Bringing Back Last Chance Creek!

This next year, during Helena's 150th, a million dollar plus City water project will take place around Front Street near the Great Northern, the recently opened distillery, and the pedestrian underpass connecting downtown to Centennial Park and the Centennial Trail Network. The recent Greening America's Capitals project for Helena outlines how infrastructure improvements can include improved walkability and bringing back the historic creek-now piped under the streets-to the surface: 

[click images to enlarge]

An informative post on Last Chance Stream from "Montana Moments:"

"Some Helenans dispute the fact that Last Chance Stream, or Creek, once flowed through what is now the downtown. But water was the one essential ingredient needed for placer mining, and we know that the discovery site was where the parking lot for the Colwell Building is today. Water had to be present in that immediate area. Further, the first historic Sanborn Maps of Helena, drawn in 1884, clearly show the water source, although by this time it has been diverted underground into a wooden flume."

 - See more at: http://ellenbaumler.blogspot.com/2013/12/last-chance-stream.html#sthash.iOXmhhI7.dpuf"


From HelenaMT.com:

"The discovery men became known as the Four Georgians for reasons the community soon forgot. Historians speculate that since one of the miners was from Georgia, where gold was mined before discoveries in the West, they were probably practicing a Georgian method of placer mining.

In the great frenzy to get at the precious metal, miners soon stripped the landscape of everything green, churned up the soil, and built their buildings along the claims that followed Last Chance Stream through the gulch. In October, residents gathered to properly name the mining camp known as Last Chance."

What is the City of Helena's policy for pets left in hot vehicles?

City of Helena Newsletter: December 2013

"Report Shows That Rails-With-Trails Are Safe and Increasing"

Link here:
http://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/blog/report-shows-that-rails-with-trails-are-safe-and-increasing/

Looking Back: A Promise of Recycling for Helena

In the late eighties and early nineties, regulations known as "SubTitle D" were enacted to protect groundwater and address other environmental concerns associated with landfills. Lewis & Clark County and the City of Helena, like many communities across Montana and the nation, needed to replace their facility with new system to dispose of trash. 

Centennial Park now covers the old city dump and a hundreds years of trash going back to early times in Helena. A recently established special district pays the approximately $110,000 a year cost to monitor and address methane and plumes from the site. The bond for the Transfer Station is now paid off and the City has a million dollars set aside to invest in the facility, in part due to separating the old landfill liability from the solid waste assessment and tipping fees. 

The cost of historic landfills was on the minds of Helena residents when it was time to build a new system and facility. A more holistic approach, known today as "Integrated Waste Management" was called for, one that included a focus on recycling. Today, City of Helena and Lewis and Clark County residents in the Scratch Gravel Landfill District (Helena Valley) pay into a system that was promised to include collection for "all recyclables" from the start. 

As we look to our 150th in Helena, it is time to honor this commitment.

It is an honor to serve. Thank you very much for reading this post!

Sincerely,

Matt E

Matthew A. Elsaesser, Commissioner
City of Helena, Montana, USA

Greening America's Capital's Report for Helena Available Online!

This report includes an excellent proposal to connect Women's Park Downtown to Centennial Park and Trail with an elevated pedestrian crossing on Neill Avenue near Front Street. 

Openings in City of Helena Boards: ADA Compliance, Board of Adjustment, BID/HPC, Zoning Commission, and Benton Avenue Cemetery Association

Applications due November 21, 2013. Details Follow: