Thursday, September 21

Finlen Hotel Lobby

Pick-up your badges, register for the conference, register for a tour, or get a question about the conference answered.

Finlen Hotel Ballroom

The City of Bozeman is developing its first Equity and Inclusion Plan which will guide policy, programs, and partnerships to help create a place where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Part of the effort includes partnering with the Extreme History Project to craft an inclusive historical narrative that conveys the city’s diverse past through stories told by historically marginalized groups. We will present findings, give an overview of the plan, and discuss the value of this undertaking.

Presenter: Sarah Rosenberg, AICP

Sarah Rosenberg, AICP, is a Planner and the Historic Preservation Officer for the City of Bozeman. She joined the City in 2017 as a development review planner but has since taken over managing the Historic Preservation Program. She also serves on the Montana Association of Planners board. Prior to working in Bozeman, she worked for municipalities in Colorado. She holds a Master of Science in Historic Preservation and a Master in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Colorado Denver.

Presenter: Nakeisha Lyon

Nakeisha Lyon is an Associate Planner for the City of Bozeman, and serves as a co-lead in the development of the city’s first Equity & Inclusion Plan. Nakeisha has her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Florida State University, and a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Central Florida.

Presenter: Cheryl Hendry

Cheryl Hendry holds an MA in History with a certificate in Museum Studies from the University of Delaware and a PhD in History from Montana State University.  She has previously worked in Cultural Resource Management and is currently an instructor in History at Gallatin College, MSU and is the Advocacy and Engagement Manager for The Extreme History Project.

Presenter: Crystal Alegria

Crystal Alegria is the Co-founder and Director of The Extreme History Project, a public history nonprofit located in Bozeman, MT. Crystal has worked in the field of public history for the past twenty years at a variety of museums and heritage organizations, always with the goal of bringing history to the public and highlighting the stories of those that have been marginalized. She has written extensively on the history of Montana and produces The Dirt on the Past Podcast with co-host, Nancy Mahoney. She co-produced an Emmy-nominated documentary, The Story of Us: The Women Who Shaped Montana that premiered on Montana PBS in 2022. Crystal has served two terms on the Bozeman Historic Preservation Advisory Board and was a founding member of the Bozeman Preservation Advocacy Group. Crystal has a B.S. in Anthropology and a M.A. in History both from Montana State University. 

1 CM

Butte Archives Building

Join the City of Missoula and the Western Transportation Institute as they share lessons learned from Transportation Demand Management (TDM) projects that work to improve transportation options, reduce congestion, and improve parking options for the outdoor recreations options that so many people love about Montana. From river access to winter sports pursuits, come hear stories of successful partnership programs to increase TDM at work and at play.

Presenter: Matthew Madsen MPH

Matt graduated from the Colorado School of Public Health with an MPH and has over 10 years of experience in the field of public health and is a staff lead on the intersection of transportation and public health at the Western Transportation Institute. He has extensive experience leading community-based projects and community engagement processes. 

Presenter: Katherine Auge

Katherine Auge is the TDM Program Manager for the City of Missoula where she manages Missoula In Motion: a program aimed at increasing the use of sustainable transportation in the Missoula Valley. She is originally from Buffalo, NY and has a degree from Boston College.

1 CM

Northwest Energy Building

The Montana State Library(MSL) will offer a hands-on course with our mobile computer lab that will instruct students how to find and use GIS open data sources and add them into maps, including how to find and add MSL GIS data.   Course exercises will include creating online maps using ArcGIS Online and performing basic analysis using online tools.  We will discuss the usage of cadastral data as well as other state government GIS data to create useful maps and perform quick analysis that planners often need to do.  Furthermore,  the course will include how to create a buffer around critical properties and export a list of properties within those buffered areas, how to filter and analyze selected data, how to create basic applications from web maps, and creating exports of web maps to PDF documents. 

Presenter: Matt Trebesch

Matt Trebesch is a GIS Analyst at the Montana State Library (MSL).  At the MSL, he manages a variety of statewide projects including the MSL “Flood Hub” and the now retired Montana Covid-19 dashboard and Hub.  He also provides statewide support of MGIA (Formerly MLIA) grantees and applicants. His previous GIS experience includes GIS coordination with a municipal GIS department in Montana and GIS manager for a software vendor of 9-1-1 and other dispatching systems. He has a B.S. in Earth Science, Geology with a concentration in GIS from Montana State University, Bozeman. 

Presenter: Jeff Hedstrom

Jeff Hedstrom is a GIS Analyst\Cadastral Theme Lead at the Montana State Library (MSL). He has worked at MSL for nearly four years and primarily focuses on maintaining the statewide cadastral and PLSS datasets. He also interacts with other local/state government GIS employees to assist in solving cadastral related problems. He has a B.S. in Earth Sciences with a concentration in GIS from Montana State University and a M.S. in GIS from Northeastern University, Boston. 

