MISSOULA — Current Missoula City Council member Heidi West is not running for re-election in Ward 1, so to fill the seat, Eric Melson is one of two candidates that is running for the seat.
Melson has worked in Helena as a lobbyist. He says that he wants to continue to serve the community he loves living in.
“I am running for City Council in Ward 1, which is the Rattlesnake neighborhood, [the] heart of Missoula, Canyon River Golf Course in East Missoula and the Northside. And I'm running for office because I love this place. I feel really lucky to call Missoula my home. I feel like I've gained a lot of things by living here and I just want to give back to the place that's given me so much,” Melson said.
When it comes to the budget, next year's city budget will be a harder budget to pass because the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding the City of Missoula received during the COVID-19 pandemic will not be included in next year's budget. Melson says that he would take a harder look at the cities’ budget to ensure that the programs the city is funding are yielding results.
“That ARPA money that we accepted from COVID has dried up and we did prop up some programs with that money. The Crisis Services levy that was on the ballot last fall, unfortunately, got voted down. And that would have been the continuation of some of those programs — the crisis services team, the mobile response team. And in terms of what I would do for the budget, take a really hard look at line by line, what our expenses are. I think we're a little heavy on paying consultants. Honestly, I think that we can scale back a little bit on some of the initiatives and plans, making sure that those things are actually providing the results and the return on those investments that we want. But as I look through the budget right now in this fiscal year, it's fairly lean. I think we are really down to the bone in a lot of ways to provide those critical services that people want and deserve,” said Melson.
Melson says that if he is elected to the Missoula City Council, he wants to see long-term and short-term solutions for the homeless population of Missoula.
“The homelessness crisis we're facing in Missoula is not endemic to Missoula. I think that a lot of cities around Montana are struggling with this. And I think a lot of cities around the country are struggling with this. I think it's a failure of our society in some ways. I think it's tragic. I don't think that there is an easy answer. I think that this is an incredibly complex problem and I think that we're trying to do the best we can with what we have. The mayor recently directed council and staff to look at short-term solutions to providing housing for some of these unhoused folks through the Johnson Street shelter. And there's been robust conversations with the neighborhoods and the residents around that shelter and [a] plan put in place for what the future of that property will look like in three years. That's a short-term solution. But we also need really long-term solutions. And I don't have the answer to that. I mean, again, this is a really, really complicated issue."
Missoula is also facing a housing crisis. Homes for sale are above the median income in the city while rentals have become more and more expensive. This comes on top of the rise in gas and groceries and taxes. Melson says that the housing crisis isn’t something that Missoula can do by itself.
“Housing is also incredibly complex and there's not a single solution. Someone described it to me like a waterbed — like you can kind of push on one side — and you can have results kind of bulge on the other. And [the] same goes...you can increase inventory on one side and that solves the availability of housing. But again, it's a multi-pronged complex problem that involves wages, not keeping up. That's not something that local government is necessarily going to solve."
Melson says that in his experience, Missoula has always been a hard town to live in, but in the last three years, the issue has grown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I have lived in Missoula for 15 years and every one of those years has been a struggle to make ends meet. That's just kind of how it's been here for my experience. And from some of the other folks that I've talked to, Missoula has always been a hard town to make ends meet back [even] when it was a logging town, and there was more industry dependency today where we have a thriving tech industry. I think those problems were compounded because of COVID. I think that people found out about Missoula and the way of life here didn't really change fundamentally with COVID. And we saw a lot of folks that were in lockdown in big cities like Seattle and Portland decided that they wanted to change it up and they looked at places like Missoula and they decided to relocate here,” Melson said.
Melson also says that some of the affordability problems Missoula is facing are from the private ways that haven’t been able to catch up.
“I think a lot of the problems in housing that we're seeing are born out of the desirability to live here. We have a really high quality of life here and that's a good thing. I do think that there is a bit of, like, a mountain town tax. This gets back to wages, not keeping up. I've worked two or three jobs at a time to try and make ends meet here. I know a lot of people that have. I don't know if City Council can do a whole lot to solve that on the private wages side of things. But in terms of affordability, I think what we can do in terms of housing is look at things through that affordable housing lens that we have."
Melson also explained that changing the zoning codes could help the housing crisis many Missoulians are facing.
“We have three lenses that City Council and local government are looking at...one of them is affordable housing. And I think that we can change zoning and code reform. I think that's a real-world rubber meets-the-road kind of place where the changes in zoning, to allow for different density and different units. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change the way that we look at code and zoning to approve more affordable housing. I also think that it's a really complex issue that again, there's no silver bullet."
Ward 1 does not have the sidewalks to keep pedestrians safe and Melson says that he wants to make sure areas in his Ward have the infrastructure and roads that are needed to keep residents safe.
“Infrastructure is it needs improving in some places. The northside, in particular. I've heard a lot from residents on the northside about how frustrated they are that the bike [and pedestrian] bridge has been closed. There were a lot of road projects — water main projects that trapped residents of the north side in their neighborhood. Second was closed over to Spruce Street, forcing people to go under Orange. The underpass on Orange is incredibly sketchy. It's poorly lit. There's a tiny little wire fence between you and the oncoming traffic. It's damp and dark and it's very scary. Scott Street is not bike or really walkable. It's kind of straight up on one side and straight down on the other."
Melson also says that for residents who have mobility problems or aren’t able to get out and safely walk in their own neighborhoods.
