MISSOULA — The annual City Club State of the Community took place on Monday with discussions revolving around current challenges and opportunities for the future.
Community members had the chance to speak out and ask questions about the issues that matter to the most to them.
The event included Missoula Mayor Andrea Davis, Missoula County Commissioner Dave Strohmaier, and University of Montana President Seth Bodnar.
Mayor Davis addressed several challenges that Missoula is facing and where she sees opportunities for growth.
"We are finding ourselves in the center of this challenge more than we've ever been. We need to address the challenges for those folks that are unsheltered, for the folks living in homes, as well as businesses," Davis said. "Homelessness is a national challenge and it is exacerbated by local conditions."
Mayor Davis also referenced her houselessness working group, saying that the group will bring perspectives together, invite understanding and commitment, and recommend actionable items to the city.
"The opportunity here is to really bring people together of various perspectives. Local government cannot do this alone."
Mayor Davis also discussed the development taking place on Scott Street, noting there will be 89 homes for purchase on a land trust. She said that half of the homes will be income-restricted while the other half will be market rate.
Additionally, on the Northside, the next phase includes more housing, childcare facilities, and a park. A timeline was not noted for the completion at Monday's event.
As for the Midtown Missoula 10-acre area by Bob Wards, Mayor Davis said this has been being planned for decades. Since it is a central location, Davis shared that the City wants to acquire the property and put in mixed-use buildings.
Commissioner Strohmaier also discussed infrastructure, touching on the East Broadway/Highway 200 corridor.
"Thankfully, Missoula County and our partners — the City of Missoula, the Metropolitan Planning Organization, and the Montana Department of Transportation — have been the recipients of a $24 million Reconnecting Communities Grant that will be plowed into a transformational project that will add curbs, sidewalks, a new railroad structure, striped pedestrian crossings, lighting, all of those elements that make for a beautiful, welcoming, and attractive place that we can call home."
Strohmaier also touched on the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority, noting that a railway would connect counties across the state and that the North Coast of the Hiawatha route will be recommended to Congress for restoration.
President Bodnar reflected upon UM's goal of inclusive prosperity, where the school is looking to foster healthy and engaged communities. UM was named the top university for public and community service in 2023.
He noted that UM is in a state of growth, having seen its largest year-over-year influx of students in 14 years which includes 20% more Montanans and 20% more student veterans — the highest retention rate in the school's history. Additionally, the Indigenous student population at UM has risen by 30% since 2018.
Bodnar shared that being a Griz involves making the community, city, and state better than before.
"We know that a large number of the folks who are making decisions about the future direction of our community have an education, a sense of purpose that was at least in part cultivated by UM," explained Bodnar.
The University of Montana is also making upgrades on campus including a new dining hall set to open this summer.
Additionally, they are working on the campus power plant for the largest greenhouse gas reduction project in UM's history.
"That project is not only breathing new life into a 75-year-old heating plant it's also — by turning it into a combined heat and power plant — it's providing $1.2 million worth of electricity to campus and represents the largest greenhouse gas reduction project in campus history," Bodnar stated.
