Missoula Business - Winter 2020

INSIDE: New businesses on the horizon • City leaders plan for growth • Commercial real estate forecast

Winter 2020 • Issue 1 Vol. 1

‘I like to

WIN’

Missoula attorney Natasha Prinzing Jones talks TIF, high-profile cases

Garden City’s

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Missoula Business • Winter 2020

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Welcome to Missoula Business Missoula’s business scene is rockin’ and the Missoulian is joining with key economic players in our city to capture that energy with a new quarterly business publication.

Missoula Business reports on emerging trends and goes beyond the numbers to report on the insights Jim Strauss and drive of the people leading Missoula forward.

Missoula Business provides meaningful stories that inspire, challenge and educate. By telling the stories of our vibrant business community, our coverage serves as a catalyst for individuals and companies looking to relocate, expand and connect with the greater Missoula business community.

Months in the planning, this first issue looks at the rapid growth of Missoula and insights from local business

leaders about what our community must do to ensure all residents benefit from that growth.

In each issue of Missoula you will find: • An in-depth profile of a key business leader in our community.

This issue offers the insights of Natasha Prinzing Jones, a Missoula attorney who sits on the Missoula Redevelopment Agency Board, about the role of tax increment financing in Missoula’s economic development.

• A look at the goals and strategies behind a new business on the local scene. Today Melissa and Reed Mooney, owners of the popular local restaurant The Keep, tell why they took the entrepreneurial plunge to launch 1889, a completely new style of restaurant in the historic Missoula Mercantile.

• A sneak peek at new developments underway in our “In the works” feature and a snapshot of key economic indicators in our market.

• A focus on a key industry in our town. In this issue we talk with Mindy Palmer of Berkshire Hathaway about her unique marketing approach as a

Index: Economic indicators Growing Missoula Up close: Natasha Prinzing Jones Giving back: Clearwater Credit Union In the works: New businesses Meeting the challenge: The Keep, 1889 Industry focus: Realtor Mindy Palmer Finding good workers Commercial real estate trends Tech check: Supporting reservists on the job Chamber works on child care 4

Missoula Business • Winter 2020

6 8 12 16 18 20 24 26 28 29 30

real estate agent in Missoula’s booming residential market.

One reason Missoula stands apart from other similar-size cities is because its business leaders don’t just point fingers at local challenges, they work to be a force in solving those problems. In every issue of Missoula Business, our “Giving back” feature will spotlight a local business leader or business making a difference.

Today we talk with Clearwater Credit Union CEO Jack Lawson about how his organization has been a force in helping nonprofit organizations meet local needs.

As I said earlier, Missoula Business is much more than just the efforts of the Missoulian. As we planned this publication, we reached out to local organizations, such as the Missoula Area Chamber of Commerce, to help shape and contribute to Missoula Business. The Missoula Chamber in this issue discusses a major move forward in the push for more affordable child care, a struggle for employers and employees alike.

Also contributing to this issue of Missoula Business are: • The Montana High Tech Business Alliance, reporting the good news of veterans finding high tech jobs in our community.

• The Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana, with some new ideas for how local businesses can find good workers.

• Sterling Commercial Real Estate, reporting on emerging trends in our local commercial real estate market.

Thanks to these local business experts for adding depth and insights to Missoula Business. Special thanks to the Missoulian team, especially business reporter David Erickson, who has put months of planning and work into bringing Missoula Business to life.

And, thanks to you for being a Missoula Business reader. With our first issue launched, we’re looking to make coming issues even better, so I welcome your thoughts and ideas on how we can bring you the news and information you want and need to run your local business. I can be reached at jim.strauss@ missoulian.com.

Wishing you a prosperous 2020 and beyond.

Jim Strauss is publisher of Missoula Business, the Missoulian and the Ravalli Republic.

On the cover: Photo by Ben Allan Smith, Missoulian

Natasha Prinzing Jones has established herself as a high-powered litigator after practicing law for two decades in Missoula. Jones represented the City of Missoula in its successful bid to take over the municipal water system.

Publisher Editor Advertising director Business editor

Jim Strauss Gwen Florio Rob Petersen David Erickson

For questions about news or pitches, contact David Erickson, david.erickson@missoulian.com, 406-523-5253.

For advertising information, contact Rob Petersen, Robert.petersen@missoulian.com, 406-523-5216.

NO PART OF THE PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRINTED OR REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION. ©2020 LEE ENTERPRISES, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN MISSOULA, MT, USA.

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$82.3

Million

Economic indicators

Market value of construction of building permits issued January–June 2019 in Missoula

2.8% Unemployment rate in Missoula

26,988

33,052 of Missoula

24,421

34,385

of Missoula aged 20-34 Nat. average for similar population

retiring Soon

Nat. average for similar population

Missoula median household income

$49,412 Information supplied by the Missoula Economic Partnership

Unemployment rate

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Missoula Business • Winter 2020

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How should Missoula grow?

City leaders have their say

COLTER PETERSON, Missoulian

Brian Betts, the environmental superintendent of ACM Contracting, applies a layer of lead barrier compound to the windows of the old Pharmacy portion of the Mercantile Building while it was under construction. The Marriott hotel is in one of Missoula’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts.

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Missoula Business • Winter 2020

DAVID ERICKSON david.erickson@missoulian.com

M

issoula has seen more than $1 billion worth of public and private projects developed since 2013, an unprecedented expansion that’s causing growing pains for many as the city struggles with a severe lack of affordable housing, rising property tax bills and a workforce shortage.

The building boom has been good to some but not as good for others, so city leaders will be on the hook to make sure Missoula grows in a way that benefits everyone on the socioeconomic ladder.

The Missoulian asked several elected officials and other community leaders the following questions to gauge their vision for the future:

institutions, housing advocates and community members as we strive to make Missoula a place everyone can call home.

We need to adapt our land use policies to allow for and encourage the construction of different housing types.

By encouraging walkable neighborhoods with all types of homes, we can create a range of housing opportunities and choices that lead to affordability.

• Missoula is a community defined by its open-minded values and its quality of life. It’s also a community struggling to stay equitable amid rapid development and a growing wage divide. In the next

make a living wage that prevents them from having to choose between food or a home. These are big challenges that must be met for Missoula to maintain our identity. Thankfully, our community is up to the challenge.

John Engen, Missoula mayor: • We need to build on the solid planning foundation we’ve established over the last decade. We have a growth policy, transportation policy, zoning code, design guidelines and master plans that mostly align, but we need to refine those plans to ensure that they work together to produce the outcomes we

housing, because the market isn’t going to meet the demand.

• Missoula will still be a “place” 20 years from now, different, for sure, but vibrant, safe, clean and comfortable for everyone. We’re doing everything we can to ensure that no one is left behind, that we’re engaging in the work our state and federal partners used to do to ensure that folks are fed, housed, have meaningful work, access to health care — including mental-health services — education, transportation and a community that supports all that.

