C.F. Council to learn about downtown square project

The Daily Inter Lake

First Best Place Task Force members will bring the Columbia Falls City Council up to speed on plans for Glacier Discovery Square during a council workshop tonight.

The Task Force will host the workshop at Discovery Square, the former First Citizens Bank on Nucleus Avenue.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Because it's a workshop, no council votes will be taken.

Executive Director Barry Conger said the task force just launched round two in its major donor fundraising effort to remodel the bank building into a community learning center.

Round one was a success and put the group at the right place financially, he said, but the group plans to proceed cautiously in the current economic climate. It will be more conservative in expectations for donations now and plans a spring fundraising event to kick off the second round.

No remodeling work is expected to start before late this year, Conger said.

Task force members already are hosting a wide variety of community activities, from music lessons to meetings to classes, in Discovery Square.

Columbia Falls has been designated the official Montana State Arbor Day celebration, with Gov. Brian Schweitzer coming to the city on April 24 to participate in the ceremony at Discovery Square. That will be followed by the city's own Arbor Day Festival on May 2.

Plans are under way, too, for the second season of the Columbia Falls Farmer's Market.

More information is available from Conger at barry@firstbestplace.org