MISSOULA - City Club Missoula hosted its annual "State of the Community" event on Monday which featured Missoula's leaders as panelists and KPAX's own Jill Valley as moderator.
The main question at the "State of the Community" was: how can Missoulians keep a strong, connected Missoula while the city continues to undergo changes and work through problems like housing, tourism, and climate?
“We know that there’s plenty of change that’s happening in our community right now and that change inevitably brings challenge but I also know that working together we are strong. And working together, I know we have the opportunity to leverage our unique missions to shape an even stronger, more inclusive Missoula," University of Montana President, Seth Bodnar began.
To echo President Bodnar, Missoula is growing and changing. As Missoulians try to hold on to that small town, neighbor caring for neighbor feeling, there are also many burdens they must overcome and questions to answer to do so.
For one, housing is a major concern. Finding an affordable place to live in Missoula seems almost impossible. But why?
City Commissioner Josh Slotnick stated, “[The] property tax burden has shifted from industry onto the backs of residents. It was 60/40 one way… now it’s 60/40 the other way.”
“I don’t even need to describe it, everybody knows what we’re in— in terms of home values. I did look this up about a month ago... at that point, median home price in Missoula was 144% of the median home price nationally," Slotnick continued. "It’s probably, it could be even more now. So when thinking about property taxes and change, I thought and folks I work with thought; how do we get our tourists to cover some of the cost and take some of that burden off the back of residents?”
Another solution that the city is looking into is a reform of the land use code.
Missoula Mayor Jordan Hess shared, “It is probably the most impactful thing we can do...to improve the livability of our community and the affordability of housing for the next generation.”
Amidst all the worries, there is a lot to be hopeful about for Missoula’s future.
“I’m excited to report that there’s a lot of good stuff happening at UM right now uh it’s a great time to be a Griz. Enrollment is growing at UM despite the national decline," Bodnar said. "But even more important than bringing larger classes in is the fact that our students are succeeding at higher rates.”
Additionally, Mayor Hess shared that the West Side Park is now a preserved green space and that the city is about to break ground on 9 acres of affordable housing which will be the largest permanently affordable homeownership project in the state of Montana history.
