Sign up for the free Missoula This Week newsletter and stay in the loop on Missoula city government, public school meetings, business news and upcoming entertainment and events. Sign up 11/14/2024“Missoula This Week” is reported and written By Katie Fairbanks. Send your Missoula news and tips to [email protected] council discusses new revolving loan fund for workforce housingAs housing has stubbornly remained Missoula’s number-one challenge, the Missoula Economic Partnership has shifted gears to help address the problems of affordability and availability. Along with immediate impacts to individuals and families, the housing crisis affects employers’ ability to attract and retain their workforce, Grant Kier, partnership president and CEO, told the Missoula City Council on Wednesday. Acknowledging it’s not the housing expert, Missoula Economic Partnership teamed up with NeighborWorks Montana to start the Missoula Housing Impact Fund, a revolving loan fund for affordable workforce housing projects, Kier said. The fund, announced last month, was jump-started by a $5 million donation by an anonymous long-time Missoula family, he said. “They really care about the fact that this is a place where everyone feels like they can build a future, and live here, and go to work every day and be part of this place,” Kier said. “The notion that this would be so unaffordable that our average worker couldn’t live in the community really feels like a threat to who we are and who we’re trying to be in the future.” The fund received a $3 million investment from First Security Bank and is seeking other donations. Kier said the goal is to have at least verbal commitments to bring the total to $10 million by the end of the year.  NeighborWorks Montana, a community development financial institution with lending authority, will administer the fund, Kier said. The organization is working to get certification to structure the fund so any member of the community could invest in it, he said. An advisory committee overseeing the fund will be led by NeighborWorks and MEP and include city and county representatives and those who commit $250,000 or more, Kier said. Low-interest loans for workforce housing construction, renovation or restoration, acquisition of land and due diligence costs, should be available this spring, Kier said. The program defines workforce housing as serving rental households making no more than 80% of the area median income or homebuyers making no more than 150% of the AMI. The intention is to provide loans for projects that face financing challenges, Kier said. The structure of the fund provides more flexibility in loan terms and use, he said. For example, a developer could receive a loan to purchase land while still working out the details of the project, Kier said. Depending on the project, each loan cycle will be about two to five years, he said. “What we have heard over and over again is having access to affordable capital and being nimble and being able to move quickly is really critical to the amazing partners we have in the community who are already doing good work to try to deliver workforce housing,” he said. “We’re not trying to get into the game of housing at Missoula Economic Partnership but really enable the partners in the community who are already doing this work to do it faster and have more resources to do it quickly.” The Missoula area will need an additional 22,000 to 27,500 housing units to meet population demand, according to an analysis in the draft Our Missoula 2045 Land Use Plan. That includes making up for the current deficit of 2,700 to 3,700 homes needed for the current population and a healthy vacancy rate between 5% and 8%. To reach that goal, the community must build between 1,100 to 1,500 new homes per year until the deficit is reached, followed by 900 to 1,100 homes per year for the rest of the plan’s 20-year timeframe.“The reason we have this crisis is because we went from 2008 to 2012 without building any houses, and we’ve never caught up on that almost 3,000-unit inventory,” Kier said. “The argument we made to the donor on this and that we’re making to the community is that we can’t afford another delay. Right now it’s really hard to build, and every day that we wait, we fall further behind and it’s harder to get out of this.” Council Member Stacie Anderson asked about the use of the fund for down-payment assistance. Kier said the fund will not provide down-payment assistance because of the cost and concern about increasing demand for housing without new inventory. NeighborWorks Montana has a separate program that provides loans to help cover down payment and closing costs, according to its website. Mayor Andrea Davis, who previously led the housing organization Homeword and the board of NeighborWorks Montana, said over the last 15 years, NeighborWorks’ average down-payment assistance request has increased from $1,500 to about $100,000. “That is a scale by which we cannot achieve with the resources we have,” she said. “We need to be able to concentrate on the stock of homes we have and making sure that infrastructure is really established and secured going forward.”Davis said the new loan fund will complement the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which provides grants for eligible housing projects. “Oftentimes the private sector and government really see themselves as being on different playing fields, and at odds with each other, frankly, sometimes,” Council Member Gwen Jones said. “In Missoula we’re working on, and have done a good job at, creating a community culture because we’re all in this together. I think the private sector and government can complement one another and work together on these things. That’s going to make our situation much better much more quickly in the long run.” 5 Things to Know in Missoula The Missoula City Council on Monday approved the purchase of the 13.5-acre Southgate Crossing property using $5.9 million of tax increment financing revenue in an effort to spur redevelopment in the area near the Southgate Mall. Council members Bob Campbell and Sandra Vasecka opposed the purchase. Campbell said he opposed the city “outbidding” a business attempting to buy part of the property last year, as reported by the Missoulian. Ellen Buchanan, Missoula Redevelopment Agency director, said the city did not know about the purchase attempt and that the city had a buy/sell agreement with the landowners for months. Council Member Mike Nugent said it takes two parties to reach an agreement, and the landowner did what they thought was best for their property. In response to several residents who spoke in favor of keeping land along an irrigation ditch open to the public, staff said the project will include some kind of park. Next year, the MRA will begin planning the redevelopment with an “ambitious” public engagement process, said Annette