News Topics

JAMES E. MILLER
P. O. Box 1172
Belgrade, MT 59714
Cell: 406-600-2411
Email: jimmiller5417@yahoo.com


[Ed note: No response whatsoever has been received.]

January 11, 2007

Ms. Tracy Menuez, President, and
Members of the Board of Directors
Habitat for Humanity
c/o HRDC
32 S. Tracy St.
Bozeman, MT 59715
406-5870-4486
tmenuez@hrdc9.org

Re: Collaboration for clustering of clusters.

Dear Ms. Menuez and Members of the Board:

Please give some consideration to changing the dynamics of how affordable housing is created in the Gallatin Valley. The change is to add to Habitat's individual home program, and is the “clustering of clusters” concept.

You are familiar with cluster housing; it has many names: Company town; condominiums; planned community; planned unit development; apartment houses; co-housing; ecovillage; permaculture community; intentional community; religious colony (e.g.,. Hutterites); zero side-yard, tenements; compound (as in an African village); campus (university faculty and staff housing); and tribal village. You are also familiar with industrial clustering, e.g.,. Bruce Industrial Park in Belgrade; clustering of retail business, e.g., shopping centers; clustering of R&D, e.g., Tech Ranch, Bozeman; and educational clustering, e.g. MSU.

The clustering of clusters is simply bringing selected clusters together onto a suitable location in an orderly and logical manner: Cluster housing, job location and local shopping, and education. Basically, a repeat of the small towns and villages of the past two centuries, but with a logical housing element and elements productive of stable, high value jobs and enterprises.

During the past two hundred years we have seen these originally cluster communities, de-cluster and spread-out into individual specialized clusters which are at some distance from each other, necessitating an increase in road construction and travel. America's love of the car has been a rough road. The car has now turned and bit the hand that caressed it and fed it fuel. Pollution, high cost of cars, insurance, maintenance, high cost of gas, time wasted while commuting, road rage .... the list goes on. Are we, as a society, content to see this pattern of greatly dispursed “clusters” repeat itself endlessly? I hope not. Are we content to see our Montana cities and currently rurban areas emulate Southern California? I hope not. So what do we do about it? Here is the outline of the solution:

Create in the unincorporated and unzoned areas of the Gallatin County, a series of Habitat Clusters which generally follows the theory of: “Live where you work and work (and shop) where you live.” We need to reverse the city planning theory of Balkanizing our communities into separate clusters which thereby require long ribbons of freeways and roads to connect, thereby forcing the use of cars and fossil fuels.

This clustering approach is successsful in Martha's Vineyard. An architect got some folks together and purchased 58 acres, 2/3rs of which was set aside for housing and 1/3rd for job locations. One of the businesses located in the job location was the architect's office which then could offer jobs and housing to his employees. The residential location was set around a “village green” -- a park; all houses faced the park. The traffic was limited to a road which circled the outside of the residential cluster and paths were laid down within the park. These paths were for pedestrians and bicycles (different paths) and interconnected the houses and also with the business location. Pretty neat, yes? Kids could play in the park and be protected against traffic.

How to begin to begin? Habitat could work with various groups to put together a community plan (ala business plan), which examines each element and then integrates them into a “cluster of clusters”. The land would be chosen using demographic and agricultural criteria. The community would include agricultural land (especially good for vegetables, fruits and nuts and other similar crops); residential land ala Martha's Vineyard; business cluster, light industrial cluster and technical and educational cluster. The land ownership would likely be in a land trust with sufficient covenants so that the essence of the cluster of clusters is preserved in an ecologically acceptable manner, but not to stringent as to prevent some reasonable experimentation and diversifications.

I am an expert real estate attorney and continue as a member of the California State Bar. One of my specialties is the drafting of governance documents for co-housing, including condominiums and planned unit developments. Of course any of my work would have to be vetted by a competent real estate attorney licensed in Montana, but I could do the initial drafts.

The first step by the Board is to approve this concept in principle, of the clustering of clusters – research it all you want – but move ahead as you are researching it. Then at an early stage, bring some stakeholders into the discussion, especially land trust. The Land Trust (501.c.3) would hold title and lease the ground to a community development trust or co-op which would actually plan and run the operation. The latter could be a 501.c.4. Since 501.c.3's cannot make gifts to 501.c.4's, the lease payments would have to be around fair market value. However, there is nothing to prevent the Land Trust from making all of the infrastructures improvements from donations and grants.

Other than a Land Trust, a public sub-entity could be created such as an “improvement district” or “development district”, of the County or some other suitable sub-entity. I favor the Land Trust because of the flexibility in planning and executing the plan. Certainly the County would be one of the “partners in progress” as would Habitat for Humanity.

Once the “model” clustering of clusters is established and all the bugs worked out, then it can server as a model for similar cluster communities. Part of the effort would involve the use the Web as a means of outreach and education, with the community plan published on the communities' website.

It is high time to put this concept in the planning stage and then as soon as possible, into the production stage. I stand ready to do my part to see this project from concept to reality.

