MISSOULA — The city and county of Missoula will equally split the cost of expenses incurred at the John Engen Local Government Building for the current fiscal year.
The board that governs the Missoula Local Government Building Special District on Tuesday approved the $293,000 operations and maintenance budget, along with the $246,000 capital improvement budget for the downtown facility.
“The county did include the cost of operations and maintenance in its adopted FY 25 budget,” said county CAO Chris Lounsbury. “But we never formally adopted the budget for the special district. We needed to do that so it's an adopted piece of our budget as we close out the calendar year, which is why we're doing this in May.”
The federal government gave the building to Missoula for free in 2023 as part of its Good Neighbor Program. In exchange, the city and county agreed to preserve the historic building in perpetuity.
Initial plans sought to open the facility to the public as a one-stop shop for government services in 2026. Estimates at the time placed renovation costs at roughly $40 million.
But John Adams, special projects manager for the city, said the Fiscal Year 2025 budget couldn't invest in capital improvements as initially planned. He expects that work to start next year.
“Last year, we felt we were on the verge of being able to propose a budget that would include a significant amount of capital work on asbestos and lead-based paint abatement,” he said. “The starting point has been a little elusive as we're looking for external funding. We had to acknowledge that we're not going to start that work this fiscal year. And we need to approve a budget that works with that reality.”
This year's $247,000 budget under capital improvements covers incurred and expected expenses for architectural and engineering work conducted by A&E Design and Jackson Contracting Group. The two firms are working with the city and county to plan for abatement and redevelopment of the facility.
The $293,000 budget for operations and maintenance includes $135,000 for heat, lights and water, $40,000 for insurance and $12,000 for elevator maintenance, among other things. The costs are partially offset by the US Postal Service's $149,000 annual lease.
Adams said capital improvements will begin next year.
“The city and county jointly applied for grants for the historic lobby and were awarded $350,000 by the state. We need to have universal accessibility,” he said. “The Brownfields (grant) remains a work in progress and could be available for FY26.”
Portions of the building were constructed back in 1913. It served as the headquarters for the U.S. Forest Service for more than 100 years. It underwent an expansion in the 1930s and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Both the city and county plan to consolidate services in the federal building, creating a one-stop location for most public needs. But it will also allow the city and county to vacate other downtown properties or, in some cases, cut rent expenses.
It's likely that certain properties currently owned by the city and county in the downtown district will be sold to help cover the cost of construction and renovation of the federal building.
