C. Falls backs street project
By 10-vote margin, voters approve $1.1 million in funding
By NANCY KIMBALL
The Daily Inter Lake
By the narrowest of margins, Columbia Falls voters passed a $1.1 million street levy request on Tuesday that will rebuild some of the city's worst thoroughfares and possibly add a stoplight on U.S. 2.
After mail-in ballots were counted at the Flathead County Election Department on Tuesday night, 434 people had voted in favor of the levy and 424 opposed it.
The 10-vote margin represents just over one percent of the votes cast.
Just under 40 percent of the city's electorate mailed in their ballots by the deadline.
It means Talbott Road, Veterans Drive and First Avenue East will get some much-needed attention after serious deterioration over recent years. All three are heavily traveled, and Talbott and Veterans are primary school routes.
In addition, the city is petitioning the Montana Department of Transportation for a stoplight on U.S. 2 at 12th Avenue West. That is a major crossing for children on their way to Ruder Elementary and Columbia Falls High School.
A decision on installing a stoplight there is up to the Department of Transportation. The city received word this spring that it has been included in potential department projects, but no money is immediately available. Because the city now could come up with its share of the cost, it may push the project higher on the state's list.
The tax bill on property assessed at $100,000 will go up by about $43 a year for the next 20 years.
The city will borrow the money from its own Cedar Creek Trust Fund, which now stands at $1.4 million from the sale of city land at the Cedar Creek Reservoir on the North Fork Road. The money will be paid back at the going interest rate - projected at 5.2 percent - when draw-downs are taken for the road work.
By borrowing from itself, the city will save about $25,000 in costs associated with selling bonds.
Engineering work is expected to begin this fall, with construction starting sometime next spring.