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SHAPE THIS NEWSLETTER City commission considering proposed changes to street maintenance fees If approved, adjusted street maintenance assessments could impact Helena mobile home park owners and residents, Credit: Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local/Report for America Credit: Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local/Report for America Helena mobile home park property owners may see an increase in their tax bills later this year as the city determines whether to raise what it charges for street maintenance, potentially impacting park tenants, according to city staff. During a meeting last week, Helena’s transportation staff proposed new rates for property owners to generate $7.3 million for the upkeep of city infrastructure. If approved, the new rates will affect commercial and residential properties, but mobile home owners will, for the most part, see the biggest change. For some residential homeowners, rates may actually decrease. The need for an adjustment is partially due to a city miscalculation, Transportation Deputy Director Chris Couey told the commission. “As we were going through this activity, I think we kind of realized that, I believe, the application of the mobile home rate in the past has not been done as what we think it was intended to be,”  Couey said. Currently, the city charges mobile home park property owners about $87 per parcel per year, when the intent was to charge $87 per mobile home on the property. City staff suggested changing the assessment to a per-square-foot charge instead. That means the larger the lot, the more the owner will pay. Staff also recommended capping square footage rates to keep assessments from becoming too expensive, with a cap of 12,200 square feet for residential properties and up to 1 million square feet for mobile home parks.  “Basically, the million square foot is where we fell on that, but that’s for those big mobile home parks, versus if you had a mobile home on a single lot in the city, you would just pay the square foot charge for that lot,” Transportation Director David Knoepke said. The staff presented the commission with two options to raise revenue from all city properties. The options would each have a different “fixed split” between residential and mobile homes and all other property types.  “What the methodology [changes] is how you’re going to divvy up that pie,” City Attorney Rebecca Dockter said. “Because the same amount of money is going to be collected, but you have to figure out who’s going to pay more, who’s going to pay less and how equitably you can divvy that up.” The first option would split assessments at 65/35, with residential and mobile homes accounting for 35% of revenue and commercial and all other property types paying the remainder. The new rate for mobile homes would be about $0.024 per square foot, while the rate for residential properties would be about $0.029 per square foot. The second funding option splits the revenue burden 75/25, with residential and mobile homes bearing 25%. This scenario would set mobile home rates at about $0.017 per square foot, while the new residential rate would be about $0.021 per square foot. Staff used an example property of 7,925 square feet to illustrate what a new assessment would look like. At the current rate, mobile park owners pay $87 for the entire parcel, but with the proposed 65/35 assessment split, the new rate would be about $191 per lot of that size. With the 75/25 split, rates for a 7,925-square-foot property would cost about $137. Residential properties are currently charged a flat rate of about $216. Using the same lot size of 7,925 square feet as an example, the owner of that property would pay roughly $166 under a 75/25 split and about $229 under the 65/35 scenario. Both Knoepke and Couey recommend the 65/35 split because it is closest to the current rate, if based on square footage. With the staff’s recommended option, the two parcels that make up the Golden Estates Mobile Home Park total about 403,801 square feet and would be assessed at about $9,779, a significant increase from the current rate of $87, according to the city. If the park owner chooses to split that added cost among the tenants, the city figured, those tenants would pay between $10 and $12 a month.  Commonly, the property owner of a mobile home park is responsible for the tax bill, since tenants usually own their trailer and lease the land it sits on. But to address rising property management costs, owners could shift the burden onto tenants, Knoepke said. Commissioner Melinda Reed asked staff whether it would be possible to gradually phase in these changes if approved, raising concern that tenants would struggle to pay the increased costs. “I am deeply concerned about people who may be on a fixed income having to deal with this very suddenly,” Reed said. “I don’t think it’s ever going to be easy to pay, but I don’t want to just drop that subtly onto a lot of people with no warning.” No commission action was taken during the meeting, but City Finance Director Sheila Danielson clarified that the commission will need to adopt new assessment rates by the end of August. Public Notice Helena Public Schools Food Services is requesting that students, staff and parents complete a survey to gather feedback on the quality and services of the district’s food, according to a social media post. The survey can be accessed here.   The city commission will hold a special meeting on Monday, May 18, at 5 p.m. to continue work on reshaping its bylaws. You can find the meeting agenda here.  5 Things to Know in Helena  A city project to assess an alternative railroad crossing route and a roundabout on Montana Avenue has begun, following the city’s announcement of the first steps, according to a press release. Last year, the city was awarded a $3.2 million federal grant for the project, and an environmental study and preliminary engineering are underway this month. Those efforts include what the route could look like, with drilling surveys and traffic data being collected. To submit public comment and to learn more about the project, visit the Be Heard Helena website. City Finance Director Sheila Danielson will be leaving her position, according to the city. Helena Public Information Officer Amanda Optiz said that Danielson has accepted a new job in Washington and will vacate her role later this summer. The city has begun advertising for the position, which pays between $125,000 and $135,000 per year.  East Helena residents are contributing to how the city develops through a community review conducted by the Montana Economic Developers Association and the Montana Business Assistance Connection, according to a KTVH story. The review is a part of a three-phase process that focuses on gathering what community members want to see in East Helena as it grows. A report, part of phase one, was published last month detailing initial public outreach and comments.  Prickly Pear Land Trust workers are studying Helena’s trail system this summer, according to an IR article. Land trust interns will use equipment that analyzes and records trail elevations, grades, obstacles and more. The information collected will help inform recreationists with accessibility issues, PPLT communications and development manager Sarah Ryan told the IR.  Park Lake will be closed for the remainder of the calendar year as crews begin working on a scheduled dam rehabilitation project. According to a press release from the U.S. Forest Service, the day-use area and campground will be closed to the public, and the lake will be drained to allow construction. Residents who live downstream could see an increase in water flow.  Might Be Fun Capital High School will hold its annual greenhouse plant sale on Wednesday, May 20, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The sale will include a variety of tomatoes, flowers, jalapeno and serrano chili peppers and more, grown this spring by the CHS Green Club. Each plant costs $3, and the sale accepts both cash and checks.   The post City’s new rates could hit mobile home parks appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less