Jesse Ramos, Missoula City Council member:

• The first thing I think we need to do is stop the (Tax Increment Financing) subsidies entirely. TIF is • What are the three most subsidizing these businesses where we important things Missoula give $3.6 million to the Mercantile, needs to do today to plan for $1.8 million to the Marriott, $6.9 growth so that all residents million to Southgate Mall, all of that benefit? money is being stripped away from the tax base so everybody’s taxes are • What do you want going up because of that. So that Missoula to look like in 20 brings people in here that are happy years? to pay those higher taxes. They buy a little old lady’s house who can no longer afford her property tax Here are the answers: bill. We need to take much larger Eran Pehan, Missoula’s distributions every year from all the housing and community (urban renewal) districts. We need development director: to claw it back from the Missoula • We must encourage Redevelopment Agency and start equitable growth giving it to the county, the schools, in neighborhoods. the police, the fire, the infrastructure.

Neighborhoods have unique The money’s there. Obviously, The Missoulian asked several elected officials and other community leaders about needs, and as we grow as a we need to leave enough in those their visions for the future of the Garden City. Here’s part of Mayor John Engen’s community we must develop perspective: “Missoula will still be a ‘place’ 20 years from now, different, for sure, but districts to service the debt, but thoughtfully. Throughout this above and beyond that, no more new vibrant, safe, clean and comfortable for everyone.” growth, our neighborhoods projects, for the love of God. We should not be asked to have potholes to fill, we have police experience radical change. Conversely, that are understaffed and we have schools 20 years, I want Missoula to be a diverse desire and look at what those plans are no neighborhood should be exempt from and welcoming place of opportunity. To that are underfunded. Stop with the new producing. change, either. projects. ensure that, we have to work harder to We need to modernize our zoning balance our values around development.

We have to embrace the collaborative Another thing we need to address code, in particular, which is a far cry We have to provide access to opportunity spirit of our community and create is affordable housing prices for sure. better than our old code, but is still through education, training and stronger public-private partnerships.

We’re never going to be able to attract not producing the desired result. We’re apprenticeship programs. We have to Local government alone cannot achieve large businesses here if the average cost already reviewing our subdivision and our goals around housing, equity and create more public spaces that provide of housing is $350,000 [the median townhome-exemption rules. home sales price in Missoula went over inclusion. We need the participation connection and welcome everyone in our We need to invest in affordable $305,000 in 2019] because affordable of our developers, nonprofits, financial community. We have to ensure people Missoula Business • Winter 2020

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housing is where jobs go to sleep at night. Nobody’s going to want to come to Missoula with their big companies if their employees can’t afford a place to live. What we need to do is start looking at a lot of these regulations.

We have developers right now that are paying $30,000-$50,000 a house in subdivision (and Townhome Exemption Developments) right now, not to mention property taxes on top of that.

Every regulation and every additional tax we put on developers and businesses is not paid for by developers and businesses, it’s paid for by customers. Every time we raise development fees every single year like we do, that’s an added tax to the homebuyer.

Continue to create connectivity for all mode splits … trails, sidewalks, bike lanes, increased bus service and well-designed roads, so that our community functions well and we are able to build more densely with our focus inward policy yet still move around town. Having alternative transportation benefits all residents, no matter the income level, and benefits our environment, which again impacts all residents. This means making it attractive for people to use alternate types of transportation — at some point we will need to start to think about prioritizing these options. We do a good job now

infill. But I would add that I hope our historic buildings are preserved and continue to add texture to our city, and I also hope that our urban forest is robust, creating a beautiful canopy that shades us, beautifies our city, and helps to foster a healthy, welcoming environment for all.

Missoula is growing, and all demographic forecasts are that Missoula will continue to grow for the foreseeable future, averaging 1.5% to 2% per year. Accordingly, to not plan for and accommodate growth will, in and of itself, inherently change the nature of Missoula — if we do not build more housing, our current housing stock prices will accelerate far faster than we can imagine. But on the other hand, if we are not thoughtful about how and We need less government in where we build housing stock, Missoula. Right now the city is one we create a built environment of the largest employers in Missoula that does not contribute to County, if not the largest. So many our beautiful city, but detracts people in Missoula are paying for from it. Additionally, we other people’s wages that they can need to change the way we hardly afford to take care of their think about our housing in own family. We need to stop hiring our city … prices for land, more and more people. If we hire labor and materials make it a city employee that’s 30 years old, too expensive to do things the we’re hiring them for another 60 years way we once did when these because we’re paying out benefits things were cheap. Climate and funding pensions. Need to start change is also a huge factor to subcontracting out to other businesses take into consideration now, in Missoula and making sure there’s not only how we build, but some competition so the businesses where we build, to facilitate are competing for lower prices. transportation. We need to be • I want it to be a city for developing in ways that let us everybody. I want it to be a good old use less energy to get around mountain town that everybody loves.

A crew works on the exterior of the new Missoula Public Library recently. Missoula and to be healthier as we do it.

I do not want it to be a Boulder, It just takes a little more thinking has seen unprecedented growth and development recently.

Colo., or a Whitefish or some tourist when we plan, but we can do destination where basically rich people that. By doing all of these things, come here two or three times a year and Frankly, we do not have these tools in our but this will absolutely have to get better we can keep expenses in check, while look at everybody else in Missoula as in order for us to have development toolbox, and we should work on adding also contributing to our quality of life in their servants to do what they want. I we can afford and that is attractive and or updating zoning techniques and tools Missoula, via livability. want us to be a vibrant economy where community-building. Again, newer so we can handle this changing world we Rob Watson, Missoula County Public we stand on our own two feet. Don’t development inside of our existing are faced with.

Schools District superintendent: have to rely on the rich to keep us afloat. infrastructure system is always going to be Implementing our Housing Policy • When planning for future I want us to start making things again, more affordable than far-flung low-density recommendations, so that we target neighborhoods, consider possible coming up with breadwinner jobs, development.

We will always have lowlocations for future schools sites. For a manufacturing jobs, trades and labor and building specific numbers of affordable density development but the fact is that housing each year, using whatever tools number of reasons, it is beneficial to have construction. That sort of stuff. I do not it is expensive to serve and dependent on K-5 schools located in neighborhoods want us to be a country club for the rich. are at our disposal, such as city-owned auto-oriented infrastructure. land or MRA to make the financial with young kids and families. It equation work outside of market forces.

• My answers above really dictate what encourages walking/biking and can help At the same time we can continue to keep my vision of Missoula will look like in Gwen Jones, Missoula City Council reduce traffic. our eyes on what is working and what 20 years … more dense development, member: When planning for future educational isn’t. The key is making sure we are seeing good connectivity, character preserved • For green field development, models, consider creating comprehensive success with what we are doing and then in existing neighborhoods while also comprehensive planning, such as the programs at all schools. A comprehensive continuing to look for solutions. accommodating change and more dense Mullan Road plan that is unfolding now. Missoula will continue to grow … well-planned new areas can create better traffic flow for connectivity, can create different levels of density so that many price points and income levels are accommodated, and also include some level of commercial that helps to create community and also less need to run errands across town, as opposed to within one’s neighborhood. For infill development, crafting it to the degree it can contribute to the character of the neighborhood, via buffering, stairstepping heights, density and design.

