Missoula governments made decisions this week that stretch years into the future, from affordable housing and utility infrastructure to a 25-year transportation plan. But much of the public discussion focused on what happens between adopting a plan and seeing results.
City Council heard support for preserving 96 affordable apartments, but the final tax-exemption decision belongs to the state. County commissioners adopted a transportation plan containing roughly 200 projects, then heard from a resident who spent years pushing for a Reserve Street safety study and still cannot point to improvements scheduled for construction.
Residents also questioned whether the city's own participation systems are accessible to people who cannot attend meetings in person or easily navigate city resources online.
Meanwhile, Missoula is looking at roughly $484 million in water and wastewater work over the next 20 years, with a utility rate study still to come.
Missoula City Council
Wildflower Apartments could remain affordable for decades
Council held a public hearing Monday on continuing a full property tax exemption for Wildflower Apartments, a 96-unit complex on Russell Street that houses more than 200 people.
The Missoula Housing Authority purchased the property after its original affordability restrictions expired, preventing a future owner from immediately converting the apartments to market-rate housing. MHA, Buché Development, and United Housing Partners now plan an 18-month renovation financed in part through a new allocation of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.
Residents will remain housed during construction. Work will proceed six units at a time, with tenants moved once into completed apartments at the developer's expense.
Developer Mike Buché said rents at 60% of area median income range from approximately $1,000 for studios to under $1,500 for three bedrooms—roughly $600 below comparable market rents.
Despite the City Council hearing, council members do not decide whether the exemption continues. The hearing provides the local public-comment record required by the Montana Board of Housing and Department of Revenue, which make the final decision. Council member Gwen Jones noted that preserving projects like Wildflower matters because older affordable developments can otherwise reach the end of their restrictions and move into the private market.
Residents question whether public participation is actually accessible
Several speakers Monday focused less on a particular policy than on whether residents can effectively participate in city government.
A Ward 1 resident with experience being unhoused criticized the city's online Houseless Resource Guide, saying it is difficult to locate and ultimately sends users to a PDF designed for printing and folding rather than easy online use. She said an Adobe accessibility check identifies 19 problems with the document. Missoula Commons has not independently audited that claim.
Two other residents criticized the city's in-person-first system for signing up to speak, arguing that people who cannot come downtown can lose opportunities to comment remotely. One also asked the city to livestream Police Commission meetings. Council did not respond to the access concerns during the meeting.
Carrie Shriber of the Southgate Triangle Neighborhood Council separately argued that neighborhood councils have become less effective since being placed under the city's Land Use and Planning department. Council President Mike Nugent disputed part of her account and asked her to forward communications showing that requests for an agenda appearance had gone unanswered.
City begins studying affordable-housing code incentives
The Land Use and Planning Committee approved a resolution directing staff to develop targeted development-code incentives for income- and rent-restricted affordable housing.
Planning director Eran Pehan emphasized that the city is not considering broad incentives for all housing. Instead, staff will look for specific regulations or building standards that make deed-restricted affordable projects harder or more expensive to build. Recommendations are expected this winter.
Water and wastewater needs could reach $484 million
City officials also gave council a 20-year look at Missoula's water and wastewater systems. The projected price tag is substantial: about $320 million for wastewater infrastructure and $164 million for water storage.
Capacity is not the immediate problem. Missoula's wastewater system averages about 7.6 million gallons per day, and only two gravity sewer segments are projected to become undersized through 2044.
Age is the larger concern. Nearly 118 miles of sewer main are more than 50 years old, much of it vitrified clay. Officials also identified corrosion and infrastructure concerns near Lincoln Hills, Reserve and Brooks streets, and the Clark Fork River crossing.
Council has already authorized $11 million in the FY27 budget for work at the river crossing and expanded sewer rehabilitation.
The utility serves about 80,000 people today, with population projected to reach 118,000 in 20 years. How customers will pay for the larger program remains unresolved. The city plans a utility rate study before recommending future increases; no new rates were proposed this week.
Midtown Commons lawsuit remains active
A legal challenge is also moving forward over the city's approval of the Midtown Commons redevelopment.
KPAX reported Aug. 24 that residents led by Franklin to the Fort neighborhood resident Mary Guliani are challenging the city over the process used to select the developer. The complaint argues that using the privately operated Missoula Economic Partnership during the developer-selection process deprived residents of meaningful public participation.
The complaint also raises questions about an adjacent property sale, environmental review, and the mayor's role in the process. The city has reportedly moved to dismiss the case but has declined to comment publicly on pending litigation. Missoula Commons has not reviewed the city's motion, so the city's legal arguments cannot yet be fairly summarized.
Council approved Midtown Commons agreements in May. Miramonte Companies is purchasing 15 city-owned acres for $7.9 million, the amount the city paid for the property. Plans call for as many as 250 homes, commercial space, a 1.6-acre park, and new street connections. The case is before District Court Judge Shane Vannatta.
