MISSOULA — This edition of Current Events with Missoula Current editor Martin Kidston takes an in-depth look at the strategic priorities recently laid out by Missoula Mayor Andrea Davis.
“So, every year the city's mayor releases their strategic priorities for the new fiscal year. [This] generally happens around budgeting, and the city is currently budgeting,” Kidston explained. “The strategic priorities kind of play into the budgeting decisions that will be made over the next couple of weeks as the process winds down. So, the [on the list are many] things that range from police and fire, road maintenance, housing, homelessness.”
One of the items on the list is the possible purchase of land behind Bob Ward’s at the Southgate Mall.
“So if you listen closely to the mayor's presentation this week, there are a couple hints of new updates that have taken place and...she said that the city would most likely go forward with the purchase of this 10 acres that are behind Bob Wards,” Kidston said. “This has been sought for development for a long time, but it lacks city services. So, the idea is they bring in city services, they develop housing, retail, kind of turn this into a little village."
“Another big update that was in the mayor's announcement with Riverfront Triangle that has been talked about for quite some time,” Kidston continued. “She actually mentioned it yesterday and said they're working on the agreements with the developer. So, that sounds like that's still on the table. “Of course, you got the downtown old library block, other public properties. They're really focusing on land banking and building housing on those properties,” Kidston said.
As for the possibility of buying and developing the land by Bob Ward’s, the end product could be something like what’s been seen with the development along Scott Street.
“It'll be similar. This is more of an urban setting, a deep urban setting. So, it'll probably be a little taller, you know, denser, but similar to what you're seeing on Scott Street, probably a mix of income-restricted and affordable housing, market-rate housing and probably some retail and some local amenities as well,” Kidston explained.
Mayor Davis also has on her priority list tackling the homeless issue in Missoula.
“Well, that's on the table pretty much every year,” Kidston noted. “It has been for quite some time. So, as we know, homelessness isn't a new thing, but the city does run the Johnson Street Shelter — owns that property. That's not going to be there for much longer. They can't continue to do that. So, the mayor's goal is to find a suitable replacement or other sheltering options to replace that facility in a year or two ahead.”
“Police and fire are also on the table. Of course, Missoula voters passed the fire levy. They're going to be citing a new fire station out in the Mullan area and they've already started hiring the 20 firefighters that are needed to man that station or staff that station.”
“These are the kind of goals they want to look at in 2025, and they want to find tools on how to measure their progress. So that's also part of this,” Kidston continued. “Ways to measure their successes and look back over the course of the year and say, what did we accomplish actually?”
The city budgeting process is continuing as it usually does, but it is getting closer to an endpoint.
“This is business as normal,” Kidston said of the list of Mayor Davis’s priorities. “You know, there are some subtleties that came out of the thing but nothing major. It's pretty much business as usual."
“Of course, it's all going to come down to what the budget authorizes and what the budget allows financially. The budget process is winding down. We'll probably know here in early August what the city has to work with. And we'll also know what the proposed tax increase will likely be,” Kidston concluded.