TOM BAUER, Missoulian

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Missoula Business • Winter 2020

program at every school will offer opportunity and access to a highquality education for all children, no matter where they reside in Missoula.

Participate in future planning opportunities. In January 2020, MCPS will launch a new strategic planning process that will help guide the direction of our district for the next decade. The success of our strategic plan will directly depend on getting input from a variety of community stakeholders. All Missoula residents are encouraged to participate in the process and provide input. We will be launching a community input survey in January.

Josh Slotnick, Missoula County commissioner: • We have some serious planning chores in front of us. Right now this means redoing our zoning code, infusing that code with our values, and implementing it such that we have accounted for affordable housing, transportation, resource protection, place-making and economic development (creating the amenities that inspire people to live here), climate resiliency and our carbon footprint.

• Twenty years from now, our rural areas should maintain easy access to public land and be vibrant, beautiful and ecologically and economically healthy. This means they are places in their own right, not just bedroom communities for Missoula.

TOM BAUER, Missoulian

• It would be my hope that all children have access to rich and comprehensive learning opportunities in our public schools, regardless of their individual circumstances and abilities. It would also be my hope that we have a seamless transition between our schools and our community.

Students will leave our schools with the skills necessary to be successful, either in college and/or

the workforce. A seamless transition means that our education system has adapted to help graduates meet the skills identified by our community.

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Missoula Business • Winter 2020

Up close

‘I like to win’ Missoula attorney Natasha Prinzing Jones talks TIF, high-profile cases

DAVID ERICKSON david.erickson@missoulian.com

G

rowing up in a sports-oriented family in Great Falls and playing volleyball, soccer, softball and basketball prepared Missoula attorney Natasha Prinzing Jones well for her career.

“I certainly have that competitive spirit,” she said. “That’s a compelling part of the job and a big part of my personality. I like to win.”

In fact, she can count on one finger the number of cases she’s tried that ended up being a loss for the client.

“The judge was complimentary of our representation in that case, and as lawyers you don’t create the facts, you have to deal with the facts you’re given,” she said. “You do the best you can, and sometimes you can lose. I don’t like it but it happens.”

After two decades practicing law in Missoula, Prinzing Jones has established herself as a high-powered litigator with a number of splashy wins, including working for the City of Missoula in its successful bid to take over the municipal water system from a multi-billion dollar private equity corporation with a vast legal team.

“That was a huge effort, obviously,” she recalled. “It was hugely important in this community, and we were glad it was successful.”

Prinzing Jones knew she wanted to be a lawyer during her days at Charles M. Russell High School in Great Falls.

Prinzing Jones got a degree in political science from the University of Montana before going to law school. She started working for Boone Karlberg in 1998 and is now a partner shareholder in the downtown Missoula-based law firm, one of the largest based in Montana.

‘What the MRA and Tax Increment Financing provides is the opportunity for the community to be at the table to have our culture and our values honored as we try to redevelop areas of blight...’

-Natasha Prinzing Jones “I had a class where we debated gun control, and the assignment was to construct an argument for or against. and you didn’t know which side you were defending,” she said. “So you had to be ready for either side. I knew at that moment I wanted to be a lawyer. That was all she wrote.”

Prinzing Jones also sits on the Missoula Redevelopment Agency’s board of commissioners. That body has the power to deny or approve Tax Increment Financing and other funding that goes into Missoula’s six Urban Renewal Districts, so she has a say in how tens of millions of dollars’ worth of taxpayer money is used.

She realized that a role on the MRA board would fit her expertise in the business community, because for Boone Karlberg she practices mostly civil litigation, representing cities and towns across Montana and defending them against claims. Her husband is a banker at First Interstate Bank, and she felt tied in to the business community here.

Tax Increment Financing, based on the concept that the money will be paid back by the increase in property taxes generated by TIF projects, has been a controversial subject in Missoula, but Prinzing Jones believes it is a positive tool for “intentional” development.

“My observation is that many of the individuals who voice either concerns or opposition of TIF funding misunderstand its role and application,” she said. “Many individuals who are critics, I’ve never seen at a single (MRA board) meeting. Big picture, I think folks just don’t understand what’s going on. Their objections to the agency and the concept of TIF would benefit from a deeper review of what’s actually happening at those meetings.”

Natasha Prinzing Jones has established herself as a high-powered litigator after practicing law for two decades in Missoula. Jones represented the City of Missoula in its successful bid to take over the municipal water system.

Missoula Business • Winter 2020

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The more she’s learned on the board, the more she’s convinced the program has created positive change that benefits the entire community.

“I’ve been around long enough to know there’s some people you’ll never convince of anything,” she said. “Our job is to do the best we can and make sure these projects have a valuable benefit to the community and that they benefit every citizen of this community.

I wouldn’t vote for anything that I don’t believe in.”

She noted that all projects presented to the board go through a thorough vetting process by the MRA staff, who she says are highly educated and weed out bad plans.

The program allows Missoula to request the preservation of history, she noted, along with allowing the city to demand that redevelopment and deconstruction of buildings occurs in a manner that values the re-use and recycling of materials.

“And we see, what’s been proven in Missoula is there’s a domino effect,” she said. “Once an area starts to redevelop it can spread in a positive way.”

Prinzing Jones said in her industry, she finds herself “surrounded mostly by men” but that doesn’t mean there aren’t many highly successful female lawyers in Montana.

“Now, 20 years into the practice of law, I’d say that there’s a lot of work to be done to truly create gender parity,” she said. “There are many reasons for that.

But I have some extremely accomplished female peers who try cases as litigators or become judges. There’s a good group of 14

Missoula Business • Winter 2020

TOM BAUER, Missoulian

“What the MRA and Tax Increment Financing provides is the opportunity for the community to be at the table to have our culture and our values honored as we try to redevelop areas of blight in our community,” she said. “It gives us a voice at the table. Those funds are used to improve sidewalks, streets, trails and parks in ways that could otherwise not be available.”

Natasha Prinzing Jones, a Boone Karlberg attorney, was one of the lawyers who represented the City of Missoula in its condemnation proceedings with Mountain Water. Jones recently talked with the Missoulian about her career. “I certainly have that competitive spirit,” she said. “That’s a compelling part of the job and a big part of my personality. I like to win.” women that are in the industry.”

She has two sons at Sentinel High School, and she calls herself a “hockey, football and baseball mom” now. When they were younger, she said she had to scale back her career until they were in preschool and she relied for help on her husband, calling him an “extremely active parent.”

“I love my job,” she said. “It’s very rewarding, challenging work. It’s something I enjoy. I’ve been able to balance that with being a mom mostly because I have law partners and a law

firm that’s extremely supportive and a supportive husband.”

Mayor John Engen appointed Prinzing Jones to the MRA board.

“She is extraordinarily bright, and is also extraordinarily interested in the future of our community,” Engen said.

