Please contact your City Council representative by November 13 and make your opinion heard
On November 14 the Administration and Finance Committee of the Missoula City Council will discuss the Missoula Redevelopment Agency’s recommendation for an 18 month land reservation extension for the Missoula Community Performing Arts Center. Currently the Old Fox Theater site on the corner of Orange and Broadway has been reserved for the Performing Arts Center, and they are asking for an extension to determine whether or not this project can be financed.

School students of all ages, primarily those in the Missoula schools, will be the largest users of the center. However, the facility will present a broad variety of entertainment, with the intent to have something that will appeal to everyone. The Missoula County Commissioners have indicated their willingness to support the project with $20 million in bond financing. There is great potential for substantial economic impact of the facility on downtown, the city, and the surrounding area. For a full report on the economic impact of nonprofit arts organizations in Missoula visit The Arts Mean Business at www.missoulacultural.org

The full council is scheduled to vote on this issue at the November 19 meeting.

In order for a community arts center to be truly a community project, citizens need to contact their city council representatives to ask questions, give opinions and arrive at a conclusion about such a venture. City Council takes very seriously the opinions of its constituents. Therefore the Missoula Cultural Council urges citizens to contact City Council representatives to discuss these issues. Each council member may be contacted at this link: http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/citycouncil/contact_us.htm