Sincerely yours,


James E. Miller

--jimmiller5417

DUMBBELL PLANNING VERSUS INTEGRATED COMMUNITY PLANNING – a view of the San Diego megalopolis.
By Jim Miller

We build massive business parks, financial districts and government operations in Downtown, Kearny Mesa, and the Golden Triangle (to name few). Huge daily migrations of people and their steel wheels converge upon these job knobs. Most workers start their work journey from vast oceans of houses, interspersed with shopping centers, a few malls, convenience and liquor stores, spreading like spores from a mushroom patch. The drive is over narrow ribbons of concrete and asphalt.

Thus, the picture of a collection of large dumbbells emerges, with the housing and jobs at each end and the ribbon of highway between the two ends. Despite the best our "modern" planners can give us, metropolitan areas are decried for the traffic congestion, accident rate, crime rate, stress and pollution they cause.

It has not always been thus. The older European model of the family living on the second floor over their shop was imported to America and indeed is found alive and well in many of our older, Eastern cities. Our "modern" planner have eschewed this worker friendly model in favor of the bonehead, dumbbell planning model which requires large knots of people to travel the shank of the bone to get to work.

Think. If we were to reduce the number of car trips on our roads by half, we could save tremendously on energy and auto insurance, reduce pollution and auto, accidents, extend the life of our cars. We would have more free time, less stress, get to know our families better and probably put in a better day's work.

Well, all this good news sounds great, but who is listening and who is not? The auto makers, sellers and servicers; the oil industry; the highway contractors are not listening -- for obvious reason. The kids who live to drive and can't hear us over the thunder of their car boom boxes. The public employees charged with planning are not listening -- that's pretty obvious. Who, then is listening and who cares about changing the model so we get better utilization of our natural and people resources? You should if you want a better way of life for you, your kids and grand kids.

