City council will hold public hearing on Ruis development via video conferencing

The Columbia Falls City Council plans to go ahead with a public hearing scheduled for the Mick Ruis development on Nucleus Avenue at its April 6 meeting.

Ruis has proposed building a $15 million mixed-use building on the site of the old First Citizens Bank. It will include a health club with a pool, gyms, condos, a restaurant and retail space.

The city is setting up a Zoom call-in so folks can participate via online video conferencing. The meeting starts at 7 p.m.

The current guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control say that any gathering of 10 people or more “should be canceled or held remotely,” due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. If just the city council attended with the regular city staff, 10 people are in the room, without the city planner, thus the need for video conferencing.

The city will post how to call in and participate on its website Thursday, city manager Susan Nicosia said.

The direct link to the city’s agenda page is: https://cityofcolumbiafalls.org/agendas-2

The city also notes that written comments carry the same weight as public testimony given during the hearing. All written comments submitted by Thursday, April 2, will be included in the public agenda packet posted on the city website. Written comments may be sent to Columbia Falls City Hall, Attention: Barb Staaland, City Clerk, 130 6th Street West, Room A, Columbia Falls, MT 59912 or via email: staalandb@cityofcolumbiafalls.com.

For more information on the proposed development, call Eric Mulcahy, Columbia Falls City Planner at 755-6481.