An Empty Arena That Holds Many Memories... How Did We Get Here?

On Saturday, August 24, 2024 the Whitehall Saddle Club (WSC) removed the majority of the Whitehall Receation Complex’s arena, with the understanding that certain properties were theirs, the remainder the Town of Whitehall’s.

This development and sad occurrence come after over two years of argument between the WSC, the Town, and the Whitehall Recreation Complex Board.

Many residents said they were unaware of the disagreement; many were shocked by the removal of the property, and many more had questions.

Why? WHY and HOW did it come to this?

This article aims to shed some light on the history of this matter by containing the information presented by the Whitehall Ledger to the public via Recreation Board Meetings, Town Council Meetings, Letters to the Editor, and more. The dates of these editions are also provided; these articles have also been set on the Ledger website as FREE, so anyone (even those without a subscription) may access them.

As the Ledger tries to remain as neutral as possible on all topics - hopefully, these articles will help those who missed the many meetings and discussions make an informed decision on the current situation.

8/10/2022 (Town Council Meeting): Councilman Roy McBride reported that the Whitehall Rec Complex committee was working on a vision plan to make the area a more viable complex with additional fields, public use areas, and more.

“It is not acceptable the way it is now,” McBride said. “There’s a lot of land that could be used better, with less maintenance and more efficiency.”

McBride said that there are several grants the Town is looking into, as well as changing the governing committee to elected officials.

The Council voted down a request from the Whitehall Saddle Club to renew their lease on the rodeo grounds for 26 years, specifically because their current lease does not expire until 2024 and the Rec Committee is working on a new vision for the complex.

1/11/2023 (Rec Board Working Session): 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 conditions. 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.

1/11/2023 (Town Council Meeting): The hot topic at hand was the Council’s determination on Resolution 2023-02, in regard to updating the Rec Complex Bylaws, which was also the topic of the special work session held on the 4th (see article below).

The Rec Complex Board would now be comprised of nine members: 1 Rodeo rep, 1 Whitehall Saddle Club rep, 1 Whitehall Schools rep, 1 Baseball rep, 2 at Large reps, 2 surrounding area reps, and 1 council member who would sit as chair and vote only in the instance of a tie.

Councilman Roy McBride mentioned that #13 in the amendment, which addresses anyone who wishes to donate/repair the Rec Complex, their donation then becomes the property of the Rec Complex. McBride clarified that this is not retroactive and only covers items from the amendment passing forward. McBride said he hoped this would no longer be a point of contention to the amendment. Morse mentioned that this may discourage groups from fundraising towards improvements, as the improvements would not stay with the clubs that worked for them.

The Council voted to amend the motion with clarifications to #13 and #7 (not replacing the entire board at the same time - staggering term limits) as discussed.

2/15/2023 (Town Council Meeting): The following individuals were added to the existing members of the Recreation Complex Board, bringing the total on the Board to ten members: Bridget Morse (Saddle Club Rep), Kelley Seccomb (Pool Rep), Gina Ossello (In-Town Rep), Tim O-Donnell (Rodeo Rep), Curtiss LaFountaine (Out-of-Town Rep), and Hannah Nieskens (School Rep).

3/29/2023 (Letter to Editor): The Whitehall Saddle Club (WSC) was founded in the early 1920s with the express purpose to promote equestrian activities in the Jefferson Valley. For several decades the WSC has been located at the Recreational Complex. There, the WSC has hosted countless events over the past few years, including Barrel Racing, O-Mok-Sees, Horse Shows, Rodeos, and countless other equestrian events. The WSC’s presence at the Complex was made possible through a lease agreement with the Town. The Town owns the land, but the physical structures of the Clubhouse and the Arena belong to the WSC. The WSC, until recently has also performed and was responsible for maintenance on the grounds.

The Arena was made possible due to the generous donations of the community members and memorial funds over the past years. These donations could have been made to the Town but were made to the WSC. The reasoning behind this was that the WSC exists for the purpose of equestrian activities and could better protect and maintain the facilities. The Town, however, changes with every administration, and the fear was that a new administration would not support or dedicate its time to the Arena.

