Rick Tryon asked where the funding came from.
The city is using federal COVID relief funds, from the CARES Act, and the $300,000 was specifically designated for the growth policy during last year’s budget process, which was discussed in multiple public meetings and specifically highlighted in staff’s budget presentations and the above and beyond requests documents.
Commissioners voted to adopt the budget last summer during a public meeting.
City accepting applications for growth policy committee
The city also expects to receive $30,000 from the Montana Reinvestment Plan Act and GFPS contributed $50,000 toward the growth policy, according to the staff report.
Since the city has $380,000 available and commissioners awarded a $371,184 contract, Tryon asked where the remaining $8,816 would go.
“Does that go back to the slush fund for Rick Tryon,” he joked.
Lonnie Hill, deputy city planning director, said that the plan is different than a capital improvement so there isn’t really a contingency fund for any unanticipated expenses, but they may through the process, determine they need an neighborhood plan or overlay and those funds could be used.
“But I don’t think it goes to the Rick Tyron slush fund,” Hill said.
“Darn,” Tryon said.
Tom Moore, GFPS superintendent, said that the school board is aware the district is participating in the growth policy process and that the district has been in discussion with the city manager for the last several years on using its federal COVID relief funds to cooperate with the city in looking at the short and long-term growth of the city and the district.
According to city staff, the growth policy will also:
- evaluate existing school district boundaries, conducting a thorough review of GFPS administration and growth projections, and determining future land acquisition needs as part of the existing conditions/issues/opportunities framework. “All of these will be done in synergy with the City of Great Falls’ growth strategies.”
- conduct a comprehensive market assessment that focuses on future growth trends, housing, and market sectors. It will also analyze the financial/administrative impact on service delivery, cost of development, and infrastructure decision-making (specifically schools).
Commissioners also made appointments to the growth policy steering committee.
According to city staff, the committee’s objective is “to ensure the involvement of a diverse range of groups, entities, disciplines, and citizens throughout the growth policy process. Members will provide input and feedback at each stage of the planning process, including the preliminary plan vision and goals, guiding principles, base concept development, strategies, element policies, priority actions, implementation strategies, and recommendations.”
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The committee members will be expected to attend at least 75 percent of meetings, a minimum of 15, between June and December 2025, according to staff. Committee members are volunteers and will not receive any compensation.
The committee, according to staff, will be involved in:
- reviewing ongoing growth policy drafts, objections and goals
- serving as the communication channel for their area of expertise or representative group
- assisting with public engagement efforts
- ensuring cohesion, collaboration and minimal contradictions in the growth policy
The city received 58 applications for the committee between March 26 and April 12.
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The mayor and each city commissioner provided up to five recommendations for each interest area, ranked in order of preference, according to staff, who then then assigned a numerical value to each recommendation, which resulted in the following recommendations for committee membership:
- Rick Tryon, city commissioner, selected by the commission
- Heather Hoyer, GFPS superintendent, selected by GFPS
- Brett Doney, Great Falls Development Alliance director, selected by GFFA
- A Malmstrom Air Force Base representative who has not yet been selected
- Katie Hanning, representing housing and development
- Kris Cron, Mike Hallahan and Brian Kaufman, representing business and industry
- Tom Heisler, representing agriculture and environment
- Abigail Hill, representing public health and medical
- Stephanie Erdmann, representing higher education and adult training
- Spencer Woith, Carol Bronson and Wayne Klind as the citizen members
During the May 21 meeting, Jeni Dodd, a regular city meeting goer, said that the list was the “most absurd item on the agenda tonight.”
She said the application stated for the general citizen spots on the committee, they were “to provide representation of the ‘typical Great Falls resident.’ To help point out ‘blind spots’ that may not be visible to the city or other organizations.”
“Then you go and choose folks that aren’t typical Great Falls residents,” Dodd said.
She said the committee didn’t represent young families, senior citizens on fixed incomes or the Native American community, among others.