The better model is the "Integrated Community". The model is simple and has been with us for hundreds of years. It is time tested and has proven to be a viable alternative to the urban sprawl or center-city ghetto we see now. To achieve this goal, we will have to virtually wipe out all zoning restrictions and general plans as they are now constructed and adopt a few rules which will implement the models.
Some of the principals upon which the IC is based are:
1. It is good that you work and live in the same residence.
2. It is good that you can walk or bike to work from your residence.
3. It is good that homes can exist side-by-side with buildings in which work is done.
4. It is good that production facilities serve not only the immediate needs of their workers and child care needs but also, where appropriate, larger community needs.
5. It is good that where a production facility supplies a family need or a community need, that it gets fair compensation for such services.
6. it is good that employers create work pods in other geographical areas which require only a small amount of transportation between the main work area and the remote pod.
7. It is good when workers live in the production facility or on the grounds of such facility.
8. It is good that in the integrated community, the goal is to achieve a self-sustaining community of homes, shops and work locations. Planning and promotion should be directed at achieving a balanced mix.
9. Living and working in the same community should be the rule, not the exception.
10. Community leaders should work to develop a sense of belonging among the community members by integrating them into the services offered by local governmental and charitable entities.
11. Public business should be conducted in the most open manner possible. Mechanisms for instant and vigorous feedback should be installed in every home and in all government offices. A combination of fax, phone, computer bulletin boards and on-line services would be used to reach this goal. An enlargement of the Ralph M. Brown Act ("Sunshine Law") would be in order. The California Public Records Act should be amended to require that all government files be opened except for law enforcement purposes.
12. In some cases, government should be larger and in some cases smaller. When regional planning is need for, say, a new international airport, all public agencies having an interest in the matter should join one regional super-government to make the necessary investigations and decisions. On the other hand, land use decisions, could be delegated to a local council. We are moving toward that goal by having citizen advisory councils review and advise on development plans.
Essentially, we could have each large neighborhood or small community establish a planning commission which would examine all land use proposals and existing problems and pass initial judgment, with the right of appeal to the full city council or board of supervisors. Eventually, this planning commission would metamorphose into a mini-city council and would take over most of the functions of the city council, except those which truly have city wide requirements.
Thus a local council could decide whether to use the city trash trucks or contract with a private trash hauler. The "mini-city" council's power could be delegated by the regular city council or revoked, depending on the needs of the community and how responsibly the mini-city council handled its affairs. The "mini" city could use general city staff or hire their own for planning or other city duties.
Planning by cities now is influenced by factors which in the long run, constitute poor judgment by the city planners. Sales tax is a very important source of revenue. There is probably no city planner who does not like a new retail store or shopping center. Contrarily, there is a very strong prejudice against industrial uses which generally generate little or no sales tax revenue for the city of origin.
Why have we come to our way of dumbbell planning? When factories belched black smoke and were intertwined with railroads, the worker could not wait to escape his daily grind and flee to the suburbs. Those who were less fortunate, lived in row houses, cheek by jowl with the factory.
In the bygone days, a large green front lawn and white picket fences beckoned our weary worker home each night. All he needed was an old car and a few bucks for gas each week. Driving on the nearly empty roads was almost fun.
As our cities grew and the long ribbons of concrete passed their tentacles beyond the grass lands into the foot hills, the drive between home and work become longer, more congested and dangerous. We pass taxes for more asphalt, steel and concrete so we could increase our highway speed and thus keep the trips as short as possible. Even as this dream is fading, we build rapid transit systems, high speed rail, special freeway lanes and now "rent-a-highway" toll roads. More bandages on an already broken system.
Rather than spending more billions on transportation systems which are designed to perpetuate the dumbbell model of planning, why don't we spend a few million on implementing the Integrated Community model?
We bitch and moan about the urban sprawl, the loss of wildlife habitat, about the crime rate and unmanaged growth. I say enough of this BS. If we took 90% of our excessively large front lawns and turned them into vegetable and fruit gardens, we could lower or food bill by a considerable amount. How about building zero side, front and back yards and putting the yard in the middle of the house? Or arranging four houses around a central core of gardens and landscaping?
How about the model of the family living over or on the property which provides them with a living? Why not create a community, where a variety of jobs could be provided in the immediate neighborhood. We allow home occupations to very few types of professional workers and then only on a highly restricted basis. I see nothing wrong with a person having a car repair business inside his own garage. He/she can keep the door closed.
A few years back, I was interested in locating a small scale contractor's yard and shop in Santee. I found a perfect property to buy -- about 1 acre which had a small house on it and plenty of room for a small industrial building. The zoning was light industrial -- perfect for my use. When I inquired of the city planner, I was told that the house was a non-conforming use. I could either continue renting the house as a residence or if I wanted to construct an industrial building, I would either have to tear down the residence or disable it so that no one could cook or live in the residence. My plan was to continue to rent the residence. That would have given me some income to offset the debt service and at the same time provide some degree of security. If my venture were successful and I eventually needed more building space, then I could tear off the house.
The ruling was from the City Attorney's office -- not an ordinance, not a City Council policy, not a state law, but the opinion of one person that there would be a conflict between the preexisting, non-conforming use and the new industrial use and that I could not engage in both uses concurrently. Needless to say, I totally lost interest in ever making any investment in land in the City of Santee.
Horror stories much more devastating than the above can be told by any number of non-developer, regular good-guy(gal)s about the mischievous rules of local government. The cost to reverse or modify these rules become increasingly high, given the size and complacency of our governments.
If we are to house, educate and provide work for a growing population, we must plan ahead on a model which offers some chance of success. The perpetuation of the current dumbbell method of creating great knobs of living space some distance from the work locations is going to have to give way to the Integrated Community.
Those who now live in the 'burbs are going to have to change their attitude toward the "worker-in-residence" who makes his or her living at home or in a place located within what is now exclusive residential zoning. The "NIMBY" attitude is going to have to die or the holders will die with it. If cities and counties cannot change their planning model, then we, the good citizens, are going to have to do it ourselves.
There are several ways of making the change.
THE NEW (INSERT NAME) PARTY
We can form a party, put in plenty of time and money and get control of the city councils and board of supervisors. This approach is rather unlikely, given the fact that the existing NIMBY's, special interest groups, and general inertia would make this approach very costly and time consuming.
THE SPEAR CARRIERS
We can form a pressure group, sponsor petitions and get our own local laws on the books. This narrow targeted approach recently succeeded in severely reducing the value of hundreds of acres of privately owned real property adjacent to the Cleveland National Forest so that it could later be bought at a bargain price and added to the public domain. Whether you believe that this is classic inverse condemnation or the preservation of forest lands is beside the point. This approach will work on very narrowly drawn issues, but is inappropriate to design and implement a long term, community wide project which would be very dynamic and require creative solutions to problems as they arose.
THE SPLINTER GROUP
Another classic approach is to create a new contract city. Many of the cities in Los Angeles County were born from this womb. The cities contract with the County or other public agencies for most of their services, but make their own land use and level of service decisions. Few communities can successfully achieve this goal in San Diego since most of them (by design) are bedroom communities and lack the tax base which industrial and commercial developments provide. Shot ourselves in our own foot, have we? I think so.
THE NEW (INSERT NAME) MODEL COMMUNITY
We could generate a new model which would be developed in either a new area, yet undeveloped or in an area where development is so sparse as to provide sufficient raw land for the new model community. In San Diego County that would mean going to Boulevard or Campo.
The beauty of this plan is that we start fresh without a lot of hang-overs from previous civic failures. We become as self-sufficient as possible and only use the highways for exceptional needs.
We will, of course, need to create several PODS in the industrialized, polluted, congested, existing cities. A POD is simply a remote, scaled down, version of the model community. For example, the POD would be housed in an entire condominium building next to a shopping mall and perhaps just down the street from an industrial park. The POD would own the condos, one or more stores in the mall and either own or lease productive facilities in the industrial park. Workers would live and work in or near the POD and in the course of time, rotate back to the main community for R & R. The main purpose of the PODs is to generate new cash flow which in turn off-sets the cash out-flow from the main community -- the "leaky barrel" syndrome.
Given enough time and savvy, the POD could change the rules of the City and thus allow more flexibility in what the members of the POD were allowed to do. If the City were to change for the worse or simply refused to cooperate, the POD could relocate to a more user friendly environment. By frequently substituting members of the POD and the main community, there POD people would not get stale or too depressed. POD could stand for People On Deployment. We could view it is a field trip or temporary duty in a foreign country, depending on the circumstances.
If this plan is not too long a leap of faith, we should consider creating our own city in the 'boons'. We might consider British Columbia, Oregon or Idaho if a San Diego County location does not work for us.
Comments, anyone?
Jim Miller

--Jim Miller

One way to bring a community together which can create the holistic clusters is to create a community schooling project. Here's a sample:

1 OVERVIEW
Belgrade is a good candidate for a community schooling project (teaching the entire community). The overall plan which will involve the City, the Library, the County, State of Montana, many of the NPO's, for-profits and many citizens. The project is to create a large network of supporting organizations and individuals who, together, can create a vibrant educational and community outreach facility, staffed some public employees and with volunteers from all walks of life.

