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Central Butte Neighborhood Plan Town Hall Meeting Notes August 9, 2010 Page 1 of 4 The purpose of the meeting was to engage the citizens in the development of a plan for the Central Butte Neighborhood planning area. Three desired outcomes of the meeting were intended. Participants became informed about the purpose and the current status of the planning process; they provided feedback on what they saw as opportunities, trends and challenges facing the future of the neighborhood; and to learn about the next steps of the planning process. Seventeen people signed in as participants in the meeting. Attendees sat in 4 separate small groups and responded to five pre-determined questions. Answers were recorded onto flip charts and transcribed here. Each group was advised to write down individual responses, no group consensus was requested. Each row in the table represents one group’s responses. Note that (2x) indicates that multiple people in the group agreed with the response. 1. What is most important to you about the neighborhood? What do you want to make sure continues into the future? Quiet area Like the area People improving property Nice people (California St. problems) Not much Trees on sidewalk & new sidewalks on Main Upgrade values on housing 37 new homes & 84 rehabs Like streetscape on Main Chester Steel No park for Central We have wide streets Open space Great architecture With in walking distance of schools, uptown, restaurants, shopping Cross section of people (low income, business-men) People buying property and cleaning up Amiable neighbors Diversity of business & residential Dead end street; no traffic People Street upkeep Keep yards and homes maintained Area improvements More people are moving in and investing ---PAGE BREAK--- Central Butte Neighborhood Plan Town Hall Meeting Notes August 9, 2010 Page 2 of 4 2. If you could change one thing about your neighborhood what would it be? Improve infrastructure (sidewalks & lighting) Work to improve dilapidated buildings & property Force property owners to improve property or tear it down (bring up to code- electrical) Slow down commercial traffic (reroute traffic) Stop sign at Missouri and 1st North South Reduce vagrancy Better infrastructure (sidewalks) Fix storm sewers Good neighborhood pavers Better pavement on streets More trees Pride in neighborhood – non-resident land lords need regulation Need housing safety regulations Noise Snow removal Absentee owners The amount of debris More & better sidewalks Clean up – fix up – paint Unattractive empty lots Lack of police Lack of landscaping Not enough parks with play ground equipment Decaying streets 3. What types of businesses/services would you like to see established or retained in this neighborhood? Less bars More small scale retail Grocery store uptown Gas station at Front Street & Montana (Safeway) Reestablish and renovate uptown medical buildings Old St. James [Hospital] Candy store/ice cream store Grocery stores Movie theaters Historic/hardware store Teen centers Parks-summer & winter Bike trails Historic homes preserved Help for home loans & restoration ---PAGE BREAK--- Central Butte Neighborhood Plan Town Hall Meeting Notes August 9, 2010 Page 3 of 4 Drug store – bakeries - restaurants for North Star Ice Cream Flower Shop Young people services – dance clubs Use Narandre for more fun – sprint turf Skating rink – roller skating Grocery store Jitney to get up hills Maintain current businesses but no more in residential areas (no more pawn stores or casinos) Playground area for kids or park 4. How important is retaining the historic character of the buildings as it pertains to redevelopment? Extremely important – “trailers next to historic homes” Substandard poverty housing in historic homes Very important Need ordinance for health & safety – codes – environmental Renters need support New buildings should appear historic to “fit in” Sub-standard historic housing must be repaired & made safe Historic property that is past repair should be demolished and not saved only because it is historic VERY IMPORTANT Maintain the character & history of our city Every home had its own character New construction should fit in YES! Funds be available to help restore & rebuild Central Butte As long as it doesn’t stifle development Cost effective Very important to tourism Make preservation more affordable (Reverse taxation) make grants available 5. What topic areas should the steering committee focus on first? (Transportation, Utilities, Economic Development, Housing, Parks, Services, Land Use, School) 1-Services, 2-Land Use 1-Services, 2-Infrastructure (sidewalks) 1-Services, 2-Utilities storm ---PAGE BREAK--- Central Butte Neighborhood Plan Town Hall Meeting Notes August 9, 2010 Page 4 of 4 1-Infrastructure MK - Parks & Services Economic Development Schools Land Use Transportation for low-income disabled (jitney), sidewalks & streets Housing – rental (presently no regulations) - upgrades 1. Housing 2. Economic Dev. 3. Parks 4. Land Use 5. Utilities 6. Transportation 7. Services 8. Schools Housing & Land Use Housing & streets/sidewalks Housing & streets/sidewalks Streets & sidewalks/parks In addition, participants had the opportunity to provide additional feedback by writing their comments on blank cards. Three cards were returned. 1. Investors invest in the small quaint homes for small families to own or rent. Children should have their own back yards to play in. Instead of children having to walk quiet because they live on the 2nd floor of an apartment building. 2. Something should be done to help in the development or something for the Old St. James Hospital. Give it some degree of priority upgrade. 3. What is the intention for West Iron Street? Housing? If not, more. Landscaping that area that was planted with wildflowers was not kept up. Sprinklers, H2O, tailings. (A map was submitted outlining the area indicated in the comment.) Meeting notes transcribed by: Jonathan Myers Reviewed by: Jolene Rieck, ASLA Peaks to Plains Design PC