Sign up for the free Helena This Week newsletter and stay in the loop on Helena city government, public school meetings, business news and upcoming entertainment and events. Sign up 03/02/2025 Construction on a new fire station has begun; how it will be staffed is still in question Construction began in January on Helena’s third fire station, funded by a $7 million bond that voters approved in 2024. What voters didn’t approve was the money to hire the firefighters to fill it. Now, almost two years later, city officials said they are trying to figure out how to pay for the additional firefighters. “While we are making progress on the facility itself, staffing remains an unresolved challenge,” Helena City Manager Alana Lake told the commission during a meeting last week. If it had passed, the levy to hire 15 firefighters and nine police officers would have cost Helena taxpayers about $3.2 million a year.  So what options does the city have to staff the fire station? Will city leaders try their luck with voters again? Maybe. “The city could consider pursuing another levy, but no decisions have been made at this point about that,” Helena Public Information Officer Amanda Optiz said in an email to Montana Free Press. “The city is always looking for creative ways to fund city services beyond increasing the tax burden on residents.” The city could seek external grants to fund the positions, but such funding is not always guaranteed year to year, making it a shaky solution for paying workers who deliver critical services, Optiz said.  Neither Helena Mayor Emily Dean nor Fire Chief Jon Campbell responded to MTFP’s request for comment. The need for an additional fire station and staff was brought to the forefront of city priorities in 2024 when Helena fire officials said emergency services had not kept pace with the city’s growth.  The bond for the new station, which passed by fewer than 100 votes, was always intended to fund a station across the railroad tracks at 1872 Kelleher Lane on the north side of town, where about a fourth of the calls for service originate.  Helena needs “to bring our emergency service capability up to the level that the community is demanding,” Campbell said prior to the bond election.  5 Things to Know in Helena  Local developers have raised concerns about the city’s review of its engineering standards, saying the changes would increase construction costs in Helena. Earlier this month, city engineering staff shared updates to its standards with the commission, including changes to the building materials approved for use in the city. But the costs of those changes would indirectly raise home prices, a group of Helena-based contractors and developers told the commission.  “I believe it’s apparent from this analysis that the standards as presented would act as kind of a poison pill for the future development in Helena,” Mountain View Meadow developer Mark Runkle said at the meeting.  The city plans to continue working with developers to address their concerns before returning to the commission for consideration.  Architects and engineers working on the new Helena High School recently shared their conceptual design of the building. Input from community members, teachers and students went into the evolving concept, including preliminary designs for therapy and support areas, conference rooms, computer labs and other specialized learning areas. The new school is estimated to cost about $147 million for demolition and construction, which is expected to begin in August, according to KTVH. Credit: AE+SMA Design Last week, the Lewis and Clark County Commission approved a $215,318 grant application to the Montana Opioid Abatement Trust for the county’s criminal justice services. Funds would be used for opioid treatment and recovery for individuals with addiction issues within the detention center. The county was awarded funding from the MOAT last year for these services, and if approved, the program would be extended through June 2027.   The city of Helena received an award from the American Association of Retired Persons during last Monday’s commission meeting. AARP Government Relations Director Kristin Page-Nei presented the AARP Montana Outstanding Community Partnership award to the commission to honor the city’s age-friendly community initiatives and land-use planning.    The Helena area metro planning organization hosted an open house at the civic center last week about its long-term transportation plan. The open house included information about area safety conditions, public transit and proposed policies and programs to address transportation priorities. The public was also asked for suggestions on making routes to school safer and creating a more accessible public transit system.  Members of the public read posters and maps during an open house, Feb. 24, 2026. Credit: JoVonne Wagner / MTFP A community member highlighted the downtown intersection “mini malfunction junction” with the comment, “needs fixing.” Credit: JoVonne Wagner / MTFP Public Notice  The Greater Helena planning organization has opened a survey to gather local input on the area’s transit priorities. The survey can be found on the transportation plan’s virtual open house and will close Friday, March 20. Might Be Fun  The World Ballet Company will perform the fairytale “Cinderella” at the Helena Civic Center Thursday, March 5. Tickets range from $49 to $93 and can be purchased on the civic center’s website.  The post How will Helena pay for 15 new firefighters? appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less