“She’s a shareholder in an office that was one of the first redevelopment projects in Missoula.”

Prinzing Jones said she’s looking forward to continuing her work with the Missoula Redevelopment Agency and

making sure the city’s residents get their voices heard as economic development continues to boom.

“I’m a business owner. I own this building in partnership with some other lawyers, and I own a home here,” she explained. “I love Missoula. I’ve been here since 1994, and I think it’s a wonderful place to live and I was always interested in participating and making Missoula the great place that it is.”

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Giving back

TOM BAUER, Missoulian

Jack Lawson, CEO of Clearwater Credit Union, said the financial institution is expanding its market while continuing its philanthropic and volunteer missions.

Clearwater Credit Union maintains giving despite major changes in 2019 LAURA SCHEER laura.scheer@missoulian.com Despite a full banking technology conversion, an expansion into other markets, and a name change, Clearwater Credit Union managed to maintain its efforts to give back to the Missoula community this past year.

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Missoula Business • Winter 2020

Formerly Missoula Federal Credit Union, in 2019 CCU helped to restart the Women’s Leadership Initiative at the University of Montana, partnered with Imagine Nation Brewery to raise money for Missoula Home Coalition, raised funds for Watson Children’s Shelter in November and has expanded into other markets like Butte, where they’re working

to get a food co-op up and running.

help us to live that mission more fully.”

“Our mission is to be a force for good in banking, in the lives of our members and in the communities we serve, and we think that that just goes well beyond responsible, well-priced products and services,” said CEO Jack Lawson. “So volunteerism and philanthropy really

Lawson said the credit union is still putting finishing touches on numbers for its 2019 end-of-year report, but it’s shaping up to be about constant with 2018.

In 2018, CCU donated more than $300,000 to 150 nonprofit organizations,

and its employees donated more than 2,500 volunteer hours to philanthropic causes in the communities it serves.

Their total philanthropic numbers in terms of money donated will be in line with 2018, which Lawson said is a target of 5% of their net income.

“The volunteer numbers are going to come in between 2,400 and 2,500 last I checked, so that might even be a tiny dip,” he said, adding the major changes the bank went through likely contributed.

“We had an incredibly high-risk, project-oriented year. We ran a full technology conversion, so a core banking conversion, and we changed the name of the credit union,” he said. “So people were really internally just maxed out and probably just had a little bit less time to give, honestly.”

CCU was still able to set aside a donation to help jump-start the Women’s Leadership Initiative, a program on campus that helps to empower women in

their lives and careers.

“That was a large contribution in the amount of $25,000 to help restart that and help to identify support and build female leadership on campus and elsewhere,” Lawson said. “We are running two of our own coworkers through that program.”

And with an expansion into communities outside Missoula in the past year, Lawson said the philanthropic efforts will follow them where they go.

“We’ve recently expanded the market, so we now operate in seven counties in southwestern Montana,” he said.

“We are beginning to do a little more philanthropy in particular in the Butte market.”

Giving back to the communities they serve is beneficial for credit unions, so Lawson said it’s a win-win for everyone.

“We only do well as a financial institution if the households, the not-forprofits, are in general also doing very well

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in the markets we serve,” he said. “So we see our success being in part driven by a healthy economy and local community.”

might need help,” Lawson said, adding volunteering is something the CCU employees embrace and enjoy.

Credit unions are not-for-profit financial co-ops owned by their member depositors, said Tracie Kenyon, president and CEO of Montana Credit Unions, which works to promote and enhance a thriving credit union community across the state.

“That common sense of purpose, it motivates people, it makes the working day a little bit more engaging.”

“Giving back is in their DNA,” she said, adding most credit unions have volunteer programs and efforts to donate locally.

CCU works to create a culture where volunteerism is both encouraged and supported, so it offers employees 24 hours of paid volunteer time per year.

They also have an internal group called TEAM, or Together Employees Achieve More, that coordinates volunteer efforts.

“They’re keeping their ears to the ground, trying to understand what’s happening, where and what not-forprofits or social services and agencies

In 2020, Lawson said CCU plans to continue its philanthropic work, including supporting the Women’s Leadership Initiative on campus as well as advancing development efforts around clean energy.

“We’re really focused on greening up our own operations and trying to support not-for-profits and advocacy efforts that are doing the same.”

And as it expands, Lawson said its giving will only grow in the new communities they’re serving.

“Spreading our wings a little bit and getting to know some of the new markets we’re now operating in now is really important to us.”

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17

In the works

Ben Allan Smith, Missoulian

The Cambie will be Missoula’s newest restaurant, taphouse and coffee joint. Owner Chris Goble tore down the old Hoagieville location on South Higgins and is underway on construction of his new concept, which will be open later in 2020.

New businesses on horizon - pizza, cookies, restaurants and beer DAVID ERICKSON david.erickson@missoulian.com Several intriguing new businesses look to be popping up in Missoula in the near future, according to the city’s business licensing permit records: 18

Missoula Business • Winter 2020

A new pizza delivery restaurant called Headies Brick Oven Pizza has received a permit to operate at 1250 W. Broadway, the site of the old Zimorino’s Pizza.

Owner Danny Brian said he and his team attended a “pizza school” in New York.

“We came back with a world-class menu,” he said. “Those guys have won 20 international titles for best pizza awards.

It’s a pretty big deal.”

Brian said he loved Zimorino’s pizza, so he jumped at the chance to work with

owner Harry Ward to take over the space.

Especially since Ward has an imported Italian pizza oven.

“It’s one of the best ovens money can buy,” Brian explained.

He’s hoping to be open by February

after the space is completely renovated.

“I’d like to get the proof of concept and see if Missoula responds well to the old world pizza concept,” he said. “I’d like to have a restaurant in a year if everything goes to plan. We’ll deliver in Missoula city limits for free and for a fee eight miles beyond. We want to get pizza in the living rooms of everyone in the valley.”

Crumbl, a Utah-based company that sells fresh-baked cookies and other goods with a few dozen locations, including Billings, has received a permit to open a location at 3075 N. Reserve St., Suite J. The company’s website says they also deliver.

Pangea, a new two-floor full liquor bar and restaurant concept currently being built at 223 N. Higgins Ave., is scheduled to be open in the spring of 2020. The business is being built

by Liquid Planet owner Scott Billadeau. He moved the original Liquid Planet from 223 N.

Higgins Ave. to another location on Broadway before starting construction. According to a Craigslist ad for an executive chef, the restaurant will feature a locally-sourced menu full of worldly flavors. Below Pangea will be The Barrel Room, a community tasting and event room. And from an alley entrance, customers can visit Stave & Hoop, a basement “prohibition-style speakeasy and music venue” built into the original location of the 1896 Garden City Bottling and Liquor Company.

The Cambie Taphouse and Coffee is slated to be open sometime in 2020 at 2413 S. Higgins Ave., at the site of the old Hoagieville.

Owner Chris Goble and his team plan to offer food options, coffee, regionally-sourced beers and wines on tap and a selection of non-alcoholic beverages. They’ll also have two outdoor patios.