Other City Council notes
Council unanimously approved about $2.03 million in accounts payable, appointed Raquel Roy to the Tourism Business Improvement District, and approved a $120,034 prefabricated restroom for the park on North Scott Street.
Mayor Andrea Davis highlighted the newly renovated commercial kitchen at the Missoula Senior Center, which is now serving breakfast Monday through Friday from 7 to 10 a.m. The meals are open to the public, not only seniors or center members.
There is no regular council meeting Aug. 31 or Labor Day, Sept. 7. The next regular meeting is Monday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m.
Missoula County Commissioners
County adopts 25-year transportation plan
County commissioners unanimously incorporated Missoula Connect 2050, the region's long-range transportation plan, into the county growth policy Thursday. The plan contains roughly 200 potential transportation projects, ranging from major road construction to smaller bicycle and pedestrian improvements.
Transportation planner Glenn Ingram highlighted Reserve Street, East Missoula, Highway 200, South Avenue, and the Mullan area among county priorities. The plan does not cover the entire county; Frenchtown, Seeley Lake, Swan Valley, Potomac, and Turah fall outside the Metropolitan Planning Organization's designated planning area.
And adoption does not guarantee construction.
That distinction became the central issue during public comment. Kevin Davis of the Reserve Street Public Working Group told commissioners that he spent about eight years advocating for a Reserve Street safety plan. That study is now finished, but he said he is unaware of any recommended improvements actually scheduled for construction.
"Plans are great," Davis told commissioners, but residents also need to understand which projects are priorities and when implementation will occur. Commissioners thanked him but did not respond to the substance of the concern before adjourning.
Two properties join Missoula Rural Fire District
Commissioners also approved annexing properties at 5987 Larch Canyon Road and 20811 Gilman Creek Road into the Missoula Rural Fire District.
One property owner asked before the vote how annexation would affect his taxes. County staff said they did not have the figure available and would follow up with comparisons from similar properties. Commissioners then approved the annexations.
For residents considering similar petitions, the exchange highlighted a basic question that was not answered publicly before the decision: what does joining the district actually cost an individual property owner?
Family transfer approved on Mount Avenue
Commissioners approved a family-transfer exemption allowing a roughly 45.8-acre property at 4328 Mount Avenue to be divided so approximately 22.9 acres can be transferred from Laura Richardson to her daughter.
County planners reviewed several factors that could have suggested an attempt to avoid subdivision review, including a recent deed transfer and previous use of a subdivision exemption, but concluded the proposal qualified as a legitimate family transfer.
Part of the property lies in a FEMA-designated flood hazard area, but the county said the division does not create building sites or access entirely within the floodplain. Any future development there would still need to comply with floodplain regulations.
County budget decision coming Sept. 3
The county's proposed FY2027 budget would increase property taxes by 3.25%, or approximately $32 per year on a home assessed at $570,000, according to KPAX reporting on the budget presentation. A separate 1.25% road-maintenance increase remains undecided.
The county's own budget materials project $228.5 million in total spending, including $86.6 million in property tax revenue. Major proposed capital expenses include $3.5 million for water-pipe replacement at the detention facility and $1.5 million for a new cooling tower there.
Those figures remain proposed until final action. The FY27 final budget hearing is Thursday, Sept. 3 at 2 p.m. in the Sophie Moiese Room at the Courthouse Annex, 200 W. Broadway, with remote participation available through Microsoft Teams.
Around Missoula County
The Greater Northwest Rail Summit was held in Helena this week, with Missoula County Commissioner Dave Strohmaier participating as chair of the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority. The authority continues to pursue restoration of passenger rail through southern Montana along the former North Coast Hiawatha route, which would include Missoula. Sen. Tim Sheehy told attendees he is supporting legislation that would eliminate local matching requirements during the planning stage for long-distance passenger rail corridors. No new local funding decision was made.
The county's data center moratorium also remains in effect through July 8, 2027 while planners study potential impacts and possible regulations.
And one budget item from the previous week remains worth tracking: City Council adopted its FY27 budget with a 3.8% property tax increase, with most of the increase going toward employee wage adjustments. An amendment seeking $150,000 for a study of organic and natural park maintenance failed.
What to watch next
The most immediate decision is the Missoula County FY27 budget hearing on Sept. 3, particularly the unresolved road-maintenance levy.
Beyond that, several larger questions raised this week remain open. The city has hundreds of millions of dollars in utility improvements ahead but has not yet said what that will mean for customer rates. Missoula Connect 2050 identifies roughly 200 transportation projects, but adoption does not establish when many of them will be built. And residents continue to question whether public participation systems work equally well for people who cannot physically attend meetings.
Those are less dramatic than a single council vote. They may ultimately matter more.