2.5 CM

Finlen Hotel Ballroom

An overview of land use and planning legislation from the 2023 session

Presenter: Kelly Lynch, JD, AICP

Kelly has more than 20 years of experience as an attorney and local government advocate. She focuses on collaboration between public agencies, the private sector, and elected officials with diverse backgrounds to provide creative, efficient, and effective leadership for Montana’s communities. She has served as Deputy Director and General Counsel of the League since 2016. Prior to joining the League, Kelly served as Community Development Division Administrator and Special Projects Legal Counsel.

1 CM Law

Finlen Hotel Ballroom

Open to all conference attendees

Agenda will be available soon.

Finlen Hotel Ballroom

The Montana Land Use Planning Act is the star land use legislation to come out of the 68th Montana Legislative Session. This transformational bill will “invert the pyramid” of how land use planning occurs in the communities to which it applies. Planners have less than three years to make the changes to update their comprehensive plans, zoning, and subdivision regulations. Implementation of this bill will be key. In this session, you will hear from three of the primary authors of the bill, who all happen to be planners. Kelly Lynch with the Montana League of Cities and Town, Andrew Hagemeier representing the Montana Association of Planners, and Senator Forrest Mandeville the bill’s primary sponsor. You will learn about ideas to implement the bill in cities, one option how counties can approach opting in, and what changes may come to the legislation over the interim. There will be plenty of time for questions. 

Presenter: Kelly Lynch, JD, AICP

Kelly has more than 20 years of experience as an attorney and local government advocate. She focuses on collaboration between public agencies, the private sector, and elected officials with diverse backgrounds to provide creative, efficient, and effective leadership for Montana’s communities. She has served as Deputy Director and General Counsel of the League since 2016. Prior to joining the League, Kelly served as Community Development Division Administrator and Special Projects Legal Counsel.

Presenter: Senator Forrest Mandaville, AICP

Forrest Mandeville, AICP, was born and raised in Columbus, MT. He has worked in the planning profession in Montana since 2007 when he was hired to work in the Stillwater County Planning Department. Since that time Forrest’s career has taken him from the public to the private sector. Forrest currently provides on-call planning services to a couple of counties and works on a variety of private planning projects throughout Montana. Forrest also served three terms in the Montana State House of Representativese and is currently serving in the Montana Senate where he worked on numerous land-use bills.

Presenter: Andrew Hagemeier, AICP

Andrew Hagemeier is the Senior Planner managing the long range planning and implementation section of Missoula County’s Department of Planning, Development, and Sustainability. Andrew is a member of the Montana Association of Planner’s Board of Directors, and is co-chair of the MAP Legislative Committee.

1 CM

Northwest Energy Building

Butte-Silver Bow recently completed a long over due update to it’s 2008 Parks Recreations Open Space and Trails (PROST) Plan. This comprehensive PROST plan includes near term (5-year) and future visioneering (20-year) Capital Improvement Plans (CIP). This Session will review the successful drafting and adoption in to the BSB Compressive Plan. The presentation will end with looking forward at the implementation of the plan within BSB.

Presenter: Stephen Coe, PE

Stephen is a Senior Planner providing project management and technical expertise primarily focusing on developing planning documents. Stephen also serves as the contract project manager for the Butte-Silver Bow MS4 Stormwater Program. Stephen has experience in PROST planning, permitting, air quality, stormwater, and more. Stephen has planning experience in State Implementation Plans (SIP), Federal Implementation Plans (FIP), Nonattainment Area Redesignations and state climate action planning.  

Presenter: Megan Terry, PLA, SITES-AP, ASLA

Megan has been in charge of multiple planning projects for a range of cities across Montana. Most notably, she in charge of Master Plan for the Silver Bow Creek Conservation Area, which has earned international recognition. Her favorite projects are those that build sustainability, longevity, and resilience into the design and take into account impacts to the surrounding landscape. She is one of only two people in Montana that are certified as a Sustainable SITES Accredited Professional. 

1 CM

Correspondence on meeting location to follow

Venture 100 feet underground to see the original shaft station and the Orphan Girl vein, one of the few exposed veins in North America that can be seen by the public. The tour guides lead you through the drift, sharing stories as you venture 100 feet into the 2700-foot-deep Orphan Girl Mine. Many other surprises wait for you at the 100-foot level. 

 *Note: For those who sign up for this tour, there will be further communication in the weeks leading up to the conference regarding transportation. Transportation to the mine tour will be provided via bus/walking in uptown butte. However, if you would like to get to the tour site via personal means, that can be coordinated with the tour organizer. 

Presenter: Led by Mine Tour staff

1.5 CM

Correspondence on meeting location to follow

Venture 100 feet underground to see the original shaft station and the Orphan Girl vein, one of the few exposed veins in North America that can be seen by the public. The tour guides lead you through the drift, sharing stories as you venture 100 feet into the 2700-foot-deep Orphan Girl Mine. Many other surprises wait for you at the 100-foot level. 

 *Note: For those who sign up for this tour, there will be further communication in the weeks leading up to the conference regarding transportation. Transportation to the mine tour will be provided via bus/walking in uptown butte. However, if you would like to get to the tour site via personal means, that can be coordinated with the tour organizer. 

Presenter: Led by Mine Tour staff

1.5 CM