Marchesseault, MRA project manager. At the end of a more than four-hour meeting Tuesday evening, the Missoula Consolidated Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend the Missoula City Council adopt the Our Missoula 2045 Land Use Plan and map and take public comment into consideration. During the meeting, city staff highlighted some updates to the plan based on public comments received throughout October. Several public commenters voiced support for the plan and its goal to boost the housing supply, while others brought concerns about what it means for their neighborhoods. The board spoke in favor of the plan, with some saying it could go further in encouraging housing development. The Missoula City Council will hold a public hearing on the plan at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 9. Residents can review and comment on the draft online. On Monday, the Missoula City Council unanimously approved using $530,000 of Open Space Bond funds to purchase 5.4 acres on Scott Street and Rodgers Street for a new park. In late October, the Missoula Redevelopment Agency board OK’d using $1.6 million in tax increment financing from the district to go toward the $2 million purchase. The new park will replace the nearby 2-acre White Pine Park and better serve the growing neighborhoods. The future sale of White Pine Park will fund the development of the new park, said Donna Gauckler, the city’s parks and recreation director. Missoula County’s 2024 general election results became official Monday after the canvass board reviewed and certified the ballot counts. State law requires the county elections office and three elected officials to verify the election with a canvass, which ensures the number of ballots voted matches the number counted and that none are missing or counted more than once. Missoula County Commissioners Juanita Vero and Dave Strohmaier and Auditor Dave Wall conducted the canvass and certified the election results Monday morning.  The Salish Kootenai Housing Authority is launching a solidarity program inviting non-Natives to support tribal members in need of housing. Participants of the program, called Nk̓ᵂúwilš, which means ‘“to become one” in Salish, will learn about the tribes’ history and culture and make financial or other contributions. For its fall campaign, the authority aims to raise $24,000 by Dec. 31, allowing two Indigenous families to purchase homes and opening up two low-rent units to families on the waiting list, according to the housing authority. On the Flathead Reservation, about 275 tribal households are on the waiting list for 516 low-rent units managed by the housing authority. Those interested in learning more can RSVP to attend a community event, “Saying ‘Hello’ in the Languages of this Land,” planned for 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22, in Missoula. More information on the program is available online. By the Numbers The approximate number of city-owned trees with hazardous hanging limbs or broken branches that forestry crews began addressing on Monday as part of the city of Missoula’s large-scale initiative to deal with damage from the July windstorm. Contractors will also remove about 430 trees. Most damaged trees have been marked with yellow tags, and trees requiring removal have red/orange tags, according to the city’s parks and recreation department. All affected trees are recorded in the project dashboard, which includes a map showing the location of each tree, along with damage information and a photo. Residents with questions or concerns should fill out the tree service request form online.   The city awarded a $136,450 contract to Cedar Grove Tree Services of Missoula to remove 168 hazardous trees. Greenbelt Turf Management of Oklahoma was awarded a $389,930 contract to address dangerous hanging limbs on 4,850 trees. The urban forestry department is finalizing additional contracts for the remaining work, with the total project cost to be determined. Temporary work zones will require parking restrictions, and contractors will post no-parking signs at least 24 hours before work begins. The entire project is expected to take three to six months. Thanksgiving Goings OnThe Missoula Food Bank and Community Center is distributing turkeys and other dinner supplies for families without a holiday meal from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at 1720 Wyoming St. The drive-thru line moves east to west on Wyoming Street and cars should enter from Russell Street. Walk-in customers are also welcome. The Veteran Support Network and Missoula Housing Authority are holding a Vetsgiving dinner at American Legion Post 27 on Tuesday. Veterans, service members and their families are invited to the free dinner, which will include turkey, ham and all the fixings, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., at 825 Ronan St. All are welcome at the Western Montana Community Center’s Queergiving dinner on Thursday at the Burns Street Center. People can bring a dish, dessert or beverages to share between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., or just show up. The center will provide the main course.  For those looking to get in some pre-dinner exercise, registration is open for Run Wild Missoula’s Turkey Day 8k and 3k Family Fun Run. The races’ courses are different but both begin at the University of Montana on Campus Drive across from the recreation center near the Washington Grizzly Stadium. The races begin at 9:30 a.m. and are open to strollers and walkers but not dogs. All participants are encouraged to donate non-perishable food or money to the Missoula Food Bank. For every pound of food donated as part of the run, Run Wild Missoula and Runner’s Edge will match with a donation of $1, up to $1,000. Might be FunTickets for the two-day Zootown Music Festival go on general sale at 10 a.m. Friday on the event’s website. The newly announced festival, set for Friday, July 4, and Saturday, July 5, will take place at the Missoula County Fairgrounds. The event will feature a lineup of about 20 musical artists, including Hozier, Kacey Musgraves, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Mt. Joy, Lake Street Dive, Modest Mouse, Julien Baker and Torres. Missoula-area residents could buy tickets during a local presale on Thursday. The festival is produced by Always On, Knitting Factory Presents and Shore Sound Entertainment in partnership with Destination Missoula and the University of Montana’s Entertainment Management program. Organizers partnered with GuideTime to offer guided excursions for festival attendees, including fishing, biking, hiking, rafting and family-geared trips. Concert tickets, accommodations and activity packages are available for sale at zootownfestival.com. The post New fund aims to speed projects addressing critical shortage of affordable housing  appeared first on Montana Free Press.