Work is still underway on the new Cranky

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Bob Powell and Nick Alonzo purchased the old Perkins property on North Reserve Street last year and are working to remodel the building into the new Tap Club, with an opening date slated for sometime in 2020.

“We’re pretty excited about that project,” Powell told the Missoulian. “We love the location. It’s a taproom concept with a beer and wine license. We’ll do a real nice job with the beers, with 36 on tap.”

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Meeting the challenge

BEN ALLAN SMITH Missoulian

Melissa and Reed Mooney, owners of The Keep restaurant, recently opened a new steakhouse, 1889, on the southeast corner of the historic Missoula Mercantile on Higgins Avenue. “We didn’t want it to feel like another Keep,” Melissa Mooney said. “We wanted it to have its own identity.

We wanted it to feel a little more modern and industrial.”

Owners of The Keep open new venture Downtown

KEILA SZPALLER keila.szpaller@missoulian.com After owning The Keep since 2007, Melissa and Reed Mooney last year opened an entirely different restaurant in Missoula: 1889.

A nod to the year Montana earned statehood, the new steakhouse claims a landmark locale downtown, the southeast corner of the historic Missoula Mercantile on Higgins Avenue.

20

Missoula Business • Winter 2020

“We didn’t want it to feel like another Keep,” Melissa Mooney said in a recent interview. “We wanted it to have its own identity. We wanted it to feel a little more modern and industrial.”

Now, the couple is creating a fresh brand, building on their loyal customer base, and cultivating a new clientele to power the new enterprise in a competitive market. Several new restaurants have opened downtown recently, and 1889

operates in a building that houses a Marriott hotel, Thai restaurant, and Mexican bistro, among other businesses.

it. We bit off a big nugget for sure. But it was a risk.”

The Mooneys had wanted to open a high-end steakhouse in Missoula for a while, and when the opportunity to launch in the Mercantile arose a couple of years ago, they jumped on it.

Tourists eat and drink at 1889, but the couple said locals still comprise the majority of customers, and their recipe for success with the new venture is their solid track record with the established one.

“It’s now or never. We need to go for it,” Melissa Mooney said they told themselves. “Luckily, we were able to do

“People know that it’s us, so they trust there’s going to be a high level of service, quality, food,” she said. “And

1889), it’s high energy, and it has a more urban feel, and I think that’s what’s appealing to that younger demographic.”

… we’ve hired the right people to be able to follow through on that expectation.”

Some clientele of The Keep have been dining at the South Hills establishment since before the current building opened in 1993, after a fire burned down the Old Mansion Restaurant.

Reed Mooney worked at the restaurant since 1987, and Melissa started there as a server in 1995 when she moved from Maine to attend the University of Montana.

In 2007, the couple bought the restaurant, a castle-like structure overlooking the Missoula valley.

(They married in 2001. “We met here, which is super corny,” she said at The Keep.)

“We’re this end of town’s neighborhood Cheers,” she said.

Courtesy Missoula 1889

“They’ve watched Reed grow up from a scrawny little dishwasher to the owner of the restaurant,” Melissa Mooney said.

With a deep green color scheme, custom fireplace in the bar, and Persian rugs on the walls, the Mooneys have created a warm and homey atmosphere at the business formerly called Shadow’s Keep, and they’ve grown a following of regulars, including many neighbors.

“We do have customers here that

we’ve had forever, and a lot of them have become like family,” she said. When a freak storm knocks down trees on the property, she said customers volunteer to work alongside staff to help clean up.

“Here, it’s relaxing,” she said. “Yes, it’s loud in here when we’re full, but it still has a different vibe. Down there (at

At 1889, the Mooneys have designed a different atmosphere.

Melissa Mooney described it as a “rustic modern” feel that gives a nod to the history of train travel through Missoula, and Reed noted all the wood in the new restaurant comes from the old Mercantile building.

To bring in customers, the Mooneys are reaching people in different ways, including on social media sites such as Instagram. At the corner of Front and Higgins with floor-to-ceiling windows, the establishment is hard to miss, and it’s partly relying on word of mouth as well, Melissa said.

The Marriott does bring in customers, but Reed said it’s a misconception that tourists are driving the business. In fact, the Mooneys estimate locals still make up 60% to 70% of their customer base,

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Missoula Business • Winter 2020

21

and as longtime fans of The Keep try out 1889, a crossover is developing. “The customers we have here are definitely visiting us down there, and I think customers that are seeing us down there are coming up here more than they used to as well. It’s reminded them,�

Melissa said.

At The Keep, customers will find a more cozy and quiet atmosphere, and at 1889, they’ll encounter more energy, along with the focus on local food. “There’s foodies in Missoula,� Melissa said. “They want to go out, and they want to eat. They enjoy their food, they enjoy their wine. They like that atmosphere. They like to be seen and to be seeing other people.

The restaurant industry is risky, and Dennis Gemberling, of Perry Group International, said restaurants must stay responsive to market trends in order to keep clients interested. Perry Group describes itself as a consortium of hospitality management services and consultants.

“I think the common failure among a lot of restaurants is they get too dependent on one market and don’t keep themselves open to customer preferences, changing preferences, trends,� said Gemberling, founder and president.

He also said every customer is a potential crossover client. For example, a customer who eats at a newer restaurant like 1889 might then decide to hold an event at a related established place like The Keep. Plus, he said the younger generation’s interest in 1889, for instance, might then spark the interest of a parent who otherwise might not have gone.

New restaurants are sometimes ironing out kinks when they open, and Gemberling said customers are often willing to give new establishments some leeway. “You’re going to forgive little hiccups along the way. That said, I think younger, less experienced diners can be a little too forgiving,� said Gemberling, who noted he is based in San Francisco, a foodie capital.

According to Aaron Allen and Associates, a “unique and differentiated experience� is one key to a successful restaurant. Generally, food establishments must offer “something that guests can’t get at home in the era of enhanced convenience.�

In addition to premium steaks, the 1889 menu includes pheasant roulade, scallops and a bison burger.

The cocktail menu showcases classics, but in an “elevated� style, with highquality ingredients and a unique twist, like the 1889 Old Fashioned with date brandy. “You don’t have to do a lot of crazy wazoo stuff to make a good cocktail,� is how Melissa Mooney described the philosophy behind their cocktail menu.

At The Keep, probably 30% of the staff members have worked there more than 10 years, and they’ve become family, Melissa said.

The Keep was built to resemble an Irish castle, and “the keep� refers to the heart of the castle, Melissa

said. Overlooking Missoula, she said the space can seem like the neighborhood’s living room, and it’s a community atmosphere. “That’s what we want to be able to do with the new place downtown, but we recognize that that’s a different animal,� she said.

Still, she said customers are excited the couple has branched out, and she knows locals are behind them in the new venture. “I’ve been humbled by people that we know that have come up here forever and how much they’ve acknowledged how hard we work, and how much they want us to be successful down there,�

Melissa said.

