Missoula County Government: Missoula County Weekly: Aug. 2-6

Press release from the Missoula County Government:

08/02/2021 7:00 AM

Make sure to stay safe with the smoke. Find updates on current air quality!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Tuesday reversed course on its recommendation that fully vaccinated individuals could forego masking inside enclosed public areas. With this news, local health officials are urging the public to start wearing masks again.

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Missoula County health officials were informed July 27 of the death of an older adult male due to COVID-19. This tragic loss marks the 100th life taken by COVID-19 in Missoula County.

To honor the lives our community has lost amid this pandemic, a moment of silence was held July 29 at the Missoula County commissioners’ public meeting. Health Officer D’Shane Barnett also spoke to the current COVID-19 situation.

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Watch the public meeting

Missoula County and partnering agencies will recognize the Clearwater Junction Watercraft Inspection Station employees as part of the inaugural statewide Watercraft Inspector Appreciation Week.  

Members of the public are invited to attend the appreciation event at 2:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 2, at the Clearwater Junction Watercraft Inspection Station at the junction of Highway 200 and Highway 83 in Greenough. Missoula County commissioners and agency partners will highlight the inspectors' successful season of protecting Montana’s waters from harmful aquatic invasive species. Already this year, the 20-plus Montana watercraft inspection stations have encountered more traffic and intercepted a record number (37) zebra/quagga mussel-fouled boats, surpassing the 35 intercepted in 2020. The Clearwater Junction station is the busiest in the state and has inspected 14,300 watercraft this season. The inspectors have found 2,545 high-risk boats and no AIS mussel-fouled boats. The Ravalli station follows with 7,700 inspections, 2,009 high-risk boats and no fouled boats.

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At their July 29 public meeting, commissioners proclaimed a day to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The proclamation states that individuals with disabilities are vital to the success of Missoula and that Missoula County will stive to remain steadfast in its commitment to principles of equality, the goals of the ADA and to reaffirm Missoula County’s dedication to fully implement the ADA in all facets of the community.

Read the full proclamation
Watch the public meeting

Affirmation envelopes – the outer envelope you sign and date before returning your ballot – are placed on a spindle to ensure that no secrecy envelope containing a ballot remains in the affirmation envelope. The empty affirmation envelopes are stored daily and sealed for records retention.

The Missoula County Elections Office has many processes in place to ensure the integrity of all elections. We’ll walk through those processes in this series, and constituents are always welcome to visit the Elections Center for an in-person tour.

Watch the slideshow below, and visit missoula.co/electionintegrity for more info on how your ballot is handled and processed.

Visit our Missoula County Events Calendar to see what events and classes the county is hosting!

Missoula County looking to completely change its zoning code
Missoula Co. officials urge public to wear masks
What’s up on the AIS (Aquatic Invasive Species) front?
Missoula County records 100th COVID-19 death

Make an appointment at covid19.missoula.co, and share your experience on social media with the hashtags #endthepandemic, #vaccinatethe406 and #gotmyshot406.

Stay up to date with Missoula County's COVID-19 vaccine distribution success! Visit covid19.missoula.co/vaccine-information and click on the Vaccination Distribution Map and Dashboard blue button. The data is updated every Monday. If you would like to track data across Montana, visit the Montana Response page.

To join commissioner department, administrative and public meetings via Microsoft Teams and view the agendas, visit the Missoula County Commissioners’ Meeting Minutes and Agenda Portal. Please note that agendas for department and administrative meetings are published two business days before the meeting, and public meeting agendas are published the Friday before the meeting. Administrative and public meeting video recordings are available on the Missoula County YouTube page after the meeting, and MCAT plays the public meetings live on their Spectrum Channel 190. Email bcc@missoulacounty.us or leave a voicemail at 406-258-4877 if you have any questions or comments on an upcoming meeting.

• Monday, Aug. 2
  Public Works Update
  Community and Planning Services Update
  Zoning Code Update
• Tuesday, Aug. 3
  Human Resources Update
  Commissioners’ Administrative Public Meeting
• Wednesday, Aug. 4
  Chief Officers Update
  Missoula Economic Partnership Update
• Thursday, Aug. 5
  Chief Administrative Officer Update
  Commissioners’ Administrative Public Meeting
  Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer Update
• Friday, Aug. 6
  No department, administrative or public meetings are scheduled on this day.

This press release was produced by the Missoula County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.