“And I think, in particular, the northside feels really squeezed, which is a bummer. People can't get out and sometimes in the summer, they only had one route to get out. The roads and the sidewalks in the northside are pretty bad too. The sidewalks don't connect in a lot of places and that makes it hard for people with accessibility issues. People in wheelchairs that want to go and move around find it difficult So absolutely, infrastructure is something that's critical."
Melson added that infrastructure goes further than roads as it includes fire, police, and sewer. Melson says that the city should be applying for federal grants to help pay for the services the people of Missoula expect and need.
“I think what we can do as a city is work on being competitive and applying for federal grants and leverage the resources that we have. Infrastructure is obviously one of the big things that local government provides...water, sewer, police, fire, roads, streets, sidewalks — those are all elements of local government. But the current administration in the White House made one of the largest investments in public infrastructure and we need to be able to take advantage of that. One thing the current mayor did was approve and provide for...[a] specialist that will look at specifically how we can apply for and get money in the door for infrastructure projects relating to climate change from Missoula. I think that we should also be looking at basic infrastructure needs."
Neighborhood councils are an important part of the city government and Melson says that in his Ward there has been a lot of participation. He says that he wants to attend the meetings to hear more about the issues this Ward is facing.
“I think it's a really cool way to engage with neighborhoods on a very personal level and talk about issues that are specific to those neighborhoods. I've been to the neighborhood council meetings for northside, westside and also for Upper Rattlesnake. But in my experience, there's been really robust participation, people are really engaged. There's a lot of good conversations going on about how, how to get involved and what sorts of things are priorities for westside, northside. They were talking a lot about the Villagio project and road and sidewalk improvements and the [pedestrian] bridge being closed and when that will be open. For the Upper Rattlesnake meeting, they talked a lot about wildlife interactions. They had a grizzly bear specialist come and talk about bear or bird feeders and how not to habituate bears. Talking about the grizzly bear buffer zone. I'm excited to learn from the Lower Rattlesnake Neighborhood Council about what their issues and priorities are. I think one of them is the train noises, the train whistles. In terms of my involvement on those, I'd absolutely love to attend every single one that I can,” Melson said.
When it comes to taxes, Melson says that he wants to be able to work with legislators to fix the tax system of Montana to help Missoulians.
“In terms of what I would do, I would advocate the state level to reform our broken tax system. Our taxes ought to match our economy and they don't right now, they are looking backwards at a former economy that we no longer have. We haven't looked forward at what our emerging economy is in terms of tech and tourism. We're not capturing the 3.5 million people that come here to float our rivers, to come to our parks to visit and experience Montana and they rely on our services, they rely on emergency services and water and roads and we're not getting anything from them. So, I think we absolutely should be good stewards of tax dollars on the local level."
Melson also says that he would fight for the right reform to help Missoula chart its own destiny.
“But we also need to fight for reform...the city just approved a 9.7% tax increase, property tax increase. That's on top of last year's 12% tax increase. The county is increasing taxes. I think that it's really the only tool we have in our toolbox to provide for the services that we commit to. And if we are truly able to chart our own destiny in Missoula — as our Missoula constitution says — we need to have every tool available in the toolbox to diversify the tax revenues that we receive. I think it's really unfortunate that the legislature has clamped down on local options in this community."
Melson also says that he would like to see the people who could be priced out of Missoula not be, and see the state shift the burden off the residents and onto the industries of Montana.
“We had a local option — [a] gas tax that passed and was revoked by the state legislature. So I would love to see honestly — I really see property tax reform as a linchpin to solving our revenue streams, Department of Revenue, and the legislature had an opportunity to shift the tax burden from industry and commercial. I should say they had the opportunity to shift the tax burden more towards industry and commercial and away and from the backs of individual property owners, residential property owners. They failed to do that. And so we have seen increases at the state level, at the county level and at the city level and it has really, really impacted the affordability of folks in town. People on fixed incomes are getting priced out and it's horrible to see,” Melson said.
If Melson is elected to City Council, he says that he would want to hear from the people of his Ward and the people of Missoula.
“If I am elected, I absolutely want to hear from everyone on the Ward. I mean, that's a fundamental thing for me. I'm a people person. I really enjoy talking with folks. I honestly believe that I can learn something from every single person on this planet. And, I want to hear from constituents and residents and neighbors about how life is going in Ward 1. Are things working, are things not working? What kind of changes do they want to see being made? And I'm committed to [an] open door, open phone, open email, coffee policy. I'd love to...for people to reach out if they have questions as I learn more about local government...I don't have all the answers right now. I'm not going to pretend that I am fluent in local government. I have a lot of learning to do myself. In terms of transparency, we have engaged Missoula, which is our portal to get public comments from folks on specific projects. The neighborhood councils are a great way that people can get engaged in their neighborhood about specific initiatives that are happening, happening in their neighborhood."
When asked why the residents of Ward 1 should vote for Melson. he said that he wants to listen and explore how he can benefit everyone's quality of life in Missoula.
“I think you should vote for me because I care a lot about Missoula. I feel like my heart is in the right place. I have experience at the national level in Washington DC, at the state level in Helena. And I've worked on various campaigns that have tried to support our way of life in Missoula. The Crisis Services Levy being one of those. I would be, it would be an honor to represent the constituents of Ward One. And I would really use it as a learning experience to learn first and foremost and listen — how government is working and really approach it as sort of like a Master's Degree in local government. I want to listen and learn as much as I can. And I think that first year, I'll treat it as a learning exercise with a lot of humility and compassion. And once I'm up to speed on the levers of change, start to really explore how we can use those levers to benefit everyone's quality of life here in Missoula,” Melson concluded.
Election Day in Missoula is on November 7, 2023.
