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Residents urge Missoula council to review MRA project and parking-permit enforcement
Summary
During the public comment period residents urged the council to reconsider a Missoula Redevelopment Agency feasibility study for Carys Park and asked for a review of the parking-permit (PPV) enforcement program after alleged towing and inconsistent treatment.
Three members of the public used the permitted three-minute comment slots at the start of the Dec. 1 meeting to press city leaders on separate but community-focused concerns.
Big K Montana Spitzmacher recounted a prior exchange about Black Knight Security and complained that grievance forms at a facility were ignored; he said oversight should have been handled by the sheriff’s office in certain circumstances. “I filled out those grievance forms, and they meant absolutely nothing to her because she never read them,” Spitzmacher said.
Barbara Pulley urged the council to overrule a Missoula Redevelopment Agency (MRA) decision to fund a $50,000 feasibility study for an outdoor multi-season recreation feature at Carys Park, saying seasonal weather and existing private offerings make the city-funded study unnecessary. Pulley also cited MRA remittances to the city, saying minutes record a remittance of $4,526,035 and asking which departments benefit from those funds; the council did not respond directly to that request during the meeting.
Martin Reinbold, who identified himself as unhoused in Missoula, described his experience with the city’s parking-permit program (PPV), stating his permitted camper and vehicles were towed after an arrest and alleging unequal enforcement and harassment by code enforcement: “They are guilty of harassment. They are guilty of abuse of the law,” Reinbold said. He asked the council to review PPV operations and consistency of enforcement.
Mayor and councilors thanked speakers for their comments but did not take immediate action on any of the requests during the meeting. The public-comment period is intended to inform council deliberations; any formal referral or staff follow-up would require a separate council motion or committee referral.
The matters raised touch on oversight of private security and facility grievance processes, the Missoula Redevelopment Agency’s use of funds and project priorities, and enforcement practices tied to programs for people living in vehicles. Council staff or committee chairs could elect to refer these topics for follow-up or include them on a future agenda for discussion.
