MISSOULA — Missoula County and several private companies are partnering together to put in a water system at the Wye, paving the way for more industrial use and potentially more dense housing.
“The amount of development, industrial development we'll see out there, instead of small buildings, we're gonna see larger buildings," said Andrew Hagemeier, director of community and economic development for Missoula County.
The new water system would be located at the Wye, just west of Missoula, near the intersection of I-90 and U.S. Highway 93 North.
"Instead of a few jobs, we'll see many jobs. And it will help, you know, replace some of the jobs that we've lost recently through at Pyramid Lumber or Roseburg,” he said.
Watch the full story:
Andrew Hagemeier says that this new system would eventually be owned by the county after construction is completed by Grass Valley Industrial.
“This has been three years in the works, actually a little over three years in the works of doing the hydrology studies, drilling test wells, pump testing the wells, acquiring water rights, all that kind of stuff," said Matt Mellot, project manager for the Wye Grass Valley water system. "So it's like this big long process that nobody sees or hears or cares about.”
Mellot says the proposed water system out by the Wye is mainly meant for industrial growth that the area is expecting to see.
“Most industrial uses are not heavy water consumers, like the, you know, what they call the domestic component of it," Mellot said. "But what they do need is that access to a hydrant so that if something catches on fire, it's like you get a whole bunch of water that can, you know, come and put out a fire."
Grass Valley Industrial would put in a half-million-gallon tank in the area, paving the way for not only industrial fire concerns, but potentially more growth.
“It's being built to serve a much larger area, and they don't need to do that," Hagemeier said. "It's a really community-minded thing they're doing, because they're building it to serve a larger area, and they recognize that other people need the water too."
The county would use tax increment financing to fund the project, reimbursing Grass Valley Industrial once it’s complete.
But, Grass Valley Industrial and Montana Knife Company are also pitching in.
“You got $5.3 million in tax increment financing and about $8,000, almost $900,000 in private money, and that's gonna help build the system that we will own, the county will own,” Hagemeier said.
The key thing to know about this water system that could be put in at the Wye is that it would use tax increment financing (TIF). Meaning that if you don't live in the area, your tax dollars won't pay for it. This is because property taxes from the TIF district stay within the district to pay for its infrastructure.
If you wish to comment on the proposed project, there will be a public hearing in the Sophie Moiese Room of the Missoula County Courthouse at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6.
