[MissoulaGov] Committee Update 3-10-10

[Bob Jaffe]

Greetings,
This morning in Public Safety we learned all about the status of the Milltown damn clean up.  A few tidbits that I retained are that the sediment and metals flows during the cleanup have been remarkably close to the modeling that was done in advance. The levels are all within expected limits and are well below what was seen during the 1996 ice flow event.  The arsenic levels in the domestic wells have been below the maximum levels for drinking water and have not changed so far during the project. The wells that are testing the plume have seen improvement on the upstream side but have not improved yet downstream.
The sediment removal work in the Clark Fork is pretty much wrapped up at this point.  There is a bunch of cleanup still to do on the Blackfoot just behind the old mill. That should be done next year some time. There is a huge state park going in with all sorts of trails and pedestrian bridges over the river. It is really going to be amazing in the next couple of years.  The word is we will be able to float down the Blackfoot all the way to Missoula as early as the summer of 2012 if everything goes well. Here is the web site for more information: http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/mt/milltown/

In conservation we got an update from the Greenhouse Gas and Energy Conservation Team on the green tags program. This is an effort to market carbon offset certificates for those wishing to promote the development of green energy. 20% of the price will go to the city to promote energy conservation projects. The public marketing by the committee of this whole program should be coming soon.
We also learned that the committee is in the very early stages of working on some kind of green building code that could be tied to incentives like fast track permitting or density bonuses.

In Administration and Finance we approved a resolution revising the HOME grant contract with the North Missoula Community Development Corporation. The feds wanted to see the contract get closed out. Since all the units have not sold they told the city to revise the contract to say the HOME money only applies to the units that have been sold.  There is no real change on the ground with this. It is just about the paper work and the desire for HUD to close out their granting cycle. All of the income restrictions that were tied to the HOME money still exist in the project since CDBG money was also used. [Disclaimer: I sit on the board of the NMCDC]

We also amended the budget to account for the grant items that came through after the budget got approved. For some odd reason this housekeeping item has been controversial in the past. This time it was not.

The last item was to authorize the mayor to sign a grant application with the Economic Development Administration to assist the Sustainable Building Center being built on Wyoming and Russell. Home resource will be the anchor tenant and they are already in the process of moving in. The idea is that there will be a few other businesses sharing the space with them that are compatible and will develop some synergy by being together. This part of the property will be owned by a not for profit entity. The western portion of the property will also be developed privately. I think it will also have some kind of green business center concept. The whole thing is being put together by the Rocky Mountain Development Group with the $1.4 million EDA grant, $1.4 million loan from the Montana Board of Investments, and I believe a $350,000 loan from MCDC.

All the items voted on today were unanimous. This Monday will be the third week in a row that every item from committee will be on the consent agenda.

In other news the city has announced the new spring leaf pick up schedule: http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/archives/36/Special%20Spring%20Leaf%20Collection%20March%2010.pdf
I am seriously sick of the damn leaves at this point. I can't wait to see them go.

Also, if you have not been downtown today, the north Higgins street project started with Mountain Water digging up the street to replace the water line. Here are the links for more info:
http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/archives/36/North%20Higgins%20Streetscape%20March%2010.pdf
http://www.wgmgroup.com/projects/N%20Higgins%20SScape/nhiggins_main.html
Thanks for your interest,


Bob Jaffe
Missoula City Council, Ward Three
1225 South 2nd West
Missoula, MT 59801
(406) 880-2052


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