Residents and commissioners debate packet content and digital binder; resident urges inclusive outreach

Commissioners on Feb. 6 spent part of the meeting debating what belongs in the public packet and the digital binder and how to present outside research materials to the public. The exchange followed public comment from an attendee who said he had reviewed the meeting packet and found material he judged not directly related to the commission’s mandate.

A resident, identifying himself as John Lehi and describing himself as a Bozeman property owner, told commissioners he had found several items in the packet “non-germane” to the commission’s work and urged the body to reach out to a broad array of civic groups if it intends to solicit community input. Lehi said packet materials included articles on gender equity and references to outside organizations and suggested that if the commission is going to conduct outreach it should include organizations across the political spectrum as well as social-service and neighborhood groups.

Commissioners responded that the packet and the digital binder have grown as members and staff assembled background material. Several members said they prefer keeping a broad set of reference materials available but acknowledged the need to better label or organize the materials so the public understands the provenance and purpose of each item. Staff proposed reorganizing the packet so that core reference materials (bylaws, the city charters, and prior study reports) appear clearly on the agenda while supplementary external documents are kept in the digital binder and labeled as outside resources until the commission decides whether to adopt them as reference.

Members agreed to discuss the question at a future meeting and to hold an explicit agenda item on packet organization rather than making ad-hoc changes. The chair said staff would prepare a revised agenda structure for review and that the commission would postpone removing or adding items until it had a formal discussion on classification and presentation.