Rec Board Working Session Brings in Vocal Crowd

It was standing room only Wednesday night in the Whitehall Council Chambers as the Whitehall Town Council conducted a working session concerning the Recreation Board members and the grounds. The working meeting was also meant to garner input on a proposed amendment to how the Recreation Board is comprised.

Along with Mayor Janacaro-Hensleigh the full council and concerned parties, including the Whitehall Saddle Club (WSC), school, pool board, and general public discussed the future of the recreation complex.

After a short welcome from the mayor, ground rules were given and Town billing clerk Kennedy Kleinsasser gave a ten-minute presentation, which included diagrams and photos of the current grounds, including the rodeo arena, baseball fields, and an aerial view showing future ideas for the communities consideration and input (see left).

Kleinsasser also presented a thumbnail history of the past relationship between Jefferson County, the Town, and the WSC concerning the 2004 gift to the Town of the property and subsequent financial responsibilities.

Funding for the grounds, including and especially maintenance by both the County and Town Governments, in recent history has been spotty at best with the WSC and Baseball organizations making improvements through grants, donations, and volunteer help - which has decreased in recent years for various reasons.

Kleinsasser continued, remarking that recent research done by council members and county officials has uncovered new funding sources, including ARPA, FWP grants, and possibly putting a mill levy forward to voters in support of the recreation complex and pool.

After the presentation concluded, the meeting was opened for public comment. However, the amendment as to who sits on the Rec Board was largely ignored, with comments mainly focused on the presentation and ideas for the complex itself.

Several commenters, including Tom Jenkins, Maxine Samuelson, Bill Gillespie, Dean Briggs, Tim O'Donnell, and several others addressed their past and present involvement with the recreation complex. Their areas of involvement mainly concerned groundskeeping, rodeo events, parking, and arena condition. Rec Complex grounds upkeep and difficulty in maintaining the arena, ballfields, and parking areas, along with attracting volunteer labor, was a common thread throughout comments.

Hannah Nieskins, WHS Superintendent, noted the Montana High School Association has made baseball and softball approved official high school sports. Several parents have approached the school board in regard to this development. The Rec Complex baseball fields would be needed by WHS as enrollment continues to increase.

After the podium cleared of commenters, several things were clear:

• the Town owns the Rec Complex.

• the Rec Complex Board advises the Town Council, which governs the complex.

• updates will require significant funding, volunteer times, and serious commitments from the Town Council, WSC, Rodeo and Baseball organizations, the Whitehall school district, and the citizens of Whitehall.

However, several items were still fighting for clarity.

The proposed amendment regarding who sits on the Rec Complex Board, as well as how those seats are obtained, which was the reason for the working meeting, was finally discussed.

Questions surrounded whether the mayor could/should appoint a member of the WSC to the Rec Board, or if the WSC has the power to appoint its own rep; either way, the Town Council would the final say. Samuelson asked whether a Town Council member sitting on the Rec Board has the power to vote, which was also disputed. Lonna Johnson, former Rec Board Representative for the WSC said that an amendment was filed in 2014 with the Town Clerk Summer Fellows, who then never finalized the amendment; that amendment made a Council member a non-voting board participant. Kleinsasser said the Town has a document, also from 2014, which states the opposite. Councilwoman Linda Jung asked Kleinsasser for a copy of the document.

After a call for a determination of the amendment, the item went to vote. Jung mentioned that several changes to wording needed to be made, as well as a date change mentioned by audience member Bridge Morse. Roy McBride voted yes, Jung, Pat Peterson, and Katy James abstained from voting as they did not feel prepared to vote on the item during the working session, and Shawn Hoagland and Bill Lanes voted no. The amendment was moved to the Monday, January 9th Town Council meeting.

The overall consensus of the work sessions seemed to be that the past is the past and the future is wide open to improving the Recreation Complex to attract more events, and opportunities, and there is a need to get on the same page with planning.