City and Malmstrom Air Force Base officials are partnering to apply for a federal grant to study whether the agencies have redundant infrastructure that supports increased continuity of essential services and supports growth by identifying alternate or additional utility connections and compatible land uses around the base.
In May 2023, the 341st Missile Wing commander at Malmstrom submitted a nomination with the Department of the Air Force as part of the Office of Local Defense Community Collaboration’s annual call for installation resilience projects.
During their March 19 meeting, City Commissioners will be asked to approve the grant application.
City beginning growth policy update
The city submitted a letter of support and if awarded, will manage grant activities.
Staff is recommending approval of the grant application. If the city receives the grant, an estimated $44,444 local match will be required for consultant study services.
The city planning department will contribute $10,000 from the growth policy update budget and public works will fund the remainder using in-kind staff hour contributions for the match, according to the staff report.
The study would evaluate existing utility, broadband and transportation systems.
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It would also identify opportunities to improve, including considering alternate connections and additional capacity for utilities and additions to roadway and broadband networks, according to the staff report.
The study would also evaluate land uses and zoning of areas near Malmstrom to make recommendations to facilitate development and growth that benefits both the city and the base, according to city staff.
The city and Malmstrom have a mutual interest in evaluating land uses and zoning that are compatible for development to benefit both as the area around Malmstrom is a mix of city and county, developed and undeveloped areas with a variety of zoning districts.
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Identifying compatible land uses to support development will inform the city’s growth policy update that is currently underway and will help Malmstrom plan for the Sentinel weapon system conversion, according to city staff.
Development impacts existing infrastructure as the base relies on city infrastructure for drinking water and wastewater treatment, Energy West for natural gas and Northwestern Energy for electricity.
“The single connections for sanitary sewer, natural gas and electricity create single points of failure that could compromise mission assurance for the base in the event of a utility break,” according to the city staff report.
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Evaluating exiting utility systems and identifying alternate connections would ensure the city can provide essential services and increase resiliency for the base.
The existing stormwater system needs to be evaluated since there are potential impacts to the existing flow from the construction of new facilities on the base for the Sentinel conversion.
Existing stormwater flows north from Malmstrom to the Whitmore Ravine, which could be impacted if the city annexed the ravine, according to the staff report.
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The study will also examine broadband and transportation for base resilience as development occurs around the base, putting higher demand on existing infrastructure.
A new entry gate is being constructed at Malmstrom to handle construction activity and will likely result in increased traffic on 10th Avenue South/U.S. 89, according to city staff, necessitating an evaluation of traffic impacts and safety concerns with potentially increased speeds on that corridor.
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The city intends to submit the grant application this month to meet the May 1 deadline.
Staff anticipates starting a request for proposal process in April to select a consultant and begin the study in June. The study is anticipated to be completed within a year, according to the staff report.
The consultant will perform the study with assistance from the city’s public works engineering division.
The study will include data acquisition, data gap analysis, field work, study report, performance measures, GIS data, zoning recommendations and land use map, and a capital improvements list.
