Town Hall marks beginning of Lincoln Community Master Planning

Editors Note: Full disclosure, I am a member of the steering committee for Community Master Planning, but I'm still out of local reporters to cover this. This isn't a press release or editorial. I've covered it like I would any other large community meeting.

The first phase for developing a master plan for the community of Lincoln got underway at a Town Hall meeting at the Lincoln Community Hall Wednesday, March 2 that drew nearly 90 people.

The purpose of the meeting was to explain the master planning process and begin gathering feedback on what community members would like to see for Lincoln. It also served as a window into misunderstandings and confusion about why the plan is being developed.

Much of the misunderstanding stems from a concept rendering of a revitalized downtown published in the BVD in February of 2020 that included several unworkable or unpopular ideas.

"Just throw that out of your mind, throw that out the window. It has nothing to do with this effort here," Lincoln Valley Chamber of Commerce President Laurie Welty said at the start of the meeting.

While the illustration was intended to be a catalyst for conversation, the headline for the story it ran with unintentionally implied it was an existing plan. The story accompanying the illustration covered an Envision Lincoln open house to discuss an in-town trails plan and to start the conversation about downtown revitalization. That meeting highlighted the need for a professional master plan as a guide for local projects.

Funding for planning

Welty explained to the crowd that the master planning process is just getting started and that feedback from the community is integral.

"It might be 80 percent who say we don't want anything to change, then that's our answer for the community. Some may say we want this much change; others may say we want this much improvement," she said. "Change isn't all a bad thing; there are some areas that lend themselves to really good improvement. It doesn't mean the complexion of the town is really different from what we know."

Welty also provided a brief overview of Lincolns acceptance in 2020 as an affiliate member of Montana Main Street program, the grant funding stemming from that and the process that led to the selection of Freestone Development as the contractor for the master plan.

Later in the meeting, Ann Pichette with Montana Business Assistance Connection added details about funding for the planning effort. She explained that the Lewis and Clark County Commission -which serves as Lincolns local governing body - applied for and received a Montana Main Street grant for Lincoln. MBAC then applied on Lincolns behalf for a second grant through the Big Sky Trust Fund, using the MMS grant as matching funds.

By matching the grants against one another and with matching funds from Heart of the Rockies Foundation and another private donation provided to the LVCC, there was enough money to contract with a professional planner.

Public Engagement

"When I first saw the request for proposal that was put out, what really struck me about it was how large the emphasis was on public engagement process. I think there have been some lessons learned from when that rendering was released," Dustin deYong, owner of Freestone Development said.

DeYong said his role is as a facilitator who can guide the planning process, point to resources and work with his consulting partners Century Companies and Dick Anderson Construction.

"The ownership really is in the hands of the community," he said. "This process is yours to own. And make it what you want the future of your community to be."

He asked people not to just focus on change, but also to think about things they would like to see in the community. "That might drive some change, but it's going to change it from your perspective."

Starting Point

DeYong walked through the steps of creating a Master Plan, starting with discovery process. "(That's) what we're doing right now; public engagement, the town hall and public survey."

The survey result will be compiled and analyzed as they come in over the next couple of weeks and deYong expects to find areas the community can agree on that will drive the discussion forward.

"The masterplan can be what you want to make it," deYong said. "If our focus is on the economy here, how do we boost our economy and drive more dollars into existing businesses, or attract new businesses? That can be a part of the plan. If marketing is a major objective for the community of Lincoln, to bring new, fresh employment opportunities or new jobs into the community, then that is part of the master plan as well. This a community master plan process. This is not just a downtown revitalization process."

Once some community goals are identified, he expects to form focus groups of volunteers from the community to dig into them and flesh them out.

"If people say 'I don't want to do anything but fix Highway 200, figure out better parking and better crosswalks, and that's it,' then that's it. We'll focus hard and heavy on that," he said. "But if there are other things to take a look at, we sure as heck will."

Once the focus groups complete their work, deYong will begin creating a draft master plan. The development of the final plan should be complete in about four months, with a final product that can guide community projects, help manage change and boost the economy. It will also include information on funding opportunities, ideas and resources to help take action on the plan and different approaches to progress from planning to implementation of projects.

Consultants

As part of deYong's presentation, he introduced consultants Kevin Myhre from the Century Companies and Josh Devos with Dick Anderson construction.

"What we bring to the process is we look into the details and, from a constructability process, and look at...can you build it? And can you build it at a reasonable cost?" Devos said.

Freestone is also working with the Montana State University Community Design Center to handle the design work for projects the community wants to pursue. The decision to work with the Community design center stemmed from a matter of both cost and availability.

"If you went straight to a design firm, one: I can tell you and Josh can tell you it is hard to find one," deYong said. "And two: they're really only going to give you one option. The students have a little bit more time."

Concerns

After deYong's talk, questions highlighted some confusion about whether projects are already moving ahead, concerns about future funding and outright opposition to master planning.

Forest Mercill questioned working with the Community Designer Center students, with concerns about the success rate of projects they design passing muster with professional engineers or design firms.

DeYong said their finished projects should be done to specification and approved.

Myhre said some designs may not be fully fleshed out, depending on how many the students are asked to work on, and that some may still need to have the engineering completed. For example, designs the Montana Department of Transportation may have a role in will have to be engineered to meet their standards. "At least you've got the tools to tell them this is what we want done. I think there would still be some work involved in that."

Lincoln resident Mike Ferguson expressed his total opposition to the planning effort, saying he likes Lincoln as it is and sees no need to change. In his view, master planning seems to be all about driving money to the businesses without concern for the impacts it may have on the rest of the community.

He also asked to get a commitment from Myhre and Devos to hire local subcontractors. While Devos said it make sense to hire locally, he tried to explain they couldn't make such a commitment because there are no projects or contracts yet, and when there are, it's possible neither Century nor Dick Anderson would be involved with them.

The exchange illustrated concern that introducing Myhre and Devos at the first meeting added to the misperception that Century and Dick Anderson had already been selected as contractors rather than serving as consultants.

Funding for potential projects and their maintenance was another big concern.

The planning survey includes questions about preferred funding sources, ranging from volunteer labor, community fundraising, grants and organizations such as a community foundation or co-op to tax increment financing districts (such as the Rural Improvement Districts for roads) or even incorporation for local tax base

It seemed clear anything involving taxes would likely be unpopular and lifelong Lincoln resident Bill Kornec voiced his concern that master planning could lead to incorporation for a tax base to fund projects and maintenance. He said, in the past, when more state and federal property was open to recreation, the community was always busy and took care of itself.

DeYong agreed that a vibrant economy is a key to local, non-tax fundng. "If we can develop the economy in a smart and simple way, you can drive more dollars into the community and the community can re-invest in itself."

The meeting wrapped up following small group discussion on six questions about Lincoln and views on master planning. A larger group discussion about the responses was planned to wrap up the meeting, but that fell through after too many had people left.

Check back with the BVD and on blackfootvalleydispatch.com for updates as Community Master Planning progresses.