The Whole Plan — Joshua Tree · 1316 Bozeman · Helena

Status: Green on research, Yellow on money — the City is live and Stephen is in motion. Three real money lanes now, plus a showcase lane.

Corrected and re-researched 2026-08-17. This supersedes the earlier briefing.

1. What I got wrong (now fixed)

Three things I said before were stale or wrong. Here is the corrected truth, from the raw files in Diane's folder.

The building story, now honest and sourced: Nash-Finch food & beverage distribution warehouse (1930s, managed by Christie Transfer) → Capital Transfer & Storage (Horne family, 1949 – July 1, 2026) → Joshua Tree Cabinetry (Stephen Banker, 2026 onward). The 1935 earthquake shattered the State Liquor Warehouse next door; this stone warehouse stood.

2. The full money stack

Lane 1 — City Railroad District match (PRIMARY, live)

• City of Helena can match up to half of eligible exterior work: windows, wells, doors, masonry, gutters, ADA ramp.
• Chain: Community Development → HURTIF advisory board (2nd Tuesday, 1:30 p.m.) → City Commission → signed development agreement.
• The building is proven inside the Railroad District (the tax card literally says "TIF Rlrd URP"). Taxes current.
• Hard rule: money spent on matched work before approval may not be matched.

Lane 2 — Helena's own downtown façade grant (NEW — this is the "extra grant" you asked for)

• Helena's Business Improvement District (BID) already runs a downtown façade improvement program, funded through the Montana Main Street Program, modeled on Kalispell's.
• This is separate money from the TIF — a second façade source.
• Main Street grants: roughly $1 local for every $5 received (20% match). Annual cycle, applications typically due mid-November. Helena is a member community.
• The kicker: the RURD rubric itself awards points for a marketing/branding plan. A façade grant + story + brand = a complete Main Street-style package.

Lane 3 — State jobs fund (NEW)

• Big Sky Economic Development Trust Fund — up to $5,000 per new job ($7,500 in a high-poverty county).
• A local government (Big Sky Economic Development) applies on the business's behalf. Requires net-new jobs, a wage floor (170% of state minimum wage or the county average), a match, and a "basic sector" (out-of-state sales) test.
• This funds the shop expansion and jobs, not the stone. Keep it separate from façade invoices.

Lane 4 — state historic grant (next cycle, not this one)

• Montana Historic Preservation Grant — up to $350,000, 1:1 match for for-profits.
• The Feb 28, 2026 deadline for the current biennium passed. Next round: March 1, 2028. Calendar it. Do not promise current-cycle money.

Lane 5 — owner's tax credits (John Horne's side)

• Federal ~20% + Montana 25% of the federal amount — claimed by the owner, not the tenant.
• Gate: the building is not on the City's historic-district map; SHPO/HPO must first say it qualifies.

Checked and ruled out (so nobody wastes time)

• Helena Area Community Foundation — nonprofits only, not small business.
• Indian Equity Fund — Native-owned businesses only.
• Kansas IRONED / Louisiana / Minnesota Paul Bruhn — wrong states.

3. Where we show off — and how that is scoring, not decoration

The RURD criteria, in the City's own words, gives consideration to projects that "more fully develop a marketing initiative that is based on the RURD's distinct history and cultural/economic importance… a cohesive, comprehensive branding and marketing plan with an associated implementation plan."

That means the story work is worth money, not just nice-to-have.

• Story site — "Bring the Light Back" — built, with real photos of the stone, the poured-shut openings, the barn doors, the old plat.
• Board presentation — built.
• Short film — parked on your word.
• John Horne oral history — the single highest-value asset. 76 years of living memory, on record, is gold for both the board and the marketing criterion.

Being assistive: this project does the City's own marketing job for it — a working craftsman restoring a railroad-district warehouse is the district's story in one building.

4. What already exists (inventory)

Raw source: ~/Desktop/Diane Historic Home/ (~146 files: photos, 5 window/shop PDFs, 11 docx/xlsx history + application drafts).

5. What still blocks a City filing (facts, not essays)

• John Horne's signed permission + phone + email
• The lease (term, permission to alter exterior)
• Dollars Stephen already invested — ANSWERED Aug 17: up to $250,000 line of credit + own funds already in
• Remaining trade bids — MOSTLY IN Aug 17: wells, openings, masonry, barn doors, overhead doors all priced. Still open: man doors, gutters, ADA ramp, disposal
• Headcount now and planned
• Basement use (storage vs occupied shop) — drives egress
• Confirm the eligibility call happened and the current HURTIF deadline

6. Next steps, in order

1. Confirm the City TIF is live and get the current HURTIF deadline from Stephen/Diane.
2. Get John Horne's signature + lease.
3. Collect the missing bids and dollars-in.
4. Declare basement use in writing.
5. Open the Helena BID façade grant in parallel (second façade source).
6. Put Big Sky jobs fund on the list via Big Sky Economic Development.
7. Calendar MHPG for March 1, 2028.
8. Raise tax credits with John Horne.
9. Finish the packet and file — on Carter's word only.

Nothing sends. Nothing files. Nothing is paid — until you say the word.

The film waits. The story is built. The City is live. The extra money is now mapped.