The Missoula Board of County Commissioners learned last week that all the money remaining after a $3.1 million environmental impact statement was paid for has reverted back to federal coffers.
Local officials did not know the money was attached to a clock. Time ran out in 2005.
“This is not a good situation to be in, and hopefully we can communicate better in the future,” said Commissioner Larry Anderson. “If there are deadlines, and we know about them, we can react in a timely manner.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Highway Administration is nearing completion of its environmental and transportation study of the Miller Creek area. But before the final draft is released, the federal government requires that the county outline how it would pay for the $13 million in recommended road improvements.
And now there's less cash at the county's disposal to make those changes.
“Normally, federal funds are granted and last until expended,” said Commissioner Bill Carey. “We were never told differently.”
With the Russell Street Bridge project, the city of Missoula received $6 million from the federal government and it will remain available until the last bit of work is complete.
“It is fairly uncommon for there to be a timetable built into that kind of funding,” said Doug Hecox, a spokesman for the Federal Highway Administration. “I haven't heard of it before.”
At the same time, Hecox is confident the federal government documented that Missoula County was, in fact, aware of the three-year window.
“It's my understanding that this was articulated to the local decisionmakers,” he said.
Two years after former Montana Sen. Conrad Burns secured the money for the Miller Creek project, county commissioners asked that any additional funds not expended on the environmental and transportation study be set aside to use for future improvements.
Commissioners have now discovered the clock was not set back at that time.
Last November, around the time the Missoula City Council discussed a roundabout at the Miller Creek Wye, the commissioners requested that the federal government provide them with a list of expenditures to determine the amount remaining from the $5 million earmark.
Building a bridge across the Bitterroot River to Miller Creek is still not out of the question, but there's no money currently in the 20-year budget to complete a project of that magnitude, Anderson said.
Still, commissioners wanted to use the remaining $1.27 million to alleviate some of the congestion.
In a reply letter dated Jan. 25, 2008, the county learned that the deadline for using the money had passed.
Just this week, a Helena-based representative of the Federal Highway Administration sat down with Missoula County to explain why the money disappeared.
“It's fairly easy for something like this to fall through the cracks,” Carey said. “I don't blame anybody. People try to provide good public service, but these are complicated pieces of legislation.”
Anderson, on the other hand, is frustrated by the lack of communication between the various agencies.
The state Transportation Department is conducting a U.S. Highway 93 corridor study. The federal government is focused on completing the Miller Creek EIS. Different agencies are studying different areas of the same road, he said.
“There's a failure to put these into a big picture,” Anderson said. “For us as decisionmakers, I don't feel we are being communicated with to figure out how to put these pieces together.”
This month, the Miller Creek EIS is supposed to be released for public comment one last time, a process that should last a minimum of 30 days. It's nearing the final stretch, Hecox said.
Meanwhile, the Federal Highway Administration is looking into the possibility of retrieving any of the
$1.27 million, he said. But county officials were told it's unlikely.
Carey said county and city transportation planners still intend to discuss ways to improve the access to Miller Creek and possibly include those improvements in the long-range transportation plan. Ideas include improving the existing intersection at Highway 93 and Miller Creek Road, and possibly installing a stoplight at the intersection of old U.S. Highway 93 and Reserve Street.
Reporter Chelsi Moy can be reached at 523-5260 or at chelsi.moy@missoulian.com
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