Missoula County unveils 2026 housing and community development survey; 529 responses guide CDBG pre-applications

Missoula County staff on a countywide virtual town hall presented the results of the 2026 housing and community development survey and outlined the upcoming Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) pre-application process.

"We received 529 responses," Melissa Richards, grants administrator with Missoula County's Grants and Community Resources department, told council members and residents. Richards said the survey was open for four weeks and used targeted outreach including email, social media, posters and presentations at community council meetings. She cautioned the methodology "is not scientific" and that the survey was designed to align with federally eligible HOME and CDBG activities.

The combined city-and-county top priorities Richards said respondents nominated were neighborhood renewal activities, wastewater or other public-infrastructure improvements, and subsidy or financing for multifamily construction. For responses from outside Missoula city limits, infrastructure priorities included wastewater and water-system expansion, sidewalks, and parks and playgrounds; housing-development needs outside the city emphasized funding for infrastructure, single-family construction, and developer incentives for affordable units.

Richards walked through how the county will use survey findings in applications for two HUD-linked funding streams — the HOME Investments Partnership Program and the Community Development Block Grant — and announced a CDBG pre-application window from June 1–22 and a virtual pre-application workshop on June 8 from 2–3 p.m. She encouraged nonprofits, for-profit entities and local partners that have potential projects to attend and noted examples of recent county-supported projects: roof replacement and solar for the Missoula Children's Theater, a planning grant for Seeley Lake Elementary, and a housing project coordinated with a community organization.

The presentation included themes from more than 500 written comments: requests for bridge and road repair, septic and sewer projects, open-space protection, steps to reduce construction barriers, and calls for more diverse affordable housing types including starter homes, senior and transitional housing. Richards said full results, the presentation and a recording of the meeting would be posted on Missoula County Voice by Friday, May 29.

Next steps described by county staff include accepting CDBG pre-applications to identify partnering entities or potential subrecipients and encouraging applicants to use the June 8 workshop for application guidance. Richards provided a county email contact for follow-up questions and said more detailed eligibility information will be posted on County Voice ahead of the application period.

The county chair and council members asked for links and materials to be posted to the chat and County Voice; Richards said communications staff would post materials and that Lands & Communities would circulate resources to the community councils.