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10/17/2025
“Missoula This Week” is reported and written By Katie Fairbanks. Send your Missoula news and tips to [email protected].
Missoula County voters to weigh in on infrastructure levy, city residents to decide mayor, council races
The Missoula County Elections Office mailed more than 77,800 ballots this week for the municipal general election to county residents registered to vote.
The all-mail election includes races for the Missoula mayor, all city council wards, three municipal judges and the countywide infrastructure levy. Voters outside city limits will only have the mill levy on their ballots.
In August, the Missoula County commissioners approved placing a mill levy on the ballot to raise $1.8 million annually to help fund the construction, repairs and maintenance of public roads, bridges and trails.
If the levy passes, the owner of a $300,000 home would pay an additional $11.40 annually, and the owner of a $600,000 home would pay $26.21.
The county generates approximately $6.13 million for roads and $1.38 million for bridges, excluding grants, from property taxes, the state gas tax, and other state and federal sources. The public works department estimates it needs an additional $4.3 million annually to fully fund the county’s infrastructure needs.
The county is responsible for 450 miles of maintained roads, including 264 miles of paved roads, and 63 miles of unmaintained roads, Public Works Director Jason Mitchell told the commissioners in August. The county also maintains most bridges in Missoula County. It would cost about $63.3 million to replace the eight bridges in most need of repair, Mitchell said.
Two of the county’s bridges are closed — Sunset Hill Road bridge near Greenough and Boy Scout Bridge in Seeley Lake — because of safety concerns.
The county would prioritize using the levy revenue to repave county roads and provide matching funds when applying to federal grants to replace aging bridges, according to the county’s levy information page.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier told Montana Free Press the levy revenue will not cover all the county’s maintenance needs but will provide local matching funds for grants and make an “appreciative difference” in the lives of residents.
“The reality on the ground is we have aging infrastructure, in some cases, infrastructure that’s reached the point of failing,” he said. “We get requests for increased maintenance, and we can only do that with new revenue streams.”
Strohmaier said property tax increases are always a concern, and in this case, it’s up to the public to decide on its willingness to pay for services.
“We’ve reached a point where we either need to be OK with less well-maintained infrastructure or need to be willing to collectively ante up,” he said.
The Missoula Chamber of Commerce, the Missoula Economic Partnership and the Missoula Organization of Realtors endorsed the levy and encouraged voters’ support. The organizations’ leaders wrote in a Sept. 30 letter that while they recognize that homeowners are concerned about property taxes, the levy would add about $2 a month to the average homeowner’s bill. Most homeowners will see their tax bill go down even if the levy passes because of the Legislature’s recent changes to the residential tax rate, they wrote.
“That small investment has a big impact,” the letter said. “This levy ensures first responders can reach residents quickly and that roads and bridges remain safe and open for everyone. … We believe this is a responsible and necessary step to keep Missoula County moving forward.”
For city residents, the ballot will also include the race for mayor, city council ward seats and municipal judges. On Friday, MTFP will publish a guide to the Missoula ballot with more information on the municipal races.
A new Montana law requires voters to write their birth year on the signature envelope. A ballot will be rejected if it does not include both the voter’s signature and birth year.
If voters have not received their ballot by Monday, Oct. 20, they should contact the Elections Office. Voters must return ballots by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Return postage is prepaid, and voters can also drop off ballots at the Elections Center at 140 N. Russell St., during regular business hours. On Nov. 4, several additional ballot drop-off locations will be available.
Drive-thru ballot drop locations include:
- Hellgate Elementary baseball fields, 2385 Flynn Lane, just north of the school campus
- McCormick Park, 600 Cregg Lane, Missoula
- South Russell Street between the YMCA and the Missoula County Fairgrounds
Other drop-off locations include:
- Bonner School, 9045 Hwy 200, Bonner
- Frenchtown Rural Fire District, 16875 Marion St., Frenchtown
- Lolo School, 5305 Farm Lane, Lolo
- Seeley Lake Elementary School, 200 School Lane, Seeley Lake
Voters can register to vote at the Elections Center until noon Monday, Nov. 3. Election Day voter registration will be available from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. More information is available online.
Public Notice
Members of the public can preview early plans for the Midtown Commons development, previously known as Southgate Crossing, during an open house next week.
The city of Missoula, Missoula Redevelopment Agency, Missoula Parks and Recreation and Miramonte Companies are hosting the event from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, at Stockman Bank, 3615 Brooks St. Project team members and the developer will be available to answer questions. No formal presentation will be given.
The city this summer selected Miramonte Companies to purchase and develop the 13.5-acre site, located south and west of Bob Ward’s Sports and Outdoors. The city used $5.9 million in tax increment financing money to purchase the vacant property from two landowners last fall in an effort to spur redevelopment in the area.
