City will look to expand its TIF district to Cedar Palace lands

The Columbia Falls City Council last week OK’d a contract with Community Development Services of Montana not to exceed $20,000 to expand its urban renewal and tax increment finance district to include a block of land that’s part of the Cedar Palace Medical Center. The expansion of the district could allow the city to help the Medical Center with a business park expansion in the future.

The council had a short discussion on whether it should require the new center to also pay part of the contract — perhaps 10% — but rejected that.

The feeling of council was that the benefit of the expansion in jobs and services would outweigh the costs.

Community Development Services helped the city create its current TIF district, which has been used to great effect on several city projects, including rebuilding streets and city beautification projects.

In other news:

• Council OK’d a contract with KLJ Engineering for $30,000 for a quiet zone study on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway tracks through town. The city has sought a quiet zone for decades, but it takes special safety measures to ensure no one is injured at crossings. In a quiet zone, the train doesn’t blow its whistle when it comes to a crossing.

• The council OK’d a contract with Pinnacle Paving for about $191,000 to repave 6th Avenue West. The city will use about $111,000 in federal CARES Act funding to pay for a portion of the contract. The funding comes from the original coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress last year.