The couple always wondered what it would be like to be downtown, Reed said, and so far, Melissa said 1889 is over-performing. “If you don’t take a risk in life, you’ll always wonder.�

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Industry focus

SARA DIGGINS, Missoulian

Mindy Palmer at the Berkshire Hathaway offices on Jan. 9, 2020.

Mindy Palmer: Affordability requires higher wages MATT NEUMAN matthew.neuman@missoulian.com

ago. They tell me, ‘We see you on the buses.’

But, I’m not on the buses,” she said.

While she doesn’t rock a suit, sunglasses and neon high tops too often anymore, Mindy Palmer still may hold the title of most recognizable Realtor in Missoula. Her mold-breaking headshot stands out from the crowd in her Berkshire Hathaway listings, and she credits the early-2000s photo shoot she still uses today with putting her on the map in Missoula real estate.

From a zany, messy-haired photo among the otherwise clean-cut airbrushed headshots in surrounding listings, it’s not hard to imagine that Palmer’s office is also not like anyone else’s in Missoula.

In addition to the pictures of family and the many awards hanging on the wall, she rounds out the dimly lit office with statues of frogs, Rolling Stones memorabilia and plenty of plants. It feels less like an office, and more like your hippie aunt’s living room, and that’s the way she likes it.

“About 15 years ago, I ran a billboard by the Good Food Store. One billboard.

And still to this day I get people saying, ‘I see your billboards all over town.’ It’s the funniest thing. It was one billboard, 15 years 24

Missoula Business • Winter 2020

She wants people to feel comfortable with her as they undertake the often-

arduous process of buying or selling a home in Missoula. And she thinks it’s that extra effort she’s made to be herself — to be a Realtor for the everyday Missoulian — that’s kept her at the top of local polls for so long, winning the late Missoula Independent’s reader’s choice poll eight times between 2007 and 2017.

“I’ve had little old ladies stop me on the street and say, ‘I just think what you’re doing is fantastic. You go, girl.’ And they get a kick out of it,” she said. “You don’t want to watch the same TV program all the time.

You want something bold and exciting and someone who’s really going to stick their neck out, and by God, if that advertising didn’t show I was willing to do that, it

missed its mark. But clearly it hit a chord with the real creative, thumb-your-nose-atconventionality Missoulians.”

Palmer started off in Missoula in 1988 as a student at the University of Montana, where she decided to wrap up all the various coursework she’d done along the way at various schools into a liberal arts degree before going to work at Hide and Sole in the early 1990s. After being shaken by the loss of two brothers in one year, Palmer said she worked at the shop longer than she intended, but through her healing process, decided she wanted to do something more with her life.

“I was the hippie chick in the T-shirt

and blue jeans selling and repairing Birkenstocks,” she said. “But people kept telling me I should go into real estate; that I’d be really good at it. I thought I had to become a suit, which terrified me. But people kept saying it, it almost felt like a sign from the universe. And I just kinda said if one more person tells me this, then I’ll do it. So my friend that sold us our first house, Rochelle Glasgow, she convinced me. I said, ‘Wait, she’s a long-haired hippie chick. They hired her, so they’ll hire me.’”

So with the backing of $5,000 from her parents, she quit her job at the shoe store and got hired at Lambros Realty. Thankfully, she had the help from her parents, because she didn’t make a sale for the first six months, which meant no paycheck.

It was speed bump after speed bump for that first half of her first year, with every possible mishap coming up: a deed that had been gambled away unbeknownst to the seller, another seller without a will dying the day before closing. But through determination, mostly inspired by the fear of failure and letting her family down, she finally closed a sale, she said.

Before the year was up, she had closed 17 more.

All of that predates her ubiquitous headshot that made her nearly a household name in Missoula. What helped get her early career off the ground was a little something popping up around then called the internet.

Her husband, Steve Palmer, who has since switched over to being her partner in real estate, worked most of his career as a programmer and built her the first real estate website in western Montana, which he still maintains for their partnership today.

Looking ahead, Palmer said she predicts a bit of a slowdown in the skyrocketing residential prices, though she said what Missoula needs more than a cooler housing market is higher wages across the board.

“Based on the past few years, bareknuckling it out there, I would say inventory will continue to be low, but people are going to be cautious going into an election year, and the price increase will not be as dramatic as it has been,” she said. “Because of the scarcity of land, the regulations, the red tape for the landowners, the developers etc., it complicates things.

The cost of materials is going up, yes. But the crux of the problem is still, in 2020 Missoula, across the board, the pay scale is terrible. If employers could figure out how

to pay higher wages, people might have a shot at affordability.”

Spencer Bradford, who bought his first house with Palmer’s help about 15 years ago, said she brings the perfect combination of positivity, diligence and personality to her work.

“She lives and breathes the market, and that’s so critical, because if you snooze you lose in a business like that,” Bradford said.

“When you first get into real estate, it’s pretty emotional. It’s about your home, and

Palmer's eye-catching headshot has been used in her ad campaigns and real estate listings since the early 2000s.

it ties in a bunch of different really charged things and emotions. Mindy and Steve have been there for us — more than once, more than twice, more than three times.”

Palmer is now on her 22nd year in the business, including a battle with breast cancer in 2006 that temporarily erased her wild curls and warranted an ad campaign of its own highlighting that bald is beautiful, too.

It hasn’t been easy to find a balance between being the best agent, the best daughter and the best wife she can be, though she’s tried.

But in the end she said it’s the people she works for who keep her powering through as Missoula’s Realtor of the people.

“I know my purpose is to help people.

I’m not the most successful agent financially.

I’m never going to make the most amount of money,” she said. “You get a call on Christmas Eve and they say, ‘I need you to come look at my house as soon as you can.

The divorce lawyers are breathing down my neck. Can you help me?’ Oh, my God, of course I’m going to help them. There’s a million stories out there like that, and they’re not all tragic, of course. But I think being relatable has really helped people choose me when they’re making, really, the biggest decision of their lives.”

Missoula Business • Winter 2020

25

Thom Bridge, Independent Record

Patrick Barkey, pictured here during an economic outlook presentation, is the director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana.

Finding good workers and finding the best solution for Montana Patrick Barkey director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana 26

Missoula Business • Winter 2020

Attend almost any gathering of business people and the topic is sure to come up: finding good workers. After more than a decade of economic growth that has featured strong hiring and steadily falling unemployment rates, labor markets across the country and certainly across Montana are tight.

For some businesses, the trickle of suitable workers for their openings has shrunk to the point where they are questioning how they can continue to

fill orders, let alone capitalize on new opportunities.

The data agree with this assessment — at least to a point. The Montana unemployment rate has been below 4% for more than two years, with jobless rates for fast-growing places like Gallatin County down to an incredible 1.9%. At the height of the recession, there were more than seven unemployed workers for every job opening in the western region of the United States —

now there are fewer than one.

As economic problems go, you might say this is a good one to have — too many jobs, shall we say. But it is a problem nonetheless, and some solutions (e.g., offshoring, turning down business) are worse than others for the economy.

