UPDATE: I emailed Brett Doney on 11/13 and he is tentatively scheduled to meet with NC#4 in December.
It seems the GFDA is planning a heavy industrial park that would fall within Neighborhood Council 4's boundaries, if annexed into the city.
Not only did Commissioner Jolley not have any details, but Council 4 has been left in the dark as well. Following is correspondence that Commissioner Jolley has had with Greg Doyon and Brett Doney. (These comments were first posted here) :
Not only did Commissioner Jolley not have any details, but Council 4 has been left in the dark as well. Following is correspondence that Commissioner Jolley has had with Greg Doyon and Brett Doney. (These comments were first posted here) :
November 13, 2007, 7:48am - From Commissioner Jolley:
I am trying at the moment to get more info on...
Dear Greg & LisaToday's Tribune has this...."GFDA previously worked with private developers to create a heavy industrial site, but those efforts haven't come to fruition. The organization now is partnering with the city to develop the industrial park." Brett speaks. He says something might happen before Christmas. What might happen?What is the nature of this "partnering"? Who in the city is working on this? I would like as much background information (within reason) as possible. You could sent attachments of emails, Memos and such.ThanksMary Jolley
An email received by Mary from Greg Doyon:
Mary:
Thanks for making me read the paper…
Brett and I are in contact frequently about potential development in and around the city. I was at the meeting, where he mentioned this opportunity and believe it is undeveloped land N-NW of MAFB. He has also been working on the area around the Malteurop.
His comments that the city is working/partnering with GFDA are accurate to the extent that Brett is in regular contact with the planning department, city engineering, community development, and my office to facilitate development in the city (i.e., permit processes, infrastructure extension, required zone changes)- it happens all the time. Not only is the city a major investor in GFDA, but we are their partner as well.
If I read between the lines, it sounds like you may have concerns that the City is making promises regarding a new development opportunity. Should there be a development/annexation agreement in the future, the Commission will have to approve all of that (like it normally does). The City has not made any promises or commitments with any new developer/business and I have not seen any annexation/development agreement drafts. I am aware of Brett’s efforts to land manufacturing/heavy industrial businesses and will continue to assist him with those endeavors.
I’ll copy Brett should he want to provide more information about the prospect he was referencing.
- GtdGregory T. DoyonCity Manager Great Falls, MontanaAnd an email from Brett....Mary-I’d love to get together with you to bring you up to date on our industrial park efforts. We’ve negotiated an option agreement on land east of North Industrial Park on 18th Avenue North. If the appraisals come in with values that are acceptable to both the property owners and us, we hope to be able to finalize the option agreement and sign it by the end of the year. That’s the “announcement” I referred to Wednesday. The next step Is to design the infrastructure for the first phase and put together budget estimates. City staff have been very helpful in helping us look for industrial sites and sites for a rail industrial park. There haven’t been any promises or agreements made, formal or informal.We do hope for City support of the project. As soon as we have a site secured and a preliminary plan and budget, we’ll be ready to work with the City to try to find a way to build the infrastructure for the first phase.BrettBrett Doney President Great Falls Development Authority
2 comments:
Wow, see what a little transparency and insistence on public participation makes? They can work together and I hope they respect the neighborhood councils much more than the 'Gang of Four' did.
The affected area ,neighborhood council #4, in this case should be in the loop at the earliest stages of these ideas otherwise they will probably just stay ideas. Our leaders need to understand that! HGS is a good example of not including the public and being transparent.
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