Columbia Fall city council election: Lovering wants to see Nucleus Avenue revival continue

Incumbent Jenny Lovering said she has unfinished business if elected to a second term on the city council. Lovering said one of her main focuses is on the revitalization of Nucleus Avenue.

“I feel like we’re getting there,” she said.

During Lovering’s tenure, the city council formed a Tax Increment Finance District, which creates a dedicated fund that can be used to enhance city services outside the general fund.

She said the TIF is a good way to enhance city services for a city that really doesn’t have a large budget compared to the other cities in the county. Overall the city’s budget, including water and sewer funds, is about $8.6 million.

This year, for example, the council voted to use TIF funds for wayfaring signs so visitors will know how to find their way around town. That’s something the city generally wouldn’t spend regular tax dollars on.

Kalispell and Whitefish have similar signs. Columbia Falls signs will go up next year, after the U.S. Highway 2 reconstruction through town.

“The city’s job is to have the infrastructure in place and to make it easier for businesses and residents to live here,” she said.

She said she’d like to see more businesses on Nucleus Avenue, but shops that cater to not just tourists, but to local residents as well.

Lovering grew up in Michigan and has been a teacher for 22 years — 18 at Columbia Falls High School. She teaches government, advanced placement U.S. history and psychology. Council chambers during the months school is in session often have a host of students in the audience from her government classes.

Lovering said she opposed the county’s plan for a jail at the former Plum Creek Cedar Palace. She said it wasn’t the stigma of a jail that bothered her, it was the potential loss of tax revenue. She also said it didn’t make sense to put the jail so far away from the county seat in Kalispell.

“It was very poor planning,” she said.

She said she doesn’t support annexing property before a developer seeks services. She noted that people enjoy Columbia Falls because it is a small town and has a small town atmosphere.

“Sprawl tends to hurt that,” she noted.