by Travis Mateer
Yesterday, at approximately 11:22am, I declared the land where the Sleepy Inn once stood as my TAAAAAZ (Trash Alchemist’s Awesome and Amazing Autonomous Zone). Why did I select this particular location for my evolving attention-getting campaign? Visibility is one obvious reason, but it goes much deeper than that, touching on things like alcoholism and the idiotic idea of “land banking“.
That last link goes to a 2023 article describing the additional cost of asbestos abatement the city had to pay before this property could be scraped. From the link (emphasis mine):
The city purchased the property in 2020 as part of its land-banking strategy and used the building as a quarantine shelter during the pandemic. But last July, the city announced its plans to place the property for sale as it looks to redevelop the West Broadway corridor.
The vision for the Sleepy Inn property as detailed in the corridor’s master plan calls for a six-story building with ground-floor retail and roughly 35 residential units. However, the size and location of the property may present challenges for redevelopment, some have said.
Add the takeover of this property by the TRASH ALCHEMIST as another “challenge” to selling and developing this property.
The changes to this property for the long-term vision of “land banking” actually displaced one of my former clients, a chronic alcoholic who some nursing students saved one cold Missoula night by calling 911, saving his life, but not his foot from frostbite.
Making this deal even worse, here’s a portion of a letter opposing the city’s purchase of this motel from a post I wrote in 2021:
We need to see commercial estimates by commercial appraisers. This hotel was listed six years ago for $675,000 dollars. At the time the owner was so desperate to get rid of it that they were offering owner financing on it. This price is close to half of what the city is now paying for it after 6 years of wear and tear in the middle of an economic depression. It is also worth noting that the taxable value of the hotel is roughly 400k less than the value the MRA plans to spend. It is our strong recommendation that the City gets at least two commercial appraisals. We do not know if a commercial appraisal has been completed on the property and we do not know if the tax dollars (that we supposedly preside over) are being spent wisely or appropriately.
Three years later, this property sits empty and unsold, thus providing the PERFECT opportunity for a creative agitator like the TRASH ALCHEMIST to declare an autonomous zone. Thanks Missoula Redevelopment Agency!
A different housing scheme in another part of our valley got some recent attention from a UK publication, and because I have a flair for writing about cultural terrorists, like Max Wolf, this UK publication gave ME some attention. My giant ego is VERY appreciative!
Here’s a screenshot of the quote that made me smile this morning:
Yes, this “firebrand blogger” loves to put tantrum-throwing developers in his crosshairs, like I did with Aaron Wagner at the start of this year before tracking this White Lion from Utah all the way to Scottsdale, Arizona as I traveled and documented other dark aspects of our sick culture.
Instead of trembling at the evidence our culture is sick, like the pearl-clutching podcaster, William Ramsey, I’m doing about it, and I’m doing it locally, where the risk is much greater.
Yesterday I had several positive interactions while residing at my TAAAAAZ working on a new tune, including giving away a workout machine, which gives me an idea: GARAGE SALE THIS SATURDAY?
I think that sounds like a great idea, but let’s see how Friday goes first. I have a lot of work to do, and despite several different personas and one replacement, I’m still technically just one person.
Before wrapping this up I’d like to give a special thanks to the donor who got $200 dollars into my hot little hands–the gasoline, food and spray-paint acquired with those funds put a BIG SMILE on this Trash Alchemist’s face, so THANK YOU!
If you want to put a smile on my face, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is still accepting donations, or, if doing it digitally isn’t your thing, come on down to my office at the corner of Russell and Broadway and donate directly! I’m sure Skully and Lucy would appreciate the company.
Thanks for reading!
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