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9/08/2025
Business owners continue to struggle with the city, recommended parking changes
Earlier last year, a pair of small business owners in downtown Helena struggled to afford monthly parking permits, and, in an effort to address their concerns with the city, they started a petition, eventually gathering more than 160 signatures from other business owners and employees in the area.
Anita Mehus, owner of Sunflower Salon, and Bobbi Lambertson, owner of Bobbi Salon, have shared a leased space on the walking mall for the past five years but said they would consider leaving if parking issues don’t change.
The petition, along with other public input, soon led the Helena City Commission and the transportation services department to form a new parking advisory committee. The committee’s objectives include handling parking pricing policies and recommendations to the commission.
During a meeting last week, city transportation and parking committee officials presented a list of recommended parking fee increases. Among the proposed changes was a bump in the cost for monthly permits. Both Lambertson and Mehus were in attendance.
“We need help,” Lambertson said during last Wednesday’s meeting. “… As soon as my lease is up, I’m leaving because of parking, and I’m tired of my customers being ticketed.”
More than a year after the parking advisory committee was established, Lambertson and Mehus said they feel as though nothing has changed.
“So, now here we are, and we’re in the same boat, and you’re just raising the rates,” Mehus added during the commission meeting. “There will be a negative impact downtown. That’s all I can say, I guess. It feels like a waste of time even being here.”
Mehus said downtown businesses are mostly feeling the impacts of parking fees, and local employees can’t afford to pay them.
Currently, the city charges monthly permit fees at $60 for street parking, $70 for surface parking lots, $85 for garage parking and $95 for multi-lot parking. The recommended increases would add $5 to street and surface parking permits, $10 to the multi-lot permit and $15 to the garage permit.
Additionally, over the past year, the city implemented a four-hour parking permit at $30 per month to help accommodate downtown employees who don’t spend all day at their jobs and changed hourly parking costs to a base of $1 an hour. Both of those fees will also increase under the proposed recommendations.
Haley McKnight, manager of Sage and Oats, located at 424 Last Chance Gulch, told Montana Free Press that her business has also felt the strains from parking issues. She saw a decrease in older clients and younger families with children due to parking and payment challenges.
McKnight, who is running for the city commission, added that she doesn’t believe the parking advisory committee has sufficiently performed its role.
“ I don’t think that the parking commission is effective because from my perspective, [they] just do what the city staff wants,” McKight said.
McKnight said she thinks the parking transportation department is not handling its funds wisely.
During last week’s meeting, Transportation Director David Knoepke and Deputy Director Chris Couey included an overview of the department’s 2025 fiscal year finances, showing the department’s debt of about $657,242 from purchasing kiosks back in 2017.
Couey said that the number is expected to decrease by about $100,000 in the next fiscal year.
The department has generated about $1.5 million from permits, about $85,000 from tickets and about $428,000 from hourly parking fees.
Helena Parking Advisory Committee Chair Julia Gustofson attended the commission meeting, responded to some of the concerns and said the committee had considered parking infrastructure maintenance when developing its recommendations.
Commissioners took no official action regarding parking but encouraged the public, city staff and the parking advisory committee to continue discussions.
“We are not just negative business owners; we do want a positive path forward,” Mehus told MTFP. “But it cannot be a one-way lane. We have to be listened to or met, and that has not happened since we started the petition.”
“Most of us who are down here love downtown, and we want to make it vibrant,” Lambertson added. “But some things, like having to pay high fees for parking or, honestly, any fee for parking, are not helping people to come down here.”
The next parking advisory committee meeting is Thursday, Sept. 11, at 4 p.m. at the City-County Building, 316 N. Park Ave.
Public Notice
Land use plan meeting: The city of Helena will host an open house for its draft land use plan Tuesday, Sept. 16, at the Helena Civic Center’s ballroom, 340 Neill Ave. The open house will allow the public to review the plan and ask the project team and city staff questions from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Election Day: Helena’s primary elections are on Tuesday, Sept. 9, featuring city mayor and commission races. In addition, the Helena Public Schools’ $283 million bond for new school facilities will be on the ballot. People with absentee ballots, which were mailed Aug. 22, can hand-deliver them to the county elections office on the first floor of the City-County Building, 316 N. Park Ave., by 8 p.m. Tuesday. It’s too late to mail ballots. For further questions, contact the county elections office at (406) 447-8339.
5 Things to Know in Helena
During a meeting last week, the city commission approved two resolutions by Public Works Director Ryan Leleand to increase water and wastewater system rates for all city customers. The proposed wastewater changes include a $25 fee increase for septic dumping per 1,000 gallons and a $45 increase for servicing sewer lines. Proposed water system fee changes include increases for water tapping and fireline fees by various amounts. Both resolutions will have a public hearing during a city meeting on Monday, Oct. 20. Residents can view the entire proposed fee changes on the Sept. 3 city commission administrative meeting agenda packet found here.
City Commission Clerk Dannai Clayborn informed commissioners about a notice to cancel the general election for the Helena Citizens’ Councils due to a lack of competitive races. Lewis and Clark County elections staff told the city in August that the HCC race was unnecessary because of the low number of people who filed to run for the four available seats across each of the five districts. Instead, the commission will declare the candidates elected by acclamation at the Sept. 8 meeting.
The Montana Environmental Trust Group and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will host another community open house regarding the cleanup and redevelopment of the former ASARCO smelter site in East Helena. The open house will be Monday, Sept. 22, at the METG’s new office at East Helena City Hall, 306 E. Main St., from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event will offer opportunities for East Helena residents to discuss project updates with officials from the trust group, EPA and others. Find more details about the smelter clean-up on the METG website here.
A campaign to improve accessibility at Spring Meadow Lake, hosted by the Montana State Parks Foundation, will begin Saturday, Sept. 20. The kick-off event will be a free, family-friendly picnic, “Wild for Accessibility,” at Spring Meadow State Park, 2715 Country Club Ave., from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. The campaign aims to generate funding for an adaptive kayak dock and other adaptive recreation equipment for people with disabilities, according to the foundation’s press release. The equipment will be used at the state park, Ten Mile Creek trail system, the Montana WILD Center and at Fort Harrison VA Medical Center. Visit the foundation’s website for additional information.
Wild Montana and Business for Montana’s Outdoors will hold a community conversation on Monday, Sept. 8, at Brothers Tapworks, 40 S. Last Chance Gulch, to discuss recent news to rescind the Roadless Rule. The event will feature panelists Hilary Eisen, Loren Rose, Ben Rigby and Nick Gevock to discuss impacts to conservation, watershed and natural resources and the outdoor economy. Visit Wild Montana’s website for additional information about the event.
Might Be Fun
Helena’s fifth annual Septemberfest is Friday, Sept. 12, through Sunday, Sept. 14, with several events throughout the weekend. Friday evening, the Sixth Avenue hill will be shut down for the soapbox derby, where people can watch races and patronize food trucks. Saturday will feature a balloon sculpture festival by Sauter Balloons. Sunday, the United Way of the Lewis and Clark Area will host its Family Fun Fest with a 1K donut fun run, carnival games and a dome house in downtown Helena. The weekend is free with opportunities to support local nonprofits. Visit the Septemberfest website for the full schedule and to register for the fun run.
