Essential Services Delivery

John Engen Local Government Building: Missoula County and the City of Missoula acquired the former federal building in downtown Missoula (200 E. Broadway) in January 2023. Both governments have urgent space needs and aging facilities that would require large investments to maintain. Analysis showed that rehabilitating this building would be less or equal to the cost of building new or rehabilitating other existing spaces. Acquiring this building was the least expensive way to meet facility needs, preserve one of the most important historic buildings in Missoula and improve public service. The building was dedicated to the late Mayor John Engen in Nov. 2023.

The City and County will locate essential, day-to-day government service at the building. A welcoming lobby in the southwest corner of the building will allow residents to register vehicle titles, obtain a marriage license, pay a water bill or apply for a building permit. The building will host City Council and Board of County Commissioners meetings and will facilitate the communication and joint planning that help the City and County work together to improve residents’ quality of life. The City and County are working toward a master plan for redevelopment and, to achieve substantial savings, will abate asbestos and other hazardous materials in the building using federal Brownfields grant funding from the Environmental Protection Agency. Following abatement, planning and the first phase of construction are projected to take at least two years. Abatement started in 2024, which could allow for the transition of services to the building to start in 2026. Follow this project on engagemissoula.com.

Clerk and Treasurer’s Office Virtual Queue System: Missoula County residents who need to title a vehicle, renew their vehicle registration or pay property taxes have more direct control over their schedule thanks to an enhanced virtual queue system the Clerk and Treasurer’s Office launched. The public can join the line for these and other services from home, work or any other location by texting “Missoula Clerk” to 406-285-7490 or visiting the “Come See Us!” page at http://missoulaclerk.us. The queue opens each weekday at 7:30 a.m. and closes shortly before 5 p.m. Once in the queue, the system allows users to control their schedule by texting updates about service times so people can plan to be at the courthouse at the designated time. Users also have the option to move themselves in the queue if they need more time to commute to the courthouse, or they can leave the queue at any point.