Understanding how and why it has come about is critical to crafting strategies and solutions that grow the economic pie. That’s why we’ve made “Finding Good Workers” a theme of our half-day

2018-2019 BEST NURSING HOMES 2018-2019 BEST NURSING HOMES & SHORT-STAY REHABILITATION & SHORT-STAY REHABILITATION AWARD RECIPIENT AWARD RECIPIENT economic outlook programs we’re taking around the state beginning late January.

What can businesses do right now to address this?

Of course they can boost salaries.

What would you expect an economist to say? Nationally there is some evidence of this, with faster growth in hourly wages.

In Montana, the evidence is less clear — wage growth is more erratic, but showing faster growth in the last year. Higher wages are not a zero sum solution, as they pull more people into the labor force.

That solution is not available for many employers who lack the ability to pass on cost increases to their customers.

That’s why they’re doing other things, like reorganizing roles in the workplace, redefining some jobs to fill the gaps created by unfilled vacancies. Or hiring less qualified workers, investing in training to bring them to the required level of skill, even at the risk of losing their investment when they take jobs elsewhere. Pursuing automation as a way to reduce staffing requirements, or outsourcing or offshoring tasks once performed in-house are other options.

The “solution” of turning down work that is offered, or even cutting back on current operations, is another kind of adjustment that is clearly on the menu of choices as well. And some Montana employers have doubtless gone down this path.

Thinking Outside the Box Is it time for fresh thinking on recruiting and retaining good workers?

Nothing fuels innovation like scarcity.

Some solutions to finding good workers for openings are hiding in plain sight, although making them work might be more than an individual company can take on. Perhaps policy could help.

Some of these ideas are different. Some might even be considered dead on arrival.

Yet they address a real problem and could offer some relief. They include: • Tapping the teenage labor force.

Teenager participation rates are down

almost 20 percentage points from 2000, when more than half of those ages 16-19 worked.

• Reconsidering drug testing. With recreational cannabis gaining public acceptance, is it time to revise our thinking on drug testing as an absolute requirement for employment?

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• Convicts and ex-convicts — with 4% of the world’s population, the U.S. has 22% of the world’s prisoners. Is this an opportunity?

Other ideas are perhaps less controversial, yet no easier to implement.

The most straightforward is devising better tools and policies to accommodate fuller participation of young women in the workforce. While narrower than some other countries, in the United States women have participation rates that are 10 percentage points lower than men.

And they work fewer hours. Child care is ferociously expensive when it is available, which in many places it is not.

It is also a time for employers of all kinds, but especially for those requiring skilled trades employees, to start reaching out to potential workers at a younger age. A recent survey reported that a large fraction of high school students would not consider a career in construction even for a six-figure salary. That’s a daunting challenge that should spur employers to action to dispel perceptions that may pose a dire threat to their pipeline of new workers.

And then there are older workers.

They are already more numerous in the workplace, with a quarter of the workforce projected to be ages 55 and older in 2024, compared to just 12% in 1994. Abolishing mandatory retirement ages and pushing up the Social Security and Medicare ages would strengthen the incentive to work, certainly. But only if employers want them — and there is evidence that older workers’ higher costs and relatively lower motivation to learn new things makes them less attractive.

Addressing these challenges wouldn’t be easy, but there are clearly rewards to doing so.

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What to expect in 2020:Three trends for Missoula commercial real estate Everyone wants the inside scoop on what’s next. Whether in business, sports or politics, inside intel on what’s coming around the corner is both useful and interesting.

MATT MELLOTT Sterling Commercial Real Estate Advisors

Each year, PricewaterhouseCoopers puts out their Emerging Trends in Real Estate report that helps to set expectations on the commercial real estate market for the year ahead.

It’s probably not surprising to hear that, once again, PWC did not mention the Missoula, Kalispell or Bozeman CRE markets by name, or anyone in Montana for that matter, in the 2020 report. It appears we haven’t quite made the cut yet for metropolitan areas to watch.

Maybe next year, Montana!

Going forward, that number is expected to ease its way down closer to 45,000 to 50,000 jobs per month. As we discuss here, job growth is the fundamental driver of demand in the commercial real estate market.

it’s still a great deal compared to most major east and west coast metropolitan areas. Plus, the accessibility of rivers, trails, skiing and all things outdoors makes it very attractive as a place to set up a satellite office.

A softer job market may lead to tempered demand for new commercial space in the future. It will become especially important in light of this anticipated trend in slower growth that investors and developers in commercial space have accurate intel on the market and what projects are planned and being delivered.

In addition, locationindependent remote workers who specifically seek out places like Missoula, Kalispell and Bozeman as a place they want live is becoming an industry in itself, and western Montana is uniquely positioned to capture that market.

Each “remote worker” job functions as an export industry job in its impact on the local economy. Generally, one export, or basic job, leads to several (as high as six in Missoula) other jobs being created in the local economy, according to Economic Base Theory.

As companies like ClassPass, BusinessSolver and Bedrock Sandals discover Missoula’s quality of life and unique culture, continued job growth from these sorts of firms is likely.

That slight aside, the larger macro trends in the economy most certainly can have an impact here in western Montana.

Here are three trends referenced in PWC’s report that will impact us here in Missoula, Kalispell and Bozeman:

Projections by both the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and by a multitude of private economists anticipate slowing GDP growth in 2020 and through the early part of the decade. During the peak of the post-2008 economic recovery, monthly job gains nationwide averaged 200,000 per month.

28

Missoula Business • Winter 2020

It’s important to note, though, that one way Missoula may buck that trend is due to the “scenic premium” it offers. As companies like ClassPass, BusinessSolver and Bedrock Sandals discover Missoula’s quality of life and unique culture, continued job growth from these sorts of firms is likely. Though Missoula is not the cheapest place in the country,

Flex is the future

It used to be that flex and co-working spaces were the domain of the “gig-economy” types: freelancers, creatives and entrepreneurs.

However, even massive corporations are seeing the value of turning what used to be a fixed expense for their physical space into a variable cost through the use of flex space arrangements. Coworking, executive offices and a wide variety of hybrids along that spectrum now exist to provide users of commercial space with flexible options on price and term.

From large corporations with a short-term contract to remote workers looking for a community to connect with, all are drawn to

the amenities and cost effectiveness of flex space. Recent changes to lease accounting standards and its impact on the balance sheet of public and private companies alike are also feeding this trend toward “space as a service” as opposed to “space as an asset.” In the coming weeks, we’ll dig more into this trend and show how Missoula, Kalispell and Bozeman commercial property owners can benefit by embracing this concept.

Clamping down on costs In an environment where rapid rent growth can no longer be counted on to make an investment pencil, disciplined and professional management of operating expenses will become increasingly important. While it always makes sense to closely monitor an investment’s operating expenses, that will become especially true if rental growth rates start to level off. Focused management done by professionals will become more and more important in keeping your investment performing at satisfactory levels.

Additionally, the use of datadriven revenue management techniques to minimize lossto-lease in apartment and selfstorage investments will set high-performing properties apart from the amateurs. Managers who focus on the growth of an asset’s performance rather than just keeping the bills paid and the building from falling down will prove their worth in the coming decade.

