Local governance study engages public: ‘We’re here to listen’ 

Leaders promise unbiased fact-finding mission, promote study website 

By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR 

A taxpayer-funded study of incorporation and other potential local governance options for Big Sky took a step forward on Tuesday evening, Sept. 24, filling a Wilson Hotel ballroom with dozens of community members who came to meet the study team and voice questions and concerns.  

The 35-minute meeting was recorded and will be available online soon.

Study leaders gave an introductory presentation, then hung around after its conclusion, offering their time for direct conversation with attendees. Leaders emphasized that the purpose of Tuesday’s meeting was primarily to listen.  

Dylan Pipinich is a land planner for the firm leading the study, WGM Group. He promised that the study leaders won’t disappear—it’s going to be eight to 12 months of ongoing collaboration.  

“We’re here to listen. I want to hear what you think… about governance. What issues you think you may have. What issues you know you may have,” Pipinich said in the introductory presentation.  

Meg O’Leary, a Big Sky resident and president of supporting firm M2O Group, said it’s being called a “local governance study” because incorporation isn’t the only option on the table for Big Sky. She noted prior incorporation efforts in Big Sky in 2002, 2004 and 2018, each led by a different entity.  

“We know that incorporation could be a tough word, a tricky word, a buzzword,” she said. “This study is going to look at all options.”  

Pipinich emphasized that this study won’t sit on a shelf, and the goal is for the community to be well-informed by its findings.  

“This is a fact-finding mission,” he said. “Our goal is to give facts. We aren’t going to give any recommendations or opinions, or anything like that. That decision is solely up to the community… No bias, it’s just a fact-finding mission.”  

He said past studies have generated more questions than answers—this time, they want to avoid a study that amount to two ambiguous words: “It depends.”  

Pipinich said the team will develop scenarios using detailed assumptions to outline expected outcomes, seeking to avoid a series of interdependent if-then statements. The scenarios will be derived from community feedback.

“We want to give facts, based on those scenarios,” Pipinich said.   

He acknowledged that for the past 20 years, Big Sky community members have shared a lot of facts, myths and opinions surrounding the loaded topic of incorporation.  

The final report will aim to answer the questions and concerns expressed by the community, informing Big Sky voters so they can decide what course of action to pursue.  

Or they can opt to maintain Big Sky’s status quo, he added. “You’ve chased down all of the possibilities, and you realize, ‘we’re doing pretty good how we are right now.’” 

Study team launches project website, introductory questionnaire 

Pipinich urged the community to bookmark the Big Sky Governance Study website. It includes a project overview, space to ask questions and see answers to popular questions, a background and history section, and a live project timeline.  

“Please send everybody to the website,” O’Leary asked of the audience. “We really want to start gathering those independent voices through the web, because it’s hard to talk to 3,500 people.”  

A short, introductory questionnaire opened Tuesday to get the community’s initial thoughts, and to gauge what segments of the community are paying attention—hence the demographic questions regarding age, property ownership and residence status, Pipinich noted. The brief questionnaire remains open online. 

The study team wants to hear from MeadowView residents, in particular.  

“We really need to hear your voice,” O’Leary said, on MeadowView. “That is one area that has been really hard to understand and get to, and really meaningful—you people are the future.” 

Eventually, the study team plans to launch a separate, in-depth survey of the community. 

Pipinich was pleased by the attendance on Tuesday, and said engagement makes the job a lot easier.  

“I’ve done a lot of public meetings over my career, and you only see this type of engagement when somebody is mad about something,” he joked, scanning the crowded room. He added his hopes that most attendees have a positive outlook about the project. 

Two more public meetings are planned for January and March 2025.