Public and advisory board member urge commissioners to delay Metropark management hire; board tables Metropark consulting agreement with ESG

An advisory board member and Metropark staff used public comment at a Yellowstone County Board of County Commissioners meeting to press the county on management of Metropark, and commissioners voted to table a consulting agreement with ESG pending additional documents.

Michael Mayotte, who said he lives in Billings and was speaking as an individual, criticized a proposed contract with Venue Solutions and urged the board to set Metropark policies before hiring a general manager. "This contract, I think, is totally inverted," Mayotte said, arguing the county should "get our policies and procedures in place" and "use the advisory board" before moving forward. He asked the board to "table this thing for at least a month," noting the contract materials were provided on the 16th and that the county had a 45-day review window.

An unidentified Metropark staff member who spoke later defended the Metropark team for keeping operations running through COVID and organizational turmoil, saying the team produced "the best financial performance in the 47 year history of Metropark" and that they also delivered a record fair. That speaker also said he believes he is a candidate for the permanent general manager position.

During the consent and claims portion of the meeting, Commissioner Mark asked that agenda item #4, described as the Metropark consulting agreement with ESG, be tabled while staff awaited documents from ESG. The motion to table was seconded and the board voted in favor.

The meeting record shows the board did not adopt any new management contract at the session; the specific Venue Solutions contract Mayotte addressed remained under discussion in public comment while the ESG consulting agreement (item #4) was formally tabled pending further documentation.