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5/23/2025
“Missoula This Week†is reported and written By Katie Fairbanks. Send your Missoula news and tips to kfairbanks@montanafreepress.org.
Missoula staff have tracked storm response, recovery since July
The city has received about $175,500 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cover costs from the July 2024 windstorm, and the agency has obligated more than $3 million to help pay for ongoing work, according to emergency management staff.
The July storm, which included wind gusts of 80 to 100 mph, caused widespread damage and left thousands without power. During a city council meeting Wednesday, staff reviewed the response to the storm and the cost of completed and ongoing work.
“Urban forestry had a lot of work to do over the past year, especially in the first few months,†said Morgan Valliant, associate director of the city’s ecosystem services division.
Missoula County and city officials declared a state of emergency on July 25, and Gov. Greg Gianforte issued a disaster declaration for Missoula and Mineral counties the following day. The president issued a federal disaster declaration on Aug. 23. Those declarations make the city eligible for state and federal funding to help cover eligible costs, said Adriane Beck, director of the Missoula County Office of Emergency Management.
The initial response focused on safety, clearing roads and restoring power, Beck said. The city’s urban forestry crew, which at the time included three arborists, then focused on removing public trees from houses and cars, Valliant said. That work took more than a month, he said.
By November, city staff, contractors and volunteers had assessed 30,000 trees across the city, Valliant said. That data was used to create a map of trees with hazards needing removal or trees to be cut down. About 8,000 city trees had broken or hanging branches, and contractors cut down 400 trees, Valliant said. In total, 650 public trees were lost in the storm, he said.
Damage was spread throughout the city, and the storm was strong enough that any tree was subject to falling, Valliant said. Trees on corners or without surrounding protection were hit hard, he said. Improperly planted trees or those with prior structural defects were also more susceptible to damage, Valliant said. Staff are still discovering damage in some trees, he said.
“The total tree loss won’t be known for years,†Valliant said.
Tree pruning and removal cost $939,400. FEMA does not cover the cost for removing stumps or replacing trees, and that work is currently unfunded and unplanned, Valliant said. Residents can receive a no-cost city permit to replace a tree in the right-of-way outside their house using the list of approved tree species, he said.
Trees in city parks are covered by the city’s insurance plan, which pays for stump removal and replacement, Valliant said.
While tree pruning and removal have wrapped up, grinding of the debris is ongoing at Garden City Compost, said Megan McMeekin, senior project manager with the city’s public works department. City street crews and contractors hauled debris from about 200 locations to Garden City Compost and the three other temporary collection sites, McMeekin said.
The city has a $2.4 million contract with Terra Firma to grind the debris and haul it away by June 1. So far, Terra Firma has processed 93,086 cubic yards of debris, which would fill a football field 44 feet high, McMeekin said.
FEMA will cover 75% of eligible work, with the city responsible for 25% up to the value of two mills, or $417,321, Beck said. Once the city hits that threshold, the state will pick up the balance, she said.
Emergency response following the storm cost $234,000, and FEMA has paid $175,485, Beck said. FEMA has obligated funds to pay for 75% of the city’s $10,000 insurance deductible, $37,800 in sidewalk repairs, $12,000 to fix cemetery roads and about $4 million for debris cleanup, she said.
Beck said there has been no indication that the city will not receive the obligated FEMA funding amid federal agency cuts.
By the Numbers
The number of incidents the Missoula Police Department responded to in 2024, according to its annual report. That’s a decrease from 2023 but an increase from the previous years, Chief Mike Colyer told the Missoula City Council on Wednesday.
Of those incidents, 1,886 were accidents, 10,554 generated cases and 6,908 were criminal cases. Those numbers are all up slightly from the prior year. The number of robbery, aggravated assault and homicide cases was all down from 2023. The number of rape cases was up from 60 to 84. Colyer said that the increase is due to an ongoing case that involves multiple victims reporting one offender, as each victim’s report is counted.
The number of traffic accidents has increased, although fatalities have decreased. Eight of the 10 high-risk intersections are located on Reserve Street, Colyer said. The department is working to reduce crashes along the busy corridor, he said.
More information is available in the .
5 Things to Know in Missoula
Candidate filing deadlines for the upcoming municipal election have changed under a new state law, the Missoula Elections Office announced Wednesday. House Bill 207, which went into effect when Gov. Greg Gianforte signed it on May 12, changes the filing dates to Tuesday, May 27, through Wednesday, June 11. Filing had been open since April 17 but is now on pause until Tuesday. Candidate filings received before May 12 are considered valid. As of Wednesday, 23 people had filed for the 11 municipal seats up for election this year. Those planning to run for office can file at the elections office starting at 8 a.m. Tuesday through 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 11. Filing documents and information is or at the elections office.
The Missoula City Council on Monday approved an $8.6 million contract with Western Municipal Construction to update the city’s compost facility. The three project bids came in well over the engineer’s estimate of $6.7 million, and the city worked with Western to decrease its bid by about $2 million, according to project documents. The city received $4.7 million in ARPA grants for the improvements to Garden City Compost and will use a state revolving fund loan to pay the remainder of the cost, said Logan McInnis, the city’s deputy public works director for utilities. Garden City is operating in a transitional facility constructed after the city acquired Eko Compost in 2017, and the improvement project will bring it into compliance with state standards, McInnis said. Improvements include new composing bays, a concrete working area, mechanical and electrical controls, biofilters for odor reduction and stormwater runoff controls. In response to residents’ concerns about PFAs in the compost, McInnis said “forever chemicals†are present throughout the environment and are within recommended levels in the compost.
The Missoula City Council on Monday approved an increase to the Tourism Business Improvement District hotel room nightly fee from $2 to $4 per occupied room starting July 1. The district includes all hotels within the city limits. The district reimburses its fee on hotel rooms booked by the YWCA, Hope Rescue Mission and the Missoula Interfaith Collaborative for people in need, said Barbara Neilan, executive director of Destination Missoula. The Missoula TBID funds tourism promotion, including marketing Missoula to the travel industry, at convention and trade shows and as a location for major events. Hotel occupancy in Missoula has decreased since 2017 because of the economy and national policy changes, Neilan said. TBID revenue has been stagnant for three years, but costs have increased, she said. Council Member Sandra Vasecka said she opposed the increase because many local and in-state residents also stay in hotels.
The second half of property taxes is due by 5 p.m. Monday, June 2. The amount due is listed on the tax bill sent last fall. Missoula County property owners can mail payments to the county Clerk and Treasurer’s Office, drop them off at the blue courthouse drop box in the west parking lot off Woody Street or pay online at . Property taxes make up about 30% of the county’s annual revenue. More information on tax bills is available at .
Mountain Line bus service will run a limited Sunday schedule for Memorial Day on Monday. Maps and schedules are available on . Missoula County and city offices will be closed for the holiday, and the city council will not hold meetings. The Missoula Food Bank and Community Center will also be closed.
Photo Op
Story House executives, staff from the Montana Department of Commerce and the Missoula Economic Partnership and other supporters pose for a photo during the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the site of Story House Montana’s new film studio, the former Roseburg Wood Products plant in Missoula, on Friday, May 16, 2025. The company plans to redevelop the 47-acre property to include five soundstages, production suites, commercial workshops and a streetscape built over the next five to six years. Read more about Story House’s plans and what they mean for Missoula’s economy here.