One goal is to support this project with public and private resources (money, property, staffing). A strong knowledge ethic needs to be found and nourished in the community members and especially at the officialdom level.

Another goal is to empower those who are interested, with valuable skills, especially learning skills, so that their participation in governance is increased and their compensation level is increased. The goal is to “pull” folks toward a high quality of life.

2 ATTRIBUTES
Here are some attributes which are either currently possible or in the making for near-term deployment:
2.1 Wi-Fi and Wi-MAX. Extend Internet services to the community through the use of Wi-MAX (30 mile radius) on a subscription basis. Broadband Internet service should be considered as just another utility-- same as roads, drinking water and wastewater. A private-public partnership should be formed to make this subscription-based wireless utility available to all residents of the greater Belgrade area.
2.2 Super Wi-MAX. When available, extend Internet services to the wider community via Super Wi-Max (100 mile radius).
2.3 Kiosks. Expand Web services through the placement of computer kiosks in public and semi-public locations (banks, markets, gas stations, fire station, city hall, larger restaurants, library and schools). The cost and support for these kiosks would be supported by the organization which houses the kiosk.
2.4 Outreach. Create a Community Schooling fan kit which can be distributed in hard copy as well as over the Web. This outreach kit is more than just a PR outreach effort. It invites each user to become a registered member of the Belgrade Community Schooling Project with defined gift levels, rewards and volunteer opportunities. An example is the “telephone (and Web) tree” which fosters individual connections among the members on an exponential scale. Addressing the “digital divide”, Evaluation of the Interaction of Context, Process and Outcomes of the Internet Satellite Project makes its case; see the end note.
2.5 WikiWeb. Create a Wiki Web for the project with pages for each major participant. Append to the WikiWeb, an email client, a group calendar, a forum and a chat room. Online courses for elementary, secondary, higher eduction and adult eduction can be taken in real time or downloaded for later use. Many free courses are available from repositories. Also ebooks will be available.
2.6 Real and virtual town meeting. Create an on-going town meeting. This hosted forum allows all community members to write their views, post them and invite comments on an asynchronous basis. Once a month (or so), a synchronous town meeting via the Web can offer speakers on critical subjects in real time and which forum can take questions and comments from the audience. These meetings can be both physical as well as online and by telephone.
2.7 Arts and entertainment; multi-media studio. Support home-grown arts and entertainment. As an example, support the creation of a high tech multi-media studio at the high school which is open to all producers. Scale the rental costs according to the intended end product, e.g. for producing a commercial program; the charges would be based on the fair market rental value. This studio can become self-supporting with this approach. If the school will not house the operation, then the Library should house the operation. This studio will have an in-house performance stage and can also do outside production (e.g., sports and community events).
2.8 Create online experiences. Create online events, e.g. educational courses, contests, documentaries (e.g., school class travels to an event, gives a performance). Supporting community events is critical to the success of the project. A favorite choice is to particpate in a “group”, such as Yahoo Groups, or a forum attached to a website. An example of the types of exchanges is Robert's Thesis: Robert on Nancy's Responses to Kat: A parent's point of view in the endnote.
2.9 Partners. Co-venture with other organizational members to support public charities, e.g., the Gallatin Community Food Bank, in mutual fund raising events. Every member is a potential partner. Many of our residents are high order thinkers and doers. We can foresee these folks teaching the rest of the community what they know and and how to learn on their own.
2.10 Streaming media. Create streaming web-casts (audio and video) in support of community events, such as a live broadcast of a parade, sporting event, poetry reading or musical performance. These can also be archived and downloaded 7/24.
2.11 Virtual community. To aid in the planning for specific sub-projects which implement the overall plan, virtual communities or projects can be created and viewed in 3D using free virtual reality software. Avatars can also be added as tour guides which can respond to specific questions.
2.12 Governance. Create an inter-governmental entity to exercise joint powers with broad representation. If not, then create a 501.c.3 community foundation of all of the stakeholders. Governance should be broadly democratic.