Miramonte’s initial concept, presented in August, included single-family and multifamily housing for rent and purchase, commercial development and a 1.5-acre public park. Chris Kemmerly, Miramonte’s CEO, said at the time that he wants the project to include “missing middle” housing, a term that refers to a range of housing types in short supply that fall between detached houses and apartment buildings. The project will not include income-restricted housing, he said.
The city and developer are hosting a design workshop for the public park on the site Nov. 19 at Jefferson School, 1700 South Ave. W. The event includes a light meal at 5:15 p.m., followed by a facilitated workshop from 5:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Children aged 4 and older are welcome and will have supervised playtime, a meal and their own park design activity. An online park design page will be live Nov. 20 on engagemissoula.com.
5 Things to Know in Missoula
The Missoula Montana Airport is one of many across the country that will not run a video in which Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blames Democrats for the federal government shutdown. In the 32-second video, Noem states that the Democrats’ refusal to fund the federal government affects many TSA operations, and employees are working without pay. Brian Ellestad, the Missoula airport’s director, told MTFP in an email that the airport is not playing the video because its screens are reserved for paid advertisers, and the video would not pass its nonpartisan requirements. The airport’s policy prohibits advertisements for people running for office, ballot issues, political groups, religious organizations and any illegal activity or item, according to a document provided by the airport. The Helena Regional Airport and Great Falls International Airport are also not playing the video.
The public has until Monday, Oct. 20, to comment on an environmental assessment for Grizzly Disposal and Recycling’s proposed transfer station. The Missoula hauler wants to build a transfer station on its property at 9730 Derby Dr., located behind the Love’s truck stop at the Wye west of Missoula. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s draft environmental assessment of the proposal did not identify any significant environmental impacts. The waste brought to the transfer station would be trucked within two or three days to landfills in Deer Lodge, Lewis and Clark or Gallatin counties for final disposal, according to the assessment. Grizzly Disposal’s competitor, Republic Services, owns and operates the Missoula landfill and bars Grizzly from using the site. The assessment is available online, and those interested can submit comments to [email protected].
Applications are open for a vacant Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees position. Koan Mercer, first elected in 2020, resigned from his seat Sept. 24. This is the third vacancy the school board has had to fill this year. The application deadline is noon Wednesday, Nov. 5. The board will interview applicants during its meeting Nov. 11 and appoint an individual to fill the seat until the May 2026 school election. Eligible applicants must be a registered voter and live within the MCPS district #1 elementary boundary. Application information is available on the school district’s website.
Missoula County Public Schools is offering free early childhood screenings to check motor, vision, speech/language and general child development. The screening is for children ages 0-5 who live within the MCPS elementary district boundaries. Screenings will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Oct. 24 and from noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Missoula Public Library. Those interested can contact Maggie Richardson at 406-728-2400, ext. 1059 or [email protected] to schedule an appointment. Walk-ins are also welcome.
The Unhoused Neighbors Union is holding a free event Tuesday, Oct. 21, to spotlight “the increasing criminalization of poverty and the urgent need for justice-driven solutions.” The event includes a research presentation on the current local and national landscape of anti-houseless policies, a short documentary screening and a community conversation on steps toward change, according to organizers. The event is free and open to the public, with donations welcome. It begins at 6:30 p.m. at Free Cycles, 732 S. First St. W.
Happenings
A “No Kings” rally organized by Indivisible Missoula and Missoula Resists is set for Saturday, Oct. 18. Similar rallies are scheduled nationwide to protest President Donald Trump’s administration. The rally begins at 10:30 a.m. at the Missoula County Courthouse and will proceed to a stage at Alder Street and Ryman Street for speeches and music.
Free Cycles’ annual Tweed Ride, a four-mile, leisurely, family-friendly ride through town, takes place Saturday, Oct. 18. Riders are encouraged to wear tweed, wool or other vintage attire. Participants can meet at Free Cycles, 732 S. First St. W., anytime after 3:30 p.m., where tea and treats will be provided. The ride starts at 4 p.m. Soup and music will follow at Free Cycles. Donations are welcome to support the community bike shop.
Hundreds of runners will hit Missoula’s trails for the City to Sky Trail Races Sunday, Oct. 19. The 50K Ultra course runners will climb nearly 8,000 feet over 30 miles, summiting Mount Sentinel, University Mountain and Mitten Mountain and circumnavigating the Pattee Creek watershed. The new 25K course covers the back half of the 50K, with about 2,700 feet of elevation gain over 17 miles. The courses traverse lands managed by Missoula Parks and Recreation, the University of Montana, Lolo National Forest, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and Five Valleys Land Trust. The races are full, but those interested can join the 50K wait list.