Columbia Falls council meets tonight
The Daily Inter Lake
The Columbia Falls City Council deals with a series of items in its meeting tonight to lay a bigger grid for growth.
The meeting is at 7 p.m. in City Hall.
On the agenda are three public hearings for blocks of property the city wants to annex and a draft of the city's proposed interlocal agreement with the county on a change in planning and zoning jurisdiction.
The first of the three annexation hearings covers land at Talbott Road and Third Avenue West.
One letter asking to exempt a parcel from that group was on record by Friday morning. Pat and Julie Plevel, who recently bought property at 650 Talbott, explained that a purchase agreement prevents them from subdividing the property and thereby recovering some of their investment before 2010. Conceding their request may appear selfish, they asked not to have to pay the higher city property tax in the intervening years. Besides, they said, they hoped to burn off brush and hold at least one Fourth of July party with fireworks there - two things not allowed in city limits.
The second and third hearings cover property in Vans Riverside Lots and along Railroad Street, adjacent to the northeast city limits. The city recently extended utilities in the area. Letters of protest came in from six property owners in the affected area.
On the planning and zoning front, the council will have its own discussion following last Monday's public hearing on the proposed agreement with the county.
At that hearing, Clarence Taber - who owns Vans Riverside Lots property, but lives across the Flathead River, outside city limits - raised the only objection to the jurisdiction change. He does not want his taxes and fees to increase and objects to being regulated by a city council he does not elect.
Two others, City Manager Bill Shaw and Realtor Bill Dakin, supported the plan while arguing for the revised jurisdiction map to reinstate a swath of land east of the river from the city. The Columbia Heights area and north of there, they said, are natural growth areas for Columbia Falls. Dakin argued the river would not be a barrier to extending city services there, a contention made by the county commissioners.
If the agreement, or revisions to it, are approved at tonight's meeting, the proposal goes back to the county for the commissioners' action.
Commissioners have indicated they hope to complete the agreement before the end of the year, when Howard Gipe retires and Joe Brenneman fills his vacancy on the commission.
In other business, the council will consider:
. Dan Smith's appointment as interim fire marshal, at $250 a month. He would perform the duties until a new chief is hired; target date for that is March 2005.
. A $600 offer from Randy Jones Construction for a parcel of surplus land in Hilltop Homes, at the north end of Diane Road.
. A letter of interest from city-county planning board member Sarah Dakin, who wants to keep her position when it expires at the end of the month.
. Two items in the consent agenda - a $70,250 study of city water and sewer facilities, and a five-installment payment plan for plant investment fees at Teakettle Vista II.
. Hear an explanation from Port Authority board chairman Don Bennett of Stream.com benefits for Columbia Falls.