(HELENA) The city of Helena is looking to sell off a small piece of public property that has been one of the city’s smallest open space areas.
KCAP Park is a parcel of just 0.06 acres at the corner of Broadway and Cruse Avenue, next to the former office of KCAP radio and behind the Algeria Shrine Temple. Currently, it includes a small patch of grass and a bench.
The city acquired the property in 1975, and Helena Parks and Recreation has maintained it as open space. Because of its small size and limited potential for recreation, city staff suggested in 2014 that it be declared “surplus property” and put up for sale. They said the city could save money by no longer maintaining and watering the land, and that whoever buys it could do something to “improve the economic viability” of the area.
Parks and Recreation leaders said in a memo last month they had contacted nearby property owners, and no one had raised any objections – though the city solid waste department did express concern about losing the space where they currently have a commercial dumpster.
The Helena City Commission approved moving forward with declaring KCAP Park surplus property at their meeting Jan. 28. Within the next month, the parcel will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. City leaders said they have already been contacted by an interested buyer.
