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Residents urge council to reject ICE partnership and raise housing, traffic and environmental concerns
Summary
Public commenters called on the council to avoid cooperation with ICE, promoted a plan to rehabilitate a South Side apartment building, and raised neighborhood objections to a refuge island and an oil sheen on Yagan Creek during the meeting's public-comment period.
During the public-comment portion of the meeting, multiple residents addressed a range of community concerns.
Lane Dorsey of the Billings Alliance for Immigrant Rights urged the council not to enter into a 287(g)-style agreement with ICE and opposed local police cooperation with immigration enforcement. Dorsey said the group had gathered testimony alleging coercive mistreatment of immigrant women in detention and asked the city to "take a stance against ICE." The council did not take action on the request during the meeting.
Just Humphrey described a private proposal to purchase and rehabilitate the Colonial Apartments in Billings' South Side, describing a plan to preserve 20–30 housing units and restore a 107-year-old building while working with the city to bring it up to code.
Several other speakers raised neighborhood concerns: Ken Ard criticized a refuge island installed on State Avenue as a poor use of funds that closed a neighborhood driving route and asked for more public input; Paul Clark reported an oil sheen on Yagan Creek and urged additional investigation; and others flagged governance and audit questions about downtown improvement districts and encouraged continued community engagement on traffic and safety projects.
Council members acknowledged the comments and did not vote on any of the issues raised; speakers asked for follow-up and greater community engagement on the projects and policies discussed.
