City to issue two revenue bonds to make $9.7M improvements to water building

Martin Kidston

(Missoula Current) Pending a final vote, the city will issue two revenue bonds to generate roughly $9.7 million needed for improvements to the water building occupied by Public Works and Mobility.

The City Council's Budget and Finance Committee on Wednesday authorized a $5.4 million bond using revenues from the water system and a similar bond using assessments from the road district.

“Both of these bonds will fund the remodel that's happening at the water building out on Broadway,” said Leigh Griffing, the city's business and finance director. “The bond will be larger than the project cost due to the cost of issuance that we have to pay.”

The city last year authorized improvements to dated water building. The facility, formerly owned by Mountain Water, will undergo a remodel to make it ADA accessible and add more office space.

The project initially carried an estimated cost of $9.3 million, but costs have risen to $9.7 million due to relocating utilities and meeting the city's beautification standards.

“We've found a few extra things we didn't account for in our original budget,” said Rebecca Anxiaux, the business finance manager for Public Works and Mobility. “We're doing our best to make sure we're not doing anything above and beyond. If we can do it in house, we will.”

Using last year's mill value, Griffing said assessments from the road district will cost about $8 a year on a home valued at $500,000.