Missoula passes amendment to keep $24 million RAISE-funded SAM street conversion project on schedule

The City of Missoula moved to advance the SAM street-conversion project through a contract amendment that staff said is necessary to maintain the project schedule and obligate federal funds tied to a RAISE grant.

Mary McNegan, senior project manager for the SAM project, told listeners that "This contract amendment is extremely important for us to maintain our project schedule and final deliverable to FHWA to obligate the funds for construction." She said the approval is procedural and separate from ongoing design disagreements and that the amendment allows the design team to move forward while finer details are still worked out.

Opposition came from Councilman Bob Campbell, who said he was ‘‘in opposition to this project’’ because it ‘‘costs too much, reduces parking, constrains traffic, and negatively impacts businesses.’’ Councilman Campbell also warned that stormwater infrastructure concerns and future overruns may be forthcoming. Council member Gwen Jones responded that amendments are normal for phased engineering projects and described the requested amendment as the final phase to reach 100% design, including environmental and geotechnical work.

The host reported the amendment was passed to move the process along and that committee meetings would continue in January. The broadcast clips did not include a roll-call vote or a vote tally in the excerpted audio; the staff commentary emphasized the amendment’s role in securing FHWA obligation of RAISE funds.

City materials and committee webcasts are available on the City of Missoula website for the full record of motions or roll-call votes.