One thing is certain: Change is inevitable. It pays to pay attention to what’s coming around the corner.

Tech check

Missoula tech company accommodates Army Reserve specialist on deployment

Since 2010, Kissinger has served as an IT specialist for the Army Reserve and left on her first deployment last September. While she misses the home she has found with Alter Enterprise, she’s not worried about missing out on new opportunities for professional growth while she’s overseas.

“Everything that I’m doing while I’m here is still going to benefit me when I get back,” Kissinger said during a video interview.

It’s no accident that Kissinger is an IT specialist in both the military and at Alter. With veteran parents, she knew when she enlisted out of high school how to make military service work for her ultimate career goals.

Kissinger found and stuck with a supportive employer, leveraging an internship at Alter into a full-time job after graduation. She earned certifications in A+ and PC Pro — transferable credentials that increase her value to both the private sector and the military.

Kissinger has been planning her deployment for years, giving her employer plenty of notice and time to prepare.

“I’m really proud of the time I have spent in the military,” Kissinger said. “I

love both my jobs and I appreciate my civilian employer’s willingness to adjust schedules and projects for my military service.”

Beginning a deployment or leaving the military can be a challenging transition, but many veterans and current service members, like Kissinger, find success in Montana’s thriving business and technology communities.

Courtesy U.S. Army Reserve - Maj. Olha Vandergriff

Desireh Kissinger has lived in Montana all her life. A Missoula native, Kissinger graduated from the University of Montana with an associate of applied science degree in network system administration and security in 2017.

Now, she has temporarily EMILY traded the view of Mount SIMONSON Sentinel from Montana her office High Tech with Alter Business Alliance Enterprise, an IT company founded by Ryan Alter in Missoula, for the green mountains of Poland.

Kissinger’s civilian job will “I’m really proud of the time I have spent in the military,” said Desireh Kissinger, an IT be waiting for specialist at Alter Enterprise. “I love both my jobs and I appreciate my civilian employer’s her when she gets willingness to adjust schedules and projects for my military service.” back. Alter said he understands “It’s a small price to pay for an so that it’s not a chunk of your life that how important is disconnected or wasted. … Make it an employers are to supporting personnel in amazing team,” Alter said. the military reserve.

Kissinger is still trying to make herself experience that benefits the other side of your life.” a better team member almost 5,000 “You have to be flexible,” Alter said.

About the Author: Emily Simonson is miles away. While deployed in Poland for Kissinger’s nearly yearlong absence the staff writer and content creator for the the next nine months, she plans to get has been an adjustment for the team.

Montana High Tech Business Alliance. two more certifications in security plus Her coworkers miss her and are Originally from Havre, Emily will and project management. taking care of the plants on Kissinger’s graduate from the University of Montana unoccupied desk, Alter said.

“I’m in the situation where my two with a degree in English in May 2020. careers are the same,” she said. “It makes it Alter didn’t know much about the She is also a Public Affairs Specialist in the really easy to kind of keep them connected.” military, he said. Kissinger’s deployment National Guard and enjoys reading and has been a learning experience for With the certifications and experience knitting in her spare time. everyone. The team prepped for months she will get after this deployment, Launched in 2014, the Montana before Kissinger’s departure, wrapping Kissinger is positioned to move into a High Tech Business Alliance is an up her assignments and training other more official project management role association of more than 320 high tech employees to fill her role. Alter said when she returns to Alter Enterprise. and manufacturing companies and he does not view this deployment as a To other service members seeking affiliates creating high-paying jobs in hindrance on his business and assures to make a life in technology, Kissinger Montana. For more information visit other employers that a yearlong absence is nothing to be concerned about. recommends they “find a way to make it MTHighTech.org.

Missoula Business • Winter 2020

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Missoula Area Chamber of Commerce working to find child care solutions Child care … it’s a workforce issue.

The Missoula Chamber is championing our community to find solutions and create new models.

In the fall of 2018, the KIM Missoula Area LATRIELLE Chamber of Missoula Area Commerce surveyed Chamber of the business Commerce community Chief Executive to better Officer understand the need for quality, affordable child care and its impact on the workforce.

With more than 550 responses, we found that there were more than 1,000 children on waiting lists to receive care. Further, 47% of respondents indicated they had either scaled back or abandoned their career due to a lack of child care options.

connecting them to large employers and encouraging consideration of this model as entrepreneurs.

The Missoula Area Chamber of Commerce has worked for more than a year to increase access to quality, affordable child care within the community. Bringing the business community to the table to discuss this growing need within the community has been a key to finding success.

Early on, the Missoula Chamber partnered with industry experts to leverage their knowledge and skills to identify child care models that could work within our community. Mark Roberts with Missoula Early Learning Center brought knowledge of the licensing process and the needs of child care centers to the table, while Cushing Terrell brought architectural design skills and a willingness to help identify the structural challenges different spaces This response was a motivating factor would present for child care. MyVillage to the Chamber, helped identify highlighting seven avenues for in-home The Chamber has different models to child care, and expand child care barriers to entry. helped three of the options in Missoula.

Missoula seven models become As a catalyst for has a number of established as of the success, the Chamber great community has helped three of end of 2019, which has organizations focused the seven models on improving created more than 300 become established as early childhood spaces for children in of the end of 2019, education both in which has created the community. the community and more than 300 around the state. spaces for children in the community.

Serving in the role of convener, the Collaboration with Missoula County Chamber brought those organizations to Public Schools resulted in the lease and the table with business leaders and began renovation of a vacant school to Missoula looking at ways to address a growing Early Learning Center (MELC), workforce issue. designed by Cushing Terrell (formerly The Chamber’s partnership with CTA Architects), creating 100 new MELC, Cushing Terrell and MyVillage child care openings offered by Missoula helped identify a number of legislative Early Learning Center. The Chamber issues that still need to be addressed also connected a licensed Missoula child in order to more efficiently increase care provider with a local company to the ability of child care centers to assist them in creating their own inoffer quality, affordable care for early house child care center. We have also learners.

The Chamber, in its role as a worked collaboratively with MyVillage, 30

Missoula Business • Winter 2020

Missoula Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Kim Latrielle at The White House summit on child care. catalyst for change and champion for the community, is working to address these barriers with government officials.

In December, the Missoula Chamber was honored to be chosen and personally invited by the president of the United States as one of a few community organizations across the United States to share our child care models and the process to get business connected to the conversation around an important workforce need at a White

House Summit on child care.

The Missoula Chamber and its members are leading with passion, experience and expertise to improve the availability of child care across the full spectrum of arrangements. Today, more than ever, the Chamber is demonstrating collaboration to serve the better good.

Working collaboratively, the Chamber will continue working to address this critical workforce issue for the Missoula community.

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ERA Lambros Real Estate 3011 American Way Missoula, MT 59808 (406) 532-9233 Missoula Business • Winter 2020

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Missoula Business • Winter 2020