Since January the Town Council has made it abundantly clear that it no longer wants to maintain the relationship with the WSC. The Council acted, of its own volition, to change the managing board of the recreational spaces of Whitehall, the Recreational Board. Initially, the Council did not include the WSC, a long-term member of the board and leasee of one of the spaces. It was a hard fight, but the community showed its support for the WSC, and the Council reluctantly relented and readmitted the WSC as a member of the board.

At the Rec Board meeting Monday night (3/28), the Board took a vote to early terminate the lease agreement. That vote means nothing without the Town Council’s approval. The lease agreement is between the Town and the WSC, the Board has no authority to cancel the lease or speak on the lease. However, the vote reiterated the belief certain figures want to end the WSC. The Board, designed to maintain and promote recreational activities wants to dismiss the WSC and the events we have hosted over the years as irrelevant.

Editor’s note: The Rec Board consists of the following individuals: Bridget Morse (WSC rep), Maria Walker (Whitehall Baseball Rep), Logan Reiff (in-town rep), Gina Ossello (in-town rep), Bill Gillespie (outside-town rep), Curtiss LaFountaine (outside-town rep), Kelley Seccomb (Pool rep), Tim O’Donnell (Rodeo rep), Hannah Nieskens (School rep), and Roy McBride (non-voting Town Council member).

It is the WSC’s belief that the Council will shortly vote to terminate the lease with WSC. The WSC’s stance from the beginning has been to fulfill the lease through its expiration in June 2024 and renew the lease with Town so WSC can continue its mission of providing equestrian activities.

Terminating the lease will complicate matters. Under the lease agreement, WSC must remove all of its property, this includes the majority of the Arena. If WSC does not remove it, the Town can take legal action. Several voices in town hall have expressed an opinion of removing the Arena, calling it an eyesore. Could the Town build a new complex? Maybe, but that will take time, and a new Council might not support rebuilding.

The WSC plans to host the BY’s Rodeo as planned on May 6th. Please come and support these kids, as they do not deserve the punishment they are receiving, because of a few loud voices wishing to make their mark on Whitehall by ending equestrian activities. At the moment other future events are on pause until we know if we can continue at the complex. Please reach out to the WSC member if you have any questions on this issue. If you want your voice to be heard on this matter, please attend the Town Council meeting on Monday, April 17th at 7 PM or reach out to the councilperson in your ward.

Respectfully, Whitehall Saddle Club

3/29/2023 (Rec Complex Board Meeting): In a tense monthly meeting of the Whitehall Recreation Complex Board on Monday, March 27 in the Town Hall, it was voted and approved to recommend to the Whitehall Town Council early termination of the Whitehall Saddle Club’s (WSC) lease.

The motion, made by Gina Ossello and seconded by Tim O’Donnell, came after much discussion as to who owns the property at the Whitehall Recreation Complex was debated, as well as questions to WSC rep Bridge Morse as to whether the property owned by the WSC would remain if the lease was not renewed in 2024, which Morse said she could not speak for the Board but that she believed the items would be removed if the WSC lease was not renewed.

“I understand there’s animosity as to where somebody thinks money’s going to be - over here is getting more or less than over there,” audience member Jody Ryan said. “But I think it’d be really silly to start telling people to take their chutes and go. I think we all have to come together and find out how we’re going to spend this money if we get it,” he said, adding that everyone in attendance is looking for the betterment of the community.

“We’ve beaten this conversation to death,” said O’Donnell. “It’s time to, excuse my language, but someone needs to sh-- or get off the pot. Someone’s got to pull the trigger here and move forward.”

ARPA coordinator and Boulder Fairgrounds committee member Leah Lewis cautioned the board on real property vs non-real property and suggested getting legal advice before moving forward. She stated that the Boulder group had the same “growing pains” the Rec Board is currently going through, and they established that the County should buy the real property, while the Rodeo groups should focus their funds on belt buckles, rodeo clowns, etc (non-real property).

The vote was 6-3 (Maria Walker and Bill Gillespie abstained, and Morse voted no).

Curtis LaFountaine was voted vice chair of the board. Maria Walker was voted as secretary.

Ginger Kunz, Jefferson County Clerk & Recorder, explained how the Rec Board could garner monies via a mill levy, but that a county Rec Board would also need to be established, a process that would take upwards of six months and may not make it onto the next election ballot.

