Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Missoula County Lands and Communities report highlights new facilities, trails, fairgrounds upgrades and grant projects
Loading...
Summary
Chet Krauser walked through an annual Lands and Communities report covering Ecology and Extension’s new facility and Rocky Mountain Gardens, Marshall Mountain acquisition and trail work, parks and fairgrounds accomplishments, grant-backed brownfields work and plans for wildfire, Y-area infrastructure and climate programs.
Chet Krauser, a Lands and Communities staff member, presented the department’s annual report to the All Community Council, reviewing accomplishments across Ecology and Extension, Grants and Community Resources, Lands, Culture and Recreation, and Planning, Development and Sustainability.
Krauser said the report’s landing page links to department pages and noted highlights including the opening of the Ecology and Extension facility and the Rocky Mountain Gardens, new programming such as the Honeyberry Teaching Kitchen and youth development offerings, and aquatic invasive-species inspection stations. He also described the Home Upgrade Hub and said an initial $1,000,000 grant that backed some programs has been affected by recent grant freezes.
On grants and community resources, Krauser cited the EPA Brownfields grant and the county’s work supporting projects such as the 2 Rivers resident-owned community purchase in Lolo. He described coordination with the Poverello Center on projects to support veterans housing and said the county has established a coordinated grants team to strengthen internal processes.
In Lands, Culture and Recreation updates, Krauser highlighted Marshall Mountain Park — acquired by the county — where staff and community partners have advanced trail construction, adaptive-access routes and programming. He noted the county’s Larchmont Golf Course moved to county management and reopened quickly after storm-related tree damage, and he called out the Western Montana Fair’s record attendance and the new Klaus Power Arena as assets to the fairgrounds. Krauser announced a five-year contract to host the Zoo Town Music Festival, beginning this July.
On planning and sustainability, Krauser described work on long-range planning grants, the Y infrastructure plan, floodplain map updates, and the Wildland-Urban Interface/community wildfire protection plan funded by a Community Wildfire Defense Grant. He also referenced the Grass Valley Gardens subdivision as an example of development using the county’s updated zoning code; a quote included in the report from Commissioner Strohmeyer noted those zoning changes were intended to help address housing challenges.
Krauser concluded by reminding councils the full report and department pages are available via the link posted in the meeting chat and inviting follow-up questions by county staff.
