03/18/2024
The Helena Public Schools are looking into alternative uses for a former district school building that would benefit teachers and students rather than leasing the space, according to Superintendent Rex Weltz.
In hopes of generating revenue, the district has sought proposals to lease the May Butler building, 55 S. Rodney St., which formerly housed the administration and the district therapists’ offices. Weltz said during the board of trustees meeting on Tuesday, March 12, that the district received and declined two proposals to transform the building into a homeless shelter.
Weltz said the district is now soliciting other proposals that may fulfill other needs, suggesting that the building could be used for teacher housing or repurposed as classrooms to house the Kinder-Sprouts, an upcoming program aimed at early literacy for kindergarteners.
“What we’re looking for in the district is really something that’s more intimate, more impactful, more direct to our district, and as we did with the Ray Bjork Learning Center (see “3 Questions For,” below) that added financial impact that was positive,” Weltz said.
The superintendent doesn’t anticipate bringing recommendations to the trustees in the near future but added that the district remains open to ideas for the building.
Public Notice
City greenlights $267,500 in community investments: The city commission has approved financial grants to four projects with Local Fiscal Recovery Funds it received from the federal government.
At its meeting on March 11, the commission approved spending $94,000 for the Business Improvement District to construct a downtown public restroom; $26,000 for the expansion of the Exploration Works interactive center; $47,500 for a sustainability study for the Helena Regional Sports Association; and $100,000 for the Friendship Center to help purchase a building for the nonprofit to expand its services.
5 Things to Know in Helena
Affordable housing coming soon: The city commission has agreed to increase its loan to United Housing Partners through the Helena Affordable Housing trust fund to construct affordable, multi-family housing. The city last August loaned United Housing $400,000 to help fund the Twin Peak Apartments complex on the corner of Alice and Dorothy streets. At its meeting on March 11, the commission approved a request from the housing group to increase the loan to $800,000 due to the project’s growth. The apartment complex is expected to include 72 units.
City prioritizes water and ADA ramps for funding: City commissioners have prioritized two projects to be partially funded by the State-Local Infrastructure Partnership Act. The infrastructure program will help replace ADA ramps as well as equipment at the wastewater treatment plant. The Montana Legislature allocated Helena about $458,000 from the program, and the city will match a quarter of the costs. The city will now submit applications for each project to the state Department of Commerce.
Summertime fun at a cost: Helenans should expect to see fee increases at both the Last Chance Splash Waterpark and the Bill Roberts Municipal Golf Course this summer. The city commission on Monday, March 11, approved bumping waterpark fees by $2 and golf course season pass fees by $50. According to city officials, the increases are needed to keep up with operational, staffing and maintenance costs.
St. Peter’s breaks ground for dialysis wing: St. Peter’s Health has announced the construction of a new nephrology and dialysis wing. The development will be on the west side of the hospital near the emergency room. The $5 million expansion was funded through private donations and is set to be completed in early 2025.
Gift shop moves to the walking mall: The Montana Historical Society has temporarily moved its gift shop to the Securities Building at 101 N. Last Chance Gulch on downtown’s walking mall while the museum undergoes renovations and construction. The shop will be open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The store will be at the downtown location until early 2025, when museum construction is expected to finish.
3 Questions For
St. Peter’s Health has leased the former Ray Bjork Learning Center, 1600 Eighth Ave., from the Helena Public School District and is renovating the space into a daycare center for the children of its employees. Renovations began the first week of February and are set to be completed in August. Montana Free Press spoke with Wade Johnson, the hospital’s CEO, about the impact that the daycare will have on the Helena community. His comments have been edited for length and clarity.
MTFP: Why is St. Peter’s Health investing in a childcare center?
Johnson: We have a long history at St. Peter’s of trying to support our workforce by providing childcare for them. Helena and Montana struggle greatly with having adequate access to childcare. So years ago, St. Peter’s put together what we call our childcare center, called “Pete’s Place,” and we have been historically too small to be able to meet the needs of our workforce.
We’ve, over the last five to seven years, been looking at options that we might have to extend more access to childcare for our employees, which would subsequently also help the community as a whole. Freeing up more slots. We looked at various different options, and not too long ago we were made aware of the opportunity for a much, much larger facility than we have now. That definitely caught our attention.
We plan to have up to a little over 200 slots for our kids. I think the max that we’d be able to do there is 240 in the new site, and we’re currently serving about 100 kids, so we’re doubling our capacity.
MTFP: What are the details of the school’s lease agreement and renovations?
Johnson: We have a lease on a per-square-foot basis for a 20-year lease. It’s about $245,000 a year. It’s about $3.5 million [renovation], and one of the cool parts about this whole story is that we have very generous foundation supporters for St. Pete’s who are donating to this initiative. In addition to that, we have about $1 million coming through an [American Rescue Plan Act] Childcare Innovation and Infrastructure Grant that will also help. So between our St. Peter’s Health Foundation and the generosity of our supporters there and the ARPA funds, it certainly makes this project a lot more feasible. Frankly, without the support of the foundation and this ARPA grant, this would, in the current environment, be almost impossible to do.
MTFP: How is this renovation going to impact Helena?
Johnson: I think it is important, and from our perspective, this is just another example of how St. Peter’s Health invests in the community. It’s not just about patients in the hospital, although that’s important, right? This is really about how we collaborate with other organizations in the community to help the well-being of the community as a whole. I think that’s pretty unique in that regard. We just had a national firm here a few weeks ago that does hospital accreditation admissions, and they commented how impressed they were, how important this project is and how impressed they were that we were doing something like this. They found it pretty unique that not many health systems are putting in this much effort to take care of their employees, the community and the school district all at the same time.
Helena legislative districts and candidates
The deadline to register to run for the Legislature was Monday, March 11. Twenty-one candidates are seeking to represent Helena, East Helena, the valley and surrounding areas, alongside holdover senators Janet Ellis, a Democrat in Senate District 41, and Mary Ann Dunwell, a Democrat in Senate District 42. Here’s a list of the districts and the candidates:
House District 79, southwest Helena, west Helena Valley
- Emily Harris, Democrat
- Demetri Joslin, Republican
- Luke Muszkiewicz, Democrat
- Jill Sark, Republican
- Anne Woodland, Democrat
House District 80, northwest Helena
- Rachel Burright, Republican
- Melissa Romano, Democrat
House District 81, central Helena, central Helena Valley
- Mary M. Caferro, Democrat
- Dustin Scott, Republican
House District 82, Capitol area, southeast Helena Valley
- Pete Elverum, Democrat
- John Looney Sr., Republican
- SK Rossi, Democrat
House District 83, East Helena, southwest Helena
- Jill Cohenour, Democrat
- Wes Feist, Republican
- Christopher St. Jean, Republican
House District 84, east and north of Helena
- Michele R. Crepeau, Democrat
- Julie Dooling, Republican
- Jon Jackson, Republican
- David Williams, Democrat
Senate District 40, west Helena and west Helena Valley
- Greg L. Guthrie, Republican
- Laura Smith, Democrat
Senate District 41, central Helena and Helena Valley
- Janet Ellis, Democrat (holdover senator)
Senate District 42, East Helena and northeast Helena Valley
- Mary Ann Dunwell, Democrat (holdover senator)
Might Be Fun
An ABBA tribute band is coming to town with “Mania: the ABBA Tribute” at the Helena Civic Center on Sunday, March 24. Tickets range from $25 to $75 and are available on the center’s website.
Helena History
“Helena This Week” is reported and written By JoVonne Wagner. Send your Helena news and tips to [email protected].