Other Envision Lincoln Updates

Master Planning

Envision Lincoln continues to work on master planning. Lewis and Clark County and the Montana Business Assistance Connection were awarded two separate grants totaling $47,000 to fund development of a professional master plan.

"The one thing we will have to do is a (Request For Proposal) for a contractor to develop a master plan," she said. A committee will develop the RFP based on templates used by other communities and then it will be submitted to the county and to MBAC for final edits before it goes out for bids.

Good said the RFP will make it very clear to prospective contractors that the final master plan will be a living document that will see changes from community input as it moves along.

"There are going to be changes because it's a community process. There's a small group of people putting together the RFP, but when they're actually working with the community to get the work done, there may be things that come up," she said.

Laurie Welty, president of the Lincoln Valley Chamber of Commerce, emphasized that point in an e-mail to LVCC members earlier this month, saying "(T)he delivered product will represent information and input gathered from businesses and residents. Community outreach will be an important and ongoing effort throughout the process."

Although there has been some concern about a pair of downtown renderings released in 2019, Good explained that those were designed simply as a look at possibilities that could be incorporated, not a final design.

"It was just meant to give vision to the possibilities," she said.

Concerns that have been brought up include snow removal, ATV and snowmobile traffic, and possible access issues to downtown businesses and parking, which is a major safety issue with the businesses along Highway 200.

"I think the most important thing for people to realize is that we will do our best to make sure everybody has a voice," Good said. "We can do our very best, but at the end of the day, it's really up to (community members) to make sure they're heard. It's going to be important for them to make sure they come to these meetings. We'll have an initial meeting with the contractor to line out what we do and don't want."

Non-profit effort

Following a core team meeting early this month Envision Lincoln began moving forward with plans to pursue its own 501c3 nonprofit status.

"There are a lot of hoops we have to jump through," Karyn Good said.

The first order of business is to partner with an existing organization that will serve as a non-profit umbrella organization for Envision Lincoln while it pursues its own status.

Organizations they have had conversations with include the Blackfoot Challenge, the Heart of the Rockies Foundation and the Montana Business Assistance Connection.

"It's really a matter of an organization deciding to work with Envision Lincoln," Good said, explaining an organization willing to do so would have to have the approval of their board.

In the meantime, Envision Lincoln will work toward developing a three-to-five-year work plan and budget outlining their program descriptions and goals, determine values and missions statements, and develop their bylaws and articles of incorporation.