It's hard to say whether renting a large new office building in the Nob Hill subdivision on the southeast edge of town is a good move for the state.

Although some nearby residents aren't pleased with the location, it certainly would be better to have it near the South Interchange than in the vicinity of Montana and Custer, where traffic congestion already is a problem. And while leasing new office space would seem to be more expensive than a state-owned property - after all, the builders need to make a fair return on their investment - leasing the property keeps it part of the city's tax base, which would be good news for Helena property tax payers.

But both state Sen. Dave Lewis, R-Helena, and Mayor Jim Smith have raised important questions about accountability. Lewis wonders why such an expensive commitment shouldn't be vetted by the Legislature, and Smith regrets that the public and city officials have had no chance to comment on the lease proposal.

Smith said one would think that such a major project as a three-story, 100,000-square-foot building would have been much debated, yet he only recently became aware of it.

As Smith correctly notes, "The state is the 800-pound gorilla in this city. Everything they do is important and everything they do ought to be subject to legislative oversight and open to civic discussion."

That's an important point. Most Helenans expect their city commissioners to monitor the community's relatively rapid development and do what they can to ensure that the growth is smart. That's tough to do when big state projects can proceed without public discussion.