Sign up for the free Helena This Week newsletter and stay in the loop on Helena city government, public school meetings, business news and upcoming entertainment and events.
4/21/2025
“Helena This Week” is reported and written By JoVonne Wagner. Send your Helena news and tips to [email protected].
City’s transportation grants continue to be delayed
Helena officials continue to face delays advancing grant-funded projects amid federal job and funding cuts as they assess budgetary needs for the upcoming fiscal year.
During a city meeting last week, department leaders and staff presented their mid-year budget reports to identify department needs and how to fund them.
According to staff, some of those budget and revenue numbers are based on the federal grants the city is expected to receive.
The city’s grants coordinator, Amanda Optiz, updated the commission that two project grants, totaling a little over $4 million, issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation to conduct connectivity studies throughout Helena have been stalled, again.
At the beginning of this year, the city was notified that it had won the Railroad Crossing Elimination grant, which would fund a study for an alternative railroad crossing and roundabout on Montana Avenue, and the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development grant, which would fund planning efforts to add a connecting route from Interstate 15 to Highway 12 at Crossroads Parkway.
But as federal cuts occurred in late January, the usual next steps to secure the funding were postponed without further explanation, Opitz previously told Montana Free Press.
City staff finally held their first meeting on the railroad crossing grant earlier this month with the Federal Railroad Administration. According to Opitz, the meeting was more of a “meet and greet” and left staff uncertain about the grant status.
Subsequently, the railroad administration’s project manager notified the city that they had accepted a government buyout offer and that a new manager would be assigned to the project.
The city is also waiting to reschedule an initial meeting with federal officials regarding the second grant.
“The concern that we have is more, I think, in delay,” Optiz told the commission. “We’re hopeful that our grants will continue to move forward. We feel really strongly that the projects that we have been awarded grants on are all worthy projects, not particularly controversial projects.”
City Manager Tim Burton told the commission that the city has been in communication with Montana’s congressional delegation and that City Commissioner Emily Dean recently met with the National League of Cities and Towns and was informed that other municipalities were also at “a similar state of pause.”
Optiz added that the city’s state-awarded grants are moving forward, although some are contingent upon the state receiving its own federal funding.
Public Notice
Greater Helena Gives: Greater Helena Gives, the area’s annual 24-hour fundraising campaign, returns on Wednesday, April 30, at 8 p.m. and lasts until 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 1. People can donate on the online platform to any of the registered local nonprofits or to its community fund, which will be distributed across all organizations. Visit the Greater Helena Gives website for additional information.
May 6 election: Ballots for the school and special purpose district elections will be mailed on Monday, April 21, and must be returned to the Lewis and Clark County elections office by Tuesday, May 6. The ballot will include the Helena Public School District’s technology and operational levies and a slate of candidates for the school board.
5 Things to Know in Helena
Clay Arts Guild: The Clay Arts Guild of Helena is at risk of losing its space if members can’t raise $250,000 to secure a down payment to purchase the building, according to guild president Betsy Anderson. The nonprofit’s landlord has given the guild the first chance to purchase the facility at 3025 Bozeman Ave., with a deadline at the end of the year. The guild, first formed in 1999, has contributed to several community needs, but now members are seeking their own support.
“We have never fundraised for ourselves, so this is a new experience,” Anderson said in an email to MTFP. “We have no paid staff, so all members are pitching in, and we are optimistic we can achieve our goal.”
The guild has also created a GoFundMe page with additional details.
$20K for Family Promise: Family Promise of Greater Helena executive director Renee Bauer announced last week that the nonprofit received a donation of $20,000 from modular home manufacturer Clayton. Family Promise, an organization focusing on aiding families and children experiencing homelessness, will use the money to help families at risk of losing housing because of rent, vehicle maintenance or utility payments.
Partnership shelter project update: During a city budget meeting last week, commissioners asked for an update regarding the shelter project between Family Promise and Good Samaritan Ministries. City grants coordinator Amanda Optiz told the commission that the project is on hold while GMS undergoes leadership changes.
School board candidate forum: The League of Women Voters of the Helena Area will hold a school board of trustees candidate forum on Wednesday, April 23, at the Lewis & Clark Library, 120 S. Last Chance Gulch, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The forum will feature all six of the trustee candidates: Jenny Murnane Butcher, Siobhan Hathhorn, Carrie Jones, John Klein III, Kay Satre and Hanna Warhank. LWVHA member and former Helena Mayor Jim Smith will moderate the discussion.
Land use draft plan review: The City Planning Commission and the Helena Citizens’ Council, during a meeting last week, reviewed the draft Helena Land Use Plan that discusses economic development, transportation, public facilities, parks and implementation strategies. Although the draft is available on the commission’s agenda, staff said that some chapters are still being developed. Once the draft is complete, it will be presented at an open house later this fall.
Might Be Fun
Tickets are available for the 2025 Old Salt Festival, June 20 to June 22, at the Mannix Family Ranch in Helmville. The Mannix Family owns local food and meat production businesses, including the Old Salt Outpost housed at the Gold Bar and The Union Butcher Shop and Wood Fire Grill. The festival will feature food, music and vendors. Tickets can be purchased on the Old Salt website.
Helena History
