by Travis Mateer
It’s sad to see this former cop fail to understand a situation I accurately described (in song) as a hostage situation, with the hospital in the role of the hostage, and Max Wolf in the role of the terrorist making his demands…OR ELSE! I thought cops were supposed to understand these kind of dynamics? Does Bob need a reminder from Chuck about what NOT to do with terrorists?
Since Max Wolf was told no by a 7-4 Council vote, he has decided to do what terrorists do and kill the hostage. How else are we supposed to interpret this offer? (emphasis mine):
After the Missoula City Council failed to overturn the volunteer Historic Preservation Commission’s (HPC) denial of a historic preservation permit to save the Old Post Hospital at Fort Missoula, FAE-Wolf, the private owner of the hospital and adjacent land, issued the following statement:
“It is with a heavy heart that FAE-Wolf has been forced to prepare an application for a demolition permit with the City of Missoula to remove the Old Post Hospital. FAE-Wolf will first offer the Old Post Hospital for sale with the condition that it be removed, and if no entity agrees to purchase the hospital, it will proceed with obtaining a demolition permit. The Old Post Hospital will be offered for sale at $10.00, and FAE-Wolf will offer to contribute $100,000 to assist the buyer in an orderly removal.
I’m a little confused here, is the offer really 10 bucks? And then six figures will be provided to help do the destructive deed? What else does this developer/terrorist have to say? (emphasis mine):
“Once moved or demolished, FAE-Wolf will be able to propose a new development that won’t face as many obstacles. FAE-Wolf tried its best, but those who wanted no change, and are part of a tight knit group of people who have more control than they deserve, won out. When we look back at the history of this saga, let it be written that it was the self-described historic preservationists who caused the collapse of the Old Post Hospital.”
Ok, terrorist, those are FIGHTIN’ WORDS for a writer who has done more than most to document how the financial screws keeps tightening on us normies while the WOLVES salivate over the weak members of the herd they’ll target when the time is right.
What were the factors that rendered this property a prime taking for The Wolf? I know EXACTLY what happened, it was the 2017 legislative shit-show in Helena when our public health system got annihilated, which then gutted Western Montana Mental Health, the previous owner of this property. From the link:
In 2017, the Montana legislature cut $200 million in state and matching federal dollars from the state public health budget.
That all but eliminated community-based case management for people with severe, disabling mental illness and substance use disorders.
Yep, the reverberations of that session are still being felt, and now we have a petulant developer trying to cash in on the opportunity that other people’s misery created for him. Will he destroy the hospital and STILL get to build new buildings on this historic land? Yes, that appears to be the plan, as the quote above clearly states.
Last April this Wolf was howling a different tune in a Missoulian op-ed, which begins like this (emphasis mine):
Historic preservation is a serious endeavor in Missoula. Our city is full of so much architectural history we tend to take it for granted. Sometimes it takes a controversy like the Mercantile to remind us of how much history is around us.
Ok, if this developer knows preservation is a SERIOUS ENDEAVOR, then why was the cost of rehabilitating the hospital only determined AFTER buying the property? Because that doesn’t sound like doing your due diligence to me.
“FAE-Wolf bought the hospital with the express intention of restoring it to its original glory. Once purchased, it was determined that the cost to rehabilitate would be over $8,000,000. We proposed a mixed-use development to justify the investment that would have been required to restore the hospital alone. We felt strongly that we were the ones to save it, and we offered an innovative plan to accomplish that goal.
I can appreciate grown adults throwing tantrums, having thrown several myself recently after getting frustrated by things like getting the wrong size lock TWICE, or getting denied coffee in California because the lobby was closed, and my truck was too tall, and they wouldn’t serve me on my bike. I threw a MASSIVE tantrum after THAT situation, yet no structures were razed to the ground. Maybe if I had a cool name like MAX WOLF my tantrums would be more impressively destructive.
The pre-tantrum article from last year touts Wolf’s family history, and his dedication, and stakeholders, so I wonder why no one over the years said that ANY NEW STRUCTURES pooped out on this land would be met with fierce opposition.
I’ve highlighted the obnoxious DEVELOPER SPEAK for emphasis:
Without significant investment the hospital may become a part of Missoula’s past. In 2019, inspired by my family’s background in preservation, I decided to purchase the property. Driven by a commitment to ensure that the hospital did not face the same fate as the Mercantile and other iconic Missoula buildings, I engaged a team of noted local historic preservation experts to begin working on a plan to restore the hospital to its former glory. This is a cost-intensive endeavor, and in order to make it work, we decided to revitalize the surrounding parcel of land to help attract more people to visit this side of the Fort.
For two years, we have been engaged in stakeholder discussions and conversations with city staff to ensure our proposal would meet the goals of the historic preservation community and benefit all Missoulians. The result is a thorough, well-designed, and minimally intrusive plan to not only rehabilitate the Old Post Hospital, but offer Missoulians an enhanced experience at the Fort. With the addition of two small commercial buildings, we can bring needed services to those who work at or near the Fort, and currently have limited options in the area, as well as families leaving games at the Regional Park and friends looking for a space to gather. Additionally, by building 16 units of housing, we will help to alleviate our housing shortage in a small way. A quarter of these units will be dedicated to workforce housing.
It’s painful reading this, considering my brain yells FUCK YOU at every point of emphasis I made in this quote, especially the idea of having an ENHANCED EXPERIENCE at a place where I have precious memories of my children.
I’m going to share one of those memories because it’s important to understand WHY someone like me won’t soon forget what the Wolf is planning on doing. This video features a dog that is no longer alive, a voice that hasn’t dropped yet, and a hospital that will soon be destroyed.
If you were caught by surprise that this development was even being proposed, that’s probably because local media is terrible, and people are disconnected. Maybe it’s time to financially support someone who understands what’s going on and isn’t shy about REPORTING what he knows.
Thanks for reading!