She noted that a petition showing the town’s desire for the new recreation complex would need to drawn up, as well as the Commissioner’s creation of an intent to create a new district.

A sub-committee for goals/timelines, as well as fundraising, was established with Ossello, Walker, LaFountaine, and Logan Reiff volunteering.

4/5/2023 (Letter to the Editor): I am so distressed to hear about the discord between the Whitehall Recreation Complex Board and the Whitehall Saddle Club.

I sincerely hope for the sake of all of us who have supported activities at the rodeo grounds with monetary donations and sweat equity that both the Rec Complex Board and the Whitehall Saddle Club will choose to find the goodwill to work this out for the benefit of the greater community and most especially the kids.

Respectfully submitted, Ruth Lott

4/5/2023 (Letter to the 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.

5/17/2023 (Town Council Meeting): At the May meeting of the Whitehall Town Council, held Monday, May 15th at the Town Hall, the Council heard a brief but informative presentation from Gene Townsend on Three Forks’ recreation complex and the process Three Forks has taken to improve the facility.

The presentation was well-received by the Council, who questioned how the vendors were handled, who covered maintenance, and whatnot to Townsend. Townsend noted that the Three Forks facility went from barely bringing in 300 people a night to now having 3300 people on their biggest nights and holding about 25 events per year. The Town is also in talks about having a weekly rodeo series, at the facility.

The presentation was followed by Town attorney Ed Guza’s findings on the property and equipment at the Whitehall Rodeo Grounds. The property and who owns what has been the center of the question at hand, since the Whitehall Saddle Club (WSC) has had their building lease early terminated and all property owned by them must be removed by June 17, 2023.

Guza said that, in looking at the items in dispute, and utilizing the Montana Code Annotated (specifically MCA 7018-101 and MCA 7015-103), anything affixed to the ground and without an agreement belongs to the owner of the land - the Town. Anything embedded, resting, and a permanent fixture also constitute the Town’s ownership and cannot be removed by the WSC as they are the Town’s real property.

“No one wants to make this into an adversarial process,” Guza said. “But the town has a strong case.”

Action item 4 in New Business requested the Council’s determination on the WSC’s request for a 180-day extension on removing the 1940s-built Saddle Club Clubhouse.

Councilman Bill Lanes started the discussion with a written statement.

“I’ve had two discussions with Saddle Club members this past month that have been cordial and I do appreciate them for reaching out to me. However, I did vote in the affirmative last month to accept the Rec Board’s recommendation to terminate the lease on the Clubhouse structure. I’m going to be consistent and not flip-flop. I’m 100% behind the vision being cast to bring added improvements to the entire facility.

“This hot-button issue in my opinion has very little to do, or nothing to do, with the lease of a clubhouse. The matter is more about ownership of the property and improvements made to the complex specifically the arena for our community. There is a discrepancy as to whether the WSC owns specific items or the town of Whitehall associated with the arena.

“All over Whitehall entities make substantial efforts to improve specific community landmarks. Such as the pavilion at the park, skatepark, gazebo, fishpond, Silver-tower park, bike park, pool, baseball fields, library, and more. Seldom or if ever have I heard of any organization stating they will remove the improvements made.”

Lanes added that he would like to see a special commemoration for the WSC, much like the Veteran’s Wall or the tiles at the Rotary Fishpond, in appreciation for the hard work the WSC has done.

“Let’s mend some fences and pull together for the good of our community. That mentality will be a much better legacy when we are all pushing up daisies,” Lanes said.

“We can’t get the building out of there by mid-June,” Rich Johnson said, adding that the WSC has been searching for building movers and getting bids, but it is both short notice and very expensive. Johnson then moved the conversation toward the disputed property, as mentioned by Guza.

“I would pay for mediation out of my own pocket to get this resolved,” Johnson said. The Council was split with the desire to resolve the issue, but also not drag the situation out another six months. In the end, a 30-day extension was approved for removing the clubhouse, and the Council requested the WSC, Guza, and Town reps meet in the next week to further discuss the disputed property.

“We still have time,” Councilman Shawn Hoagland said, speaking on upcoming events scheduled at the rodeo grounds and saving summer events.

Whitehall Chamber of Commerce President Liz Pullman questioned Guza that, were the disputed property to go into litigation, would that make scheduled events unable to proceed because of a lawsuit? Guza assured that, in most cases, judges would rule as a status quo - that if it were a regular event normally held, the litigation would not necessarily hold up events using the property. The Chamber and several others are still seeking rodeo and other event contracts for Frontier Days.

8/30/2023 (Rec Complex Board Meeting): At the August meeting of the Whitehall Rec Complex Board, held Monday, August 28 at the Town Hall, the Board voted to recommend a final proposal of the Whitehall Saddle Club (WSC) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to the Whitehall Town Council. This comes after the Council tabled the discussion during their monthly meeting in regard to the WSC’s list of items they owned at the rodeo grounds until it could be verified.

“The list was very in-depth,” rodeo representative Tim O’Donnell stated. “We didn’t go over it piece by piece, bolt by bolt.” Out-of-town representative Curtiss LaFountaine added that there were several items of contention, namely the bleacher covering and the warm-up arena, that he had issues with, but overall the list was concise. WSC member Lonna Johnson clarified that the Board had asked for what the WSC had purchased and believed was theirs, and those items are listed.

In-town representative Gina Ossello motioned that the list be valued at $20,000 and that the Town would pay the WSC $20,000 in two installments of $10k each, they would give the WSC 5% of the gate for all city-sponsored events for 10 years, would have free use of the grounds for 10 years, and the historic marker mentioned in the MOU would be instated. If this was not acceptable to the WSC, the Town Council would give the WSC 60 days to remove their property, notifying the Town Attorney when they were doing so.

Johnson said that the appraisal for the items on the list had not come back to the WSC yet, so nothing could be determined until then.

O’Donnell asked if the WSC would forego the appraisal in order to get things moving, as the Board is “stuck on multiple issues” until this is resolved. O’Donnell added that with all the work the Board is doing to improve the rodeo grounds, the rodeo grounds are always going to be a part of the complex. O’Donnell then asked if putting that into an amended motion - that the rodeo grounds are always a part of the recreation complex - would ease the WSC’s mind, as there had been talk by some, the Mayor included, that the recreation complex would always be used as a recreation complex, but there was no guarantee that a rodeo grounds would remain a part of that complex.

Johnson said that the WSC felt like they were being pushed out and that what they have done in the past is not good enough for this new group [the Rec Board].

Ossello said there is no push for the WSC to leave, only to get bigger, better events, though she noted it has been hard to work with the WSC in the past.

Town Clerk Kennedy Kleinsasser also noted that the recreation complex will always remain a recreation complex, despite recent rumors of Ossello’s desire to turn the complex area into condos. Because of the grants being applied for, Kleinsasser said, the property must always remain a “park” area. Ossello also stated that the rumor was untrue and that it may have stemmed from the condo properties being proposed by Steve Warmoth on his private property, which is near the recreation complex.

Town Council rep Roy McBride also noted that he has heard rumors that he is against equine events and the rodeo grounds in general.

“I would not be sitting here if I did not believe in this project and the rodeo grounds. I’ve been involved in rodeos since I was a little kid; why would I change my focus now? I have no desire to see the rodeo grounds go,” McBride said.

Ossello amended her motion to include verbiage that the rodeo grounds would always remain a part of the recreation complex, in addition to her MOU proposal to WSC. The Board approved the motion, with a “nay” from WSC rep Bridget Morse and an abstention from outside town rep Bill Gillespie.

The MOU must now be presented to the Whitehall Town Council at their September meeting once the WSC has received its appraisal of the property.

Kleinsasser informed the Board that the rec complex grant to Barrick via the Whitehall Sustainability Committee had been amended from $1 million to $110,000 in order the fund maintenance on the property, as desired by Barrick. Kleinsasser added that Barrick wanted a more thorough breakdown of costs and a timeline of improvements.

Nieskens informed the Board of discussions with the County in order to work out a land swap - the property where the Search & Rescue building is located in the recreation complex, with property owned by the school near the dump, in order to accommodate MHSA size requirements for a new baseball field.

Whitehall School rep Hannah Nieskens motioned to ask the Town Council to consider creating a recreation district with the same borders as the high school in order to ask for a recreation mill levy in the future. The Board approved.

THIS IS ONE YEAR OF COVERAGE: The Ledger will continue with the most recent year of coverage in the September 4th edition.