Two residents of the Readers Village subdivision delivered testimony at the March 23 Helena City Commission meeting describing years of nightly criminal activity near the Mount Helena trailhead, providing the most detailed public account to date of the conditions that prompted a proposed trailhead parking ordinance. Cam Rigg of 21 Carriage Lane told commissioners the neighborhood has experienced nightly convoys of up to 20 vehicles with modified mufflers using Readers Village and Carriage Lane as a 'racetrack,' along with regular vandalism of park bathroom facilities and large volumes of trash. Rigg described four vehicle crashes in his immediate area over four months, including one in which a car was pushed into a tree in front of his home. The driver of that vehicle was found to be in possession of a sawed-off shotgun, which was later discovered in a neighbor's window well.

Aaron Haffy of 32 Carriage Lane corroborated Rigg's account, describing three separate incidents of vehicles going off the road into a ravine, gunshots heard in the middle of the night, and ongoing fights. Haffy said that despite posted 'no camping' signs, vehicles regularly remain overnight, and that police presence in the area appears minimal. Both residents said two years of seeking solutions had not produced results, and both stated they were not necessarily wedded to parking restrictions — they want any effective solution.

The testimony stood in contrast to trail user speakers who opposed the parking ordinance as written. Rigg addressed those speakers directly: 'There's criminals up there. I'm sorry to hate tell you that there's criminals up there using the park.' The parking restriction ordinance was tabled 4-0 at the same meeting to allow the Parks Department and Helena Police Department additional time to develop an alternative enforcement approach.