Commissioner Shannon Wilson said she went through all of the applications and that it was a “little disappointing” that only 58 people applied.
Wilson said she didn’t see “any Native American interest apply to be on the steering committee.”
One applicant, who was not selected, wrote that she coordinated the indigenous strategy for Clearwater Credit Union and that she was a member of Cree nation.
Wilson said she liked the way the committee was selected and that “it was fair.”
Commissioner Joe McKenney said that initially, the steering committee was larger and government heavy.
He said commissioners asked Brock Cherry, city planning director, to pare down the membership categories and include the private sector.
McKenney said that each commissioner had a different wish list, but “I’m real comfortable with our final product.”
He said the city needed “folks that are going to be working on the ground, growing our community to be on the steering committee. “This is a real good steering committee.”
Commissioner Rick Tryon said that it was a fair process of selecting committee members from those who applied.
The committee he said is advisory and won’t be making final decisions on the growth policy.
“It may not be perfect. It’s really workable and I think really good,” Tryon said.
The Electric requested all of the applications for the steering committee.
Those who applied and weren’t selected are:
- Amie Thompson
- Amy Rapp
- Barbara Mullens
- Candace Morley
- Darren Esannason
- David Saslav
- Deb Huestis
- Dianna Lynn
- Erin Throckmorton
- Ethan Clum
- Gena Gremaux
- Jake Blaine
- Jamie Laabs
- Jean Clary
- Joe Stulc
- Josh Gustafson
- Kathryn Hanson
- Kellie Pierce
- Kevin Taggart
- Kim Skornogoski
- Kody Diekhans
- Lacy McDonald
- Leigh Larson
- Marcia Lennick
- Maria Valandra
- Mark Margaris
- Megan Heimel
- Michelle Bruner
- Mike Parcel
- Nicole Scott
- Paige Turoski
- Pete Fontana
- Quincie Jones
- Robert Long
- Rocky Galloway
- Rorycal Roberson
- Samantha Smith
- Sandor Hopkins
- Sharey Morris
- Shawna Rothwell
- Sherrie Arey
- Stephen L’Heureux
- Sydney Blair
- Tim Peterson
- Todd Swathwood
- Trina Thayer
- Zac Griffin
Commissioners formally started the growth policy process in December 2023.
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Planning Director Brock Cherry wrote in a memo to commissioners and the planning board last fall that the process is a “significant and comprehensive undertaking.”
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“Our goal is to create a growth policy that truly represents the interests and needs of the community. To achieve this, we plan to engage the public through surveys, listening sessions, informational booths, social media engagements, and most importantly, by educating them regarding the comprehensive outcomes that come with specific growth strategies and decisions,” Cherry wrote in his memo.
During the Oct. 17, 2023 work session, Cherry walked commissioners through what a growth policy is, is not and his planned timeline.
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“It’s not a wish list. If we treat it as a wish list, I think your constituents are going to be very disappointed,” Cherry told commissioners. “It’s not about you,” Cherry said of the plan needing to represent broad citizen perspective. “It’s the people’s plan.”
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During the Dec. 19 meeting, Brett Doney, GFDA director, said that the community needs a realistic policy and the top concern at their agency is housing production.
He said that the community isn’t hitting the numbers recommended in their February 2022 housing market demand assessment.
GFDA commissioned the assessment, which was conducted by Concord Group and projected that there was demand for about 450 new housing units per year in Cascade County over the next decade.
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GFDA commissioned an update to that assessment, the results of which were released on April 17 and found that there’s demand for about 650 new housing units per year over the next decade.
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Over the last few years, the city has approved multiple apartment building projects, to include the recently approved Bay Drive project.
Both the city and county have approved multiple single family or townhouse style projects over the last two years.
In April, the city issued permits for 15 new single family homes.
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Construction has begun on some of those projects.
Doney told commissioners in previous meetings that the local economy is improving, but the area is losing affordability due to housing costs and availability.
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He said the community needs more infill development and more affordable housing options.
