On Monday, the Missoula City Council voted to annex some Linda Vista area property into the city.  Over 60 residential lots and some commercial properties were involved in the annexation. The annexation will mean that some tax money that used to flow to the county, will now flow to the city, but the news was a bit of a surprise to County Commissioner Dave Strohmaier.

“Typically we receive notification from the city of Missoula when an annexation will be occurring,” Strohmaier said. “In this case it is kind of news to me that this was on the docket. We, as the county commissioners, don’t have any decision making authority in the matter, but we still like to be apprised of areas in Missoula County that will be incorporated in to the city.”

Strohmaier has been begging the city to develop a better system for the annexation process that includes more public awareness.

“I have been pushing for quite some time,” Strohmaier said. “I think the city actually is working on it, maybe not as speedily as I would like, but to develop an annexation policy for the city of Missoula. That would be a planning tool that both the city and county could use to better understand what areas in Missoula County will likely, at some point in time, come within the city limits.”

Later this year the airport and development park adjacent to the park are expected to be annexed into Missoula. On Friday, Stohmaier says he received word that the Northgate Development Park on Expressway would also be annexed into the city soon.

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