BUTTE — It’s been years in the making, but Butte’s Uptown is on the cusp of creating a business improvement district in which a coalition of property owners are willing to pay a little more in property taxes in order to fund projects and improvements in the historic Butte area.
“We’re really excited to kind of get that ball rolling and just kind of improve Uptown,” said Miner’s Hotel General Manager Cassidy Smith.
Butte’s Council of Commissioners is expected to approve the Uptown Butte Business Improvement District later this month.
“It’s a great asset for a community to have. We are the only city of any size in the state of Montana that does not have a business improvement district,” said Butte Community Development Director Karen Byrnes.
More than 60 percent of property owners within the district are on board. If the district is approved, they will pay more in taxes to go to improvements within the district.
“Maybe safety things like better lighting, coordinated advertising and marketing, maybe make it a more livable place, maybe make it a more walkable place,” said Second Edition Books owner Ann Finch-Johnston.
The district will have to create a board of directors to determine how to allocate funds.
“It’s creating a new vehicle for improvements to happen that are driven by the property owners that are paying into the district,” said Byrnes.
The city received about 10 letters from property owners who were against the new district; however, most support the plan.
“I think there’s a great mix of just young, enthusiastic people who are looking to just kind of re-market Butte and just kind of get the word out there of what the community is and the cool things we're able to do when we, you know, kind of work together,” said Smith.
The Butte Council of Commissioners will take public comment on this proposed district at its Dec. 11 meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the Butte Courthouse.
