Affordable housing and COVID discussed at Council meeting

SEELEY LAKE - Missoula County Commissioner Josh Slotnick addressed affordable housing issues in Seeley Lake, Lolo and Frenchtown during Seeley Lake Community Council’s meeting Monday Oct. 12. The Council also received updates on countywide COVID numbers and received an update from Seeley Lake schools.

Slotnick said money is available in the county budget to have a staff member exclusively focus on affordable housing beginning in January. He or she will determine ways on how more housing can be created in communities like Seeley Lake. Said housing would be used exclusively for full-time workforce members and not as second homes.

The staff member would bring together builders and landowners and match them with funding programs of various types including low-income housing tax credits. Council Secretary Tom Browder said the affordable housing specialist would join in on one of the council meetings as soon as possible.

Later in the meeting, Cindy Farr, Missoula City-County Health Department Division Director, provided updates on COVID-19 cases in Missoula County and its schools. She said that the county’s COVID-19 school cases are not being reported on the state’s weekly reports because when the state decided to launch a new report, the Health Department was not given the opportunity to decide how they would operationalize data within their own reporting systems. Before they could, they received a wave of cases. Because contact tracing and case investigation was given priority, operationalizing and recording data was pushed back until time could be made for it.

For the most current information regarding Missoula County COVID response visit https://www.missoulainfo.com/

Seeley Lake Elementary School Superintendent Josh Gibbs and Seeley-Swan High School Principal Kellen Palmer said there have been no confirmed cases at either school.

The next Council meeting is scheduled for Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. via Zoom.