3 HOLISTIC APPROACH
3.1 Holistic Management – the whole:
“Holistic Management replaces fragmentary decision making and short-term solutions with a platform that encompasses the whole process of managing healthy land [or enterprise].”
http://www.holisticmanagement.org/ne ... what_is.htm
3.1.1 Holistic Goals.
A holistic approach is needed to create and manage a successful community foundation and a community schooling project. Also know as thinking outside the box or the big tent approach, the more innovative ideas, the better. We have to “see” what we intend to build before we raise the money, labor and hit the start button.
If we want the majority of folks in the entire community to support the project, the must be brought in at the planning stage. The holistic approach promotes the establishment of goals such as:
3.1.1.1 Quality of Life– An expression of the way people want their lives, in this particular whole, to be, and what they ultimately want to accomplish together, based upon what they value most;
3.1.1.2 Forms of Production– What the people need to produce to create that quality of life and to run the business or entity;
3.1.1.3 Future Resource Base – What the resource base must be like far into the future in order to truly sustain.”
3.1.2 Testing.
When the plan has been formulated, it has to be tested. The suggested rubrics are:
3.1.2.1 Cause and Effect – Does this action address the root cause of the problem?
3.1.2.2 Weak Link Social – Have I/we considered and/or addressed any confusion, anger, or opposition this action could create with people whose support I/we need in the near or distant future?
3.1.2.3 Weak Link Biological (used only when dealing with problem organisms) – Does this action address the weakest point in the life cycle of this organism?
3.1.2.4 Weak Link Financial– Does this action strengthen the weakest link in the chain of production?
3.1.2.5 Marginal Reaction (used only when comparing two or more actions) – Which action provides the greatest return, in terms of my/our holistic goal, for the time and money spent?
3.1.2.6 Gross Profit Analysis (used only when comparing two or more enterprises) – Which enterprises contribute the most to covering the overheads of the business?
3.1.2.7 Energy/Money Source and Use – Is the energy or money to be used in this action derived from the most appropriate source in terms of my/our holistic goal? Will the way in which the energy or money is to be used lead toward my/our holistic goal.
3.1.2.8 Sustainability –If I/we take this action, will it lead toward or away from the future resource base described in my/our holistic goal?
3.1.2.9 Society and Culture – Considering all the questions and my/our holistic goal, how do I/we feel about this action now?
3.2 Funding. All available funding sources should be invited to participate. Active, on-going efforts to acquire foundation funding and governmental grants should be pursued. Revenue should also be derived from the subscriptions to the broadband service as well as to the online courses. Conferences other than the town meetings can also contribute to the financial stability of the NPO. Town meetings should be free with a request for donations.

4 MINDSET
At the outset, the collective mindset should be along these lines:
What I know and have discovered is not nearly as important as what I have yet to learn and yet to discover.
When the plan has general support, and we are in the midst of implementing it, our collective mindsets should be one of resolve, like the Little Engine:
“I think I can, I think I can ...,
I know I can, I know I can ...,
I did it!”
At first, we will encounter the “Nay Sayers”: “It won't work. Too expensive. Who will use it? Not my idea (not invented here). We've never done this before; why start now? If I or my family/friend is not on the payroll, I'm against it.”

The antidote to the Nay Sayers is to have a good plan on paper which is well researched and will likely be a good fit (at full implementation) with the greater Belgrade community in about four to five years. The saying from Margaret Mead is appropriate:
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever does."

It is appropriate to an understanding of the project, that we reserve final judgment until all of the major facts are in and we have had time to absorb the many “new” ideas. We do not need to know and appreciate every minuscule fact before we make our major commitments, but those who reject the mission before we even have started, do a disservice to the Belgrade community. Those of us who unduly linger, not being able to make a decision, also do a disservice to the Belgrade community.

5 WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY
Belgrade is a young, healthy community, in transition from a railroad stop for grain transfer and an farming community, to a bedroom extension of Bozeman. This statement is not to denigrate Belgrade, but to establish where we are and where we are likely to go in the absence of a course correction. If the readers doubt this statement, simply drive around Southern California for a day— wall-to-wall housing, massive jams on the Freeways and local roads, air pollution, a rising cost of living and a rising crime rate.

Windows of opportunities typically open in small, young communities and as the community grows older, begin to close. In the older communities, too many people have too much invested in the then current status, to effect a transition. We have seen this phenomenon in the Rust Belt cities of the Northeast and the dust bowls or drought areas of central America. Belgrade's window of opportunity is wide-open, for now.

6 GOVERNANCE
Governance can be cast, using one of several different molds. The favorite form for governments is the “Joint Exercise of Powers” entity (JEPs) Two more governments having the same type of power, agree to share or trade those powers. As an example, road repair and maintenance is generally delegated to the entity which has the closest maintenance yard, or the better skilled personnel, or the closest road which they already maintain. Fire districts have mutual aid packs. Libraries have reciprocal lending agreements.
The possibility exists for the City of Belgrade, the County of Gallatin, the State of Montana to head this project through the JEP approach. As it gathers momentum, additional entities could join. Major players would include the local school districts and County Superintendent of Schools.
However the JEPs cannot, by their nature, extend governance to NPOs. An “affiliate” approach could work, but may require enabling legislation.
Another approach is to create a community foundation as a 501.c.3 public educational entity. The governments can participate as well as NPO's and residents. Corporate and other entities could also join in the Governance through annual donations and membership on the Advisory Committee, in addition to voting memberships. Individual members can join at several levels and have relative voting powers. This is the author's favorite approach and will be explored as the model for governance, funding and fulfillment of the Plan.

7 THE BELGRADE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
7.1 Entity.
The Belgrade Community Foundation (BCF) will be incorporated under the non-profit laws of the State of Montana and will operated under an IRS exemption according to the IRS Code Section 501.c.3.
7.2 Memberships.
Membership should have an impact on the member as well as on the entity. All voting memberships should be fee based. Here is a proposed schedule and statement of voting rights:


TYPE OF MEMBERSHIP NUMBER OF VOTES VOTING RIGHTS
Major public entities (city, County, schools). Monetary support to be negotiated. 100 Election of Trustees, dissolution, adoption and changes to plan, amendment to articles, reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, major transfer of assets, incurring major debt. Awarded a Plaque
Major underwriters (10,000 or more, annually) 50 Election of Trustees, dissolution, adoption and changes to plan, amendment to articles, reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, major transfer of assets, incurring major debt; Awarded a Plaque.
Minor underwriters ($1,000 to $9,999 annually) 10 Election of Trustees, adoption of and changes to the Plan; Awarded a No. 1 Premium
Sustaining members ($500 annually) 5 Election of Trustees, adoption and changes to plan; Awarded a No. 2 Premium
Subscribing Member ($100 annually) 2 Election of Trustees, adoption and changes to plan; Awarded a Mo. 3 premium
Registered member ($15.00 annually) 1 Election of Trustees, adoption and changes to plan; Awarded a certificate.
Guest 0 Read plan and participate in surveys
Proxy voting Permitted Registration of proxy holder in advance
Balloting will be permitted by secure email or on paper at the annual or special meetings. Membership is not limited to residents, but location information of each voter will be tracked for statistical purposes. An annual meeting will be held and voting for trustees and other major issues will occur. Special meetings can be called by the Board or by five percent of the voting power.
16.1 Board of Trustees.
A five person Board of Trustees will be elected, with staggered two year terms. Elections are annual. The Board will appoint all of the officers and ratify the employment of other staff. Staff and officers will serve at the pleasure of the Board. Board members will be paid for the costs of attending meetings of the Board. Normal NPO powers and duties are to be granted to the Board.
16.2 Officers and staff.
Officers will consist of the President and CEO, a Vice-president of Financial Affairs, a Vice-president of Operations and a Vice-president of Community Relations. Staff should also include a secretary and a bookkeeper. Compensation and the timing of employment will depend on funding from memberships and operations (internal) and grants and loans (external).
16.3 Contract services.
Contract services will likely include an attorney, a certified public accountant, a network engineer, and a NPO marketing consultant.
16.4 Honor code.
All Trustees, officers, employees and contract service providers will be required to sign a Code of Honor which, inter alia, specifically precludes nepotism and conflict of interests.
16.5 Annual audit; Bonding.
The governance articles shall also include the requirement of an annual audit by a CPA, conducted in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices for NPOs, applied on a consistent basis. The Treasurer duties shall be delegated to the Vice-president of Financial Affairs and all persons having access to the bank accounts, accounts receivable and accounts payable, shall be bonded.
16.6 Voting.

TYPE OF MEMBERSHIP NUMBER OF VOTES VOTING RIGHTS
Major public entities (city, County, schools). Monetary support to be negotiated. 100 Election of Trustees, dissolution, adoption and changes to plan, amendment to articles, reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, major transfer of assets, incurring major debt. Awarded a Plaque
Major underwriters (10,000 or more, annually) 50 Election of Trustees, dissolution, adoption and changes to plan, amendment to articles, reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, major transfer of assets, incurring major debt; Awarded a Plaque.
Minor underwriters ($1,000 to $9,999 annually) 10 Election of Trustees, adoption of and changes to the Plan; Awarded a No. 1 Premium
Sustaining members ($500 annually) 5 Election of Trustees, adoption and changes to plan; Awarded a No. 2 Premium
Subscribing Member ($100 annually) 2 Election of Trustees, adoption and changes to plan; Awarded a Mo. 3 premium
Registered member ($15.00 annually) 1 Election of Trustees, adoption and changes to plan; Awarded a certificate.
Guest 0 Read plan and participate in surveys
Proxy voting Permitted Registration of proxy holder in advance

25.1 Elections and measures shall be approved by a simple majority of votes, except for dissolution, mergers, acquisitions and transfer of all or substantially all of the assets of BCF, and amendments of the articles of incorporation. These items shall require a two-thirds majority of the voting power of enrolled members.
25.2 Advisory Council.
The BCF will have an appointed advisory committee consisting of a cross-section of the community and specifically invited members, some of whom may reside or are engaged outside of the greater Belgrade community. This 15 to 25 member council will operated as an idea generator as well as a peer review group. It will also reflect “public” opinion and operate as a public outreach organization. Some of the pages of the WikiWebsite will be devoted to the operation of the Advisory Council.

26 LOCATION and INFRASTRUCTURE
26.1 Office.
A suitable location in Belgrade would house the operations. Hopefully, one of the major stakeholders would provide free housing at the outset and only charge rent as and when regular revenue exceeding operational expenses or grants/loans for operations were received. The executive and administrative functions will be in one large room which will allow for cross-talk among the officers and employees. A bathroom, a conference room/lounge and a public waiting area would complete the office infrastructure.
26.2 IT.
The office and each desk will be networked with a server and connected to the high speed broadband. Servers for webcasting, backup and archiving will be deployed. Adequate security will be installed in the hardware and software. When funding permits, a Wi-MAX service will be instituted and run by an IT consultant or an IT service company, and by the VP-Operations, when and as consistent with the level of knowledge and experience required.
26.3 Web services.
BCF's web services will include a number of services:
26.3.1 WikiWebsite.
The primary function of the BCF WikiWebsite is to engage the membership in an interactive mode. The Wikiwebsite is a highly functional method of created a “space” in which BCF and members can share visions, goals, ideas, research, suggestions and constructive criticism. As an online service, it is available 7/24 and allows any member to use his/her browser to edit the pages of the site. Such edits are then uploaded and reviewed by a Moderator who can reject the upload, edit it and/or permit the edited material to flow through to the official web page(s).
26.3.2 Forum and Chat.
The WikiWebsite will have a threaded forum and a chat room.
26.3.3 Virtual reality site.
In addition, specific sub-projects will have available to it, a virtual reality site (Second Life) in which 3D objects can be created, rotated and viewed by the browser (with plug-in). Visitors can comment, add avatars and create new physical elements. Real and virtual meetings can be held over the Web and be shown to a live audience using a smart whiteboard.
26.3.4 E-Commerce.
Creating an e-commerce functionality within the WikiWebsite is a high and early priority. Membership fees need to be collected, paid subscribers to the broadband service need a means of transacting business, and sale of paper and digital publications can also take place via the e-commerce function.
26.3.5 Member support.
The website will provide a help facility, including frequently asked questions, an indexed look-up database, a fuzzy logic search engine, the current and archived editions of the e-newsletter and a list of archived “white papers” on relevant subjects. Finally, an email address and phone number for the support team will be provided.
26.3.6 Opinion surveys; metrics.
The website will allow for opinion surveys on the issue of the day and provide for web statistics through a metrics program.
26.3.7 Kiosks.
Kiosks will be offered to local business and governmental entities (Kiosk Provider) for use in the public areas of their respective locations. Wireless (and wired) access will be limited to the BCF's Wikiwebsite. The Kiosk Provider and BCF could, for an additional fee, provide general Internet access. The cost of the Kiosk and its maintenance will be borne by the Kiosk Provider.

27 MARKETING
Marketing in the NPO sense, covers a broad spectrum of activity.
27.1 Friend- and Fund-raising. Tried and true friend- and fund-raising should be at the front end and at the core of BCF's marketing effort. [Editor's note: Having attended the 5th annual conference of Montana Nonprofit Association, I have a lot of material to present on this issue – coming in the near future.]
27.2 Community Schooling Kit.
27.3 Create a Community Schooling fan kit which can be distributed in hard copy as well as over the Web. This outreach kit is more than just a PR outreach effort. It invites each user to become a registered member of the Belgrade Community Foundation and to engage in the Belgrade Community Schooling Project with defined gift levels, rewards and volunteer opportunities. An example is the “telephone (and Web) tree” which fosters individual connections among the members on an exponential scale.
27.4 Wi-MAX.
BCF will invite residents who do not have high speed, broadband Internet access to obtain such superior utility through the BCF's Wi-MAX service. A list of private providers and a comparison chart of rates and services will be provided. A good model would be Next Tag: www.nextag.com
27.5 Online courses.
The WikiWebsite will offer online courses. Many of these courses are free and the offering site's URL hyperlinked to the BCF website with click-through capability and metrics. Fee based services can following this same route or courses created by volunteers and donated to BCF can licensed to the users for a modest fee.
The possibility also exists to offer online courses authored by other fee-for-service organizations and resold to users at a margin sufficient recoup costs and a small operating stipend.
27.5.1 Online courses can also be a boon to the local schools which are able to purchase annual lessons on a district-wide or school-wide basis. Adult education fits this mode. A simply hyperlink is all that is needed to redirect web traffic to the school's website.
27.5.2 E-Books and e-resources.
A very strong and continuously growing demand and supply for e-books can benefit BCF's community schooling efforts. The Gutenberg project has between 300,000 and 500,000 scanned books available for download. Thousands of websites grant permission to free downloads for educational purposes. Many (if not all) universities issue research papers under a form of the GNU general public license. Foundations, think tanks and commercial enterprises have thousands of free white papers on a wide variety of subjects. Most of these sites have internal search engines.
27.5.3 Search engines.
One of the greatest attributes of the Web are the search engines. Yahoo and Google have made many gazillionaires out of their commercial ventures. Metacrawler.com uses seven major search engines to produce targeted URL's. The new “kid on the block” is Ask.com. Minuet factoids can be found among trillions of factoids in a couple of seconds. BCF's community schooling project will include a course on how to gain “Web Savvy”, including the use of search engines.
27.5.4 Support for home-grown arts, entertainment and events.
One of the main marketing tools is to support local arts, entertainment and events. Many musical and dance groups perform in the community. Advance ticket sales can be induced by pre-event webcasting of a prior show or teaser by the performance group. Parental pride can always be counted on to engender ticket sales, especially if the child's performance is to be video web-cast shortly after the performance.
Sporting events are naturals for webcasting. Shoot the game and the site's play-by-play announcer and you have a good-enough webcast. Parades, county fairs – you name it-- all are good candidates for event webcasting.
Documentaries can also be a good source. We have many natural wonders to videocast. Montana has a rich history of pioneering and individual accomplishments as well as group accomplishments which are excellent candidates for a documentary, to be webcast on BCF's Wi-MAX utility service.
27.6 Multi-media studio.
Support for home-grown arts and entertainment needs technical support. As an example, BCF should support the creation of a high tech multi-media studio at the high school, which is open to all producers. During the school day, the students learn to operate the studio. After hours and on weekends, the studio is open to the public through BCF. Expenses can be recovered by rental revenue. Rental costs should be charged according to the intended end product, e.g. for producing a commercial program, the charges would be based on the fair market rental value. This studio can become self-supporting with this approach. If the school will not house the operation, then BCF should house the operation. The multi-media studio will have an in-house performance stage and can also do outside production (e.g. football game). Some of the types of events which can use the services of the studio are:
l Create online events, e.g. educational courses, contests, documentaries (e.g., school class travels to an event, gives a performance).
l Support community physical events as one of the media promotion spots.
l Co-venture with other organizational members to support public charities, e.g., the Gallatin Community Food Bank, in mutual fund raising events.
l Create streaming web-casts (audio and video) in support of community events, such as a live broadcast of a parade, sporting event, poetry reading or musical performance. These can also be archived and downloaded 7/24.

