Grants boost city sewer project, Railroad Street will see sidewalk
Railroad Street
The city of Columbia Falls recently received good news for two major city projects.
The city recently learned it will receive a $981,222 Montana Transportation Alternative grant for a sidewalk/ bike path from Fourth Avenue West at Glacier Gateway Elementary all the way up Railroad Street.
The city has long sought a sidewalk/path along Railroad Street, which is heavily traