Four Open Lands Major Projects came before the Helena City Commission at its March 23 meeting and left unresolved after a series of split votes. Commissioner Reid moved to approve three of the four projects — improvements at the Oaks, Knob Hill, and North Benton open space areas — while excluding the Davis Gulch/DeFord improvement project over concerns about using open space bond money to pave a parking lot on a currently dirt road. Reid and Commissioner Gustafson voted in favor of the three-project motion; Commissioner Logan and Mayor Dean voted no, producing a 2-2 tie and killing the motion.

Mayor Dean explained her no vote by pointing to the risk of forfeiting an already-awarded grant for the Davis Gulch project — approximately $27,000 toward a total project cost of roughly $65,500, with a required $38,500 paving match from the city. A subsequent motion by Commissioner Logan to approve all four projects failed for lack of a second, leaving all four items in limbo.

City staff clarified that the Davis Gulch paving is specifically designed to allow painted parking stalls to improve parking discipline in a trailhead area with limited space, and that the paving serves as the required local match for the awarded grant. Staff noted no deadlines are immediately pressing. The commission reached informal consensus to bring the item back at a future administrative meeting, and commissioners were invited to tour comparable paved trailhead parking areas at Limekiln and Dump Gulch before that discussion.