Barnhart says he’ll seek another term as mayor

Columbia Falls Mayor Don Barnhart announced last week he would seek another term in office.

Barnhart has been mayor for the past 11 years and was a city councilman for seven years before that.

He said he enjoyed working with the city council.

“I love the board,” he said. “It’s so balanced.”

He added he wanted to “keep things going the way they’re going.” Councilwomen Paula Robinson and Jenny Lovering are also up for re-election.

City elections are held in odd year cycles.

In other city news:

• A public hearing to re-zone 10 acres east of the Flathead River along Highway 2 into two, five acre lots was canceled. The prospective buyer,

Wayne Hull, who was from Arkansas, pulled out of the buy-sell agreement.

It’s expected that the owners of the property, Ron Mayhew and Jeff Smith, of Twin Peaks Farms, LLC of Idaho, will resubmit the request.

Council awarded the construction of four new tennis courts in Hoerner Park to Schlegel Construction for just under $128,000. Hoerner Park is directly across the road from the high school and was formerly a baseball and softball field. The city also plans on adding a playground and other amenities. There will be room for two more courts in the future.

• Council voted to approve a budget amendment which adds about $369,000 in federal Covid-19 relief funds. The funds will be used to by various departments. For example, some of the funding will be used by the police department to replace a rig that had a drivetrain failure. The city will

also use funds for engineering and further study of a quiet zone for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks. About $27,000 will go toward Hoerner Park playground equipment and the public works department will replace one of its trucks.

Even after those items, the city will still have about $80,000 left for a capital project yet to be approved by council.