City eyes fixes for several city streets

The worst spots in several Columbia Falls city streets should see some work this summer. The city has been doing an inventory of the worst spots of its streets, with plans to fix them using its share of state gas tax dollars.

Several streets will see work, public works director Tyler Bradshaw told council last week. Some streets could use an entire rebuild, but the city doesn’t have funding for all of that.

In other news:

- The council looked at changes to the city ordinances that regulate decay and junk vehicles. Council was concerned the most about junk cars that had permanent plates that were sitting on properties. City manager Susan Nicosia said the owners could be cited under state law, but the process is complaint driven.

- Council OK’s a new mural for the side of the Uptown Hearth building on Nucleus Avenue. The scene will be an aspen tree reaching skyward on the south-facing wall of the building.

- Council added Red Bridge Park to the city’s lighting district. The hope is that if lights are added to the small riverside park, it will cut down on vandalism and graffiti at the old bridge.

- Council talked a bit about the “pit to park” off the Truck Route. Mayor Don Barnhart lamented that nothing had been done with the site, which Plum Creek used to dump wood waste for decades. The idea was to make it into a park.

“It’s a mess,” he Barnhart said. “It’s a big weed patch.”

The city owns the land, but Plum Creek, with an agreement with the city, was supposed to clean it up.

- There was good news for trees near the new Nucleus Avenue monuments going in next month. It was expected that two of the three big spruce in front of Glacier bank would have to come down, but the trees are healthy and they’re not in the way, so they’ll be spared the ax.