28 BUILDING THE BETTER COMMUNITY NETWORK
“Communities are built on connections. Better connections usually provide better opportunities. But, what are better connections, and how do they lead to more effective and productive communities? How do we build connected communities that create, and take advantage of, opportunities in their region or marketplace? How does success emerge from the complex interactions within communities? This paper investigates building sustainable communities through improving their connectivity - internally and externally - using network ties to create economic opportunities. Improved connectivity is created through an iterative process of knowing the network and knitting the network.” Building Smart Communities through Network Weaving by Valdis Krebs and June Holley (2006)
The goal of building better community networks, beyond relying on the usual social and economic groups, is to “wire” the community through the Web using the power of the Internet. Every computer connected to the Internet will be a wired or wireless node and thereby allow networking on a 1:1, 1:many, and many:1 basis. The objective is to enable all residents to make the connections through the BCF Wi-MAX system (as well as commercial board band services). Net profits from the “business side” of BCF will support the non-business side (after paying taxes on the business side profits).

29 STAKEHOLDERS.
The success of the BCF's community schooling project hinges on the early and continued support by its stakeholders. We will need money, equipment, office space and utilities, and most importantly, cooperation. If the school district does not pitch in or opposes the project, we a dead in the water from the outset.
The rate of growth of the Belgrade Community Schooling Project will vary with the amount of and timing of the stakeholder support. We need a combination of visionaries and workers (at all levels). We need the help of the brightest and best minds in the wider community in order to develop our plan with the highest opportunity for success.

When the planning is done, then we need to kick the plan into high gear. We need “truck drivers” to help get things rolling. Stakeholders and our staff, need to be able to shift gears when the time comes. Those with doctorates, as well as high school freshmen, are welcome and will be needed to drive the trucks and bring the load home. We will need an outreach team to enroll the stakeholders.

This team needs a high level of support, including laptops, digital projectors, marketing kits, travel expenses and a office as mentioned above. Our initial sponsors should understand this need and be willing to fund it with cash and resources (one or the other or both). Here are some targets for the probable stakeholders:
29.1 City of Belgrade.
29.1.1 Commissioners
29.1.2 City Manager
29.1.3 Library
29.1.4 Other
29.2 County of Gallatin.
29.2.1 Commissioners
29.2.2 Sheriff
29.2.3 County Attorney
29.2.4 Other
29.3 State of Montana.
29.3.1 State Legislature.
29.3.2 Governor's office.
29.3.3 Superintendent of Public Instruction.
29.3.4 Commissioner of Higher Education.
29.3.5 Department of Agriculture.
29.3.6 Department of Environmental Quality.
29.3.7 Department of Transportation.
29.3.8 Department of Commerce.
29.3.9 Attorney General.
29.3.10 Department of Public Health and Human Services.
29.3.11 Department of Labor.
29.4 U.S. Federal Government.
29.4.1 Congress.
29.4.2 Dept. of Agriculture.
29.4.3 Dept. of Transportation
29.4.4 Dept. of Energy
29.4.5 Dept. of Housing and Urban Development.
29.4.6 Montana Universities.
29.4.7 University of Montana.
29.4.8 MSU – Bozeman
29.4.9 MSU – Billings
29.4.10 All others
29.5 United Nations
29.5.1 UNESCO
29.5.2 Others
29.6 Foundations.
29.6.1 The Bill and Linda Gates Foundation.
29.6.2 The Paul Allen Foundations.
29.6.3 The Annie E. Casey Foundation.
29.6.4 The Kellogg Foundation.
29.6.5 The Jane and Herman Melville Foundation.
29.6.6 The Ahnenberg Foundation.
29.6.7 Others

29.7 For-profit companies.
29.7.1 The Home Depot
29.7.2 First Interstate Bank
29.7.3 Other banks and financial institutions.
29.7.4 Right Now Technologies.
29.7.5 Others.
29.8 Non-profit organizations.
29.8.1 PBS
29.8.2 YPR
29.8.3 Others
30 FINANCIAL PLAN
The Financial Plan consists of the proposed Capital Budget, the Operating Budget, the Cash Flow statement (See Tab A) and the Financing Plan (under Tab B).

Submitted by Jim Miller, October , (2006).

--Jim Miller