Dear Editor: Response to Saddle Club Letter

Dear Editor,

We would like to take the opportunity to address the concerns and points brought forth by the Whitehall Saddle Club (WSC) in their letter to the Editor in the March 29 edition of the Ledger. The WSC letter stated that the "Town owns the land, but the physical structures and the arena belong to WSC." In fact, the existing lease agreement dated July 1, 2014, specifies, "The premises subject to this lease agreement is described as follows: That area of the Whitehall Recreational Facility in the Town of Whitehall, Montana, upon which is located a "clubhouse" constructed by and belonging to the Saddle Club together with the attached cement slab."

In the March 27 Rec Complex Board meeting, WSC saddle club representative, Bridget Morse, was asked if the city were to provide another city-owned building in lieu of the building referred to in the current lease, if that would be an acceptable compromise. Morse indicated, on behalf of the WSC, a desire to remain in the current clubhouse building through 2024. Termination of the lease between the two entities, the City of Whitehall, and WSC, affects the property described in the lease, the clubhouse on the cement slab. The WSC has no claim to any other part of the property according to the lease terms. As the meeting minutes and transcript will show, no mention was ever made of possible legal action, which was alleged in the WSC letter.

The Whitehall Saddle Club has been repeatedly asked to identify which fixtures and improvements to the land will stay and which they intend to remove upon lease termination, but no answer has been forthcoming. As a result of getting no answer, the Rec Complex Board has been exploring which entity owns the improvements made to the complex during the terms of the 10-year lease. Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder, Ginger Kunz, who was in attendance at the March 27 meeting, intends to provide Rec Board members with the amounts, dates, and receipts for four county Metal Mine fund disbursements made to improve the complex. We acknowledge that private donors and private sweat equity have contributed to making the town's complex what it is today; however, it is our belief that many of the improvements made to the complex were made with public dollars.

The mission of the Rec Complex Board is to improve the existing Rec Complex facilities in order to increase access to the facilities by the community. No one entity owns all or part of the community Rec Complex; it belongs to all of us. We would like the Whitehall Saddle Club to be a strong community partner in improving the complex. None of us wants to "end equestrian activities" as the WSC has suggested. In fact, if you know us, we are promoters of these activities. As an advisory board, the Rec Complex Board does not have the final say in regard to the lease. Regardless of what the Town Council decides in regard to the lease agreement and the property, the property is still owned by the town, and any parties wishing to use it moving forward, can still do so.

It is our greatest desire to see the Whitehall Recreational Complex flourish in the coming years. The citizens of the greater Whitehall area deserve an improved complex that is safe, accessible to all, and a place of pride for our community.

The lease agreement referenced in this letter as well as a full transcript of the March 27 Rec Board meeting, may be obtained from the city offices. We invite you to view this information for yourself.

Respectfully,

Curtiss LaFountaine (Chair)

Hannah Nieskens (School)

Tim O'Donnell (Rodeo)

Gina Ossello (In-town)

Logan Reiff (In-town)

Kelley Seccomb (Pool)

Maria Walker (Baseball)

Editor's Note: This letter is only from the above entities, not the entire Rec Complex Board, as Bridget Morse (WSC) and Bill Gillespie (Outside Town Rep) did not sign. Councilman Roy McBride is a non-voting member of this board as well.