by Travis Mateer
I had no idea that a Missoulian article about a hilariously stupid library expenditure would post this morning, but I’m sure glad it did because the article compliments my Wednesday effort to finance my Lego Meth Lab. As you can see from the image above, I’ve brought in Jesse Pinkman, from Breaking Bad, to help out the Lego Urban Crisis Campers produce a higher quality of meth with the idea that better drugs will spark the motivation needed to clean up the river corridor.
Before continuing, make sure to read my article at Western Montana News this week asking the question Am I Seeing the Twilight of Missoula’s Rattlesnake Democrats? You don’t get absurd spending on library features without having a uni-party of cognitively impaired officials, so read up on the political context that makes this madness possible.
The build I’m currently working on is a removable extension of my Weapon of Mass Instruction and it’s portable, so I’m able to take my Lego vision of better drugs for campers to the places where money flows like obnoxiously named craft beer.
Here’s my inaugural trip to the Headwaters Foundation, an organizational receptacle that holds one hundred MILLION dollars of loot generated by Community Medical Center’s transformation from a well-run public asset to a privately-held dumpster fire of alleged sexual assault and shitty work conditions.
Now, let’s compare my idea of wasting money on something ridiculous to the ACTUAL spending of public money on something ridiculous, with the added civic joy of the ridiculous thing NOT EVEN WORKING as intended, which means Missoula County might have to spend MORE MONEY on lawyers.
Here’s the beginning of the article detailing this insanity (emphasis mine):
Missoula County is considering filing a lawsuit against a Salt Lake City company because an expensive climbing structure installed in the Missoula Public Library years ago still hasn’t passed two safety inspections.
On Thursday, the Missoula County commissioners discussed authorizing the use of the county risk fund for litigation involving the contractor responsible for design and construction of the “DNA Climber” inside the library.
Erica Grinde, the director of the county’s risk and benefits department, said the city was awarded a $1.3 million Science Education Partnership grant from the National Institutes for Health in 2019.
At least $365,000 of the money, which came from the federal government, was used to build a two-story structure modeled after DNA in the library, and it was supposed to be climbable by kids and accompanied by exhibits.
I’m not a fan of making up laws willy nilly, but Missoula might need to consider an anti-bullshit ordinance that defines bullshit as anything our city staff does beyond providing bare essentials and necessities, and the punishment needs to be severe, like public flogging. Without this ordinance our local funding-junkies are going to keep spending YOUR money on the dumbest shit imaginable.
Let’s return to the article now to see what in the hell this bullshit was supposed to do, and who is responsible for it sucking so bad:
The company that was selected to build the exhibit is called Process Curiosity, based in Salt Lake. Two subcontractors, called L&S Distribution and Beecher Walker and Associates, also worked on the project.
The project was completed in 2022 on the east side of the library, and the county took over management of the structure because the county manages the library.
Public officials touted the structure before it was built, saying it would be a unique and attractive amenity for the library. With large windows allowing the public to view the structure from the outside, it was to be the signature piece of the library design on that side of the building.
But the county’s excitement over the structure soon turned to disappointment.
For those who thought it was unnecessary for me to assess the state of our community as being retarded, or to speculate that our future may be retarded, tell me that triggering word doesn’t feel appropriate after reading about this insane shit?
I went to the Process Curiosity website to check out this project and here’s how they describe the process of making this financial monstrosity (emphasis mine):
The design team collaborated with many community members to nail down what the structure was to be and the message it would send. This highly involved process helped us fabricate an eye-popping 30 ft tall DNA climber, the central art piece for the Missoula Public Library. In addition, we designed and fabricated custom railings, netting, and ADA-accessible areas to ensure all guests could experience the climber. We carefully chose materials and colors that made for a fantastic sculpture and complimented all the existing colors in the space. The guests enter the climber from the second floor, then proceed to the lower platform before climbing up the sugar molecule stairs to the upper exhibits and down the slide. It’s fun for climbers of all ages and will be a destination spot in Missoula.
If you are disgusted by spending addicts who literally think up new and creative ways to waste money while property taxes crush beleaguered Missoulians, then I suggest PAYING ATTENTION and SHOWING UP when necessary to tell our elected officials they are out-of-control and need either a citizen intervention, or a citizen uprising.
If you appreciate my relentless approach to exposing local bullshit, please consider donating to Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) and help make my Lego Meth Lab dreams come true. You won’t regret it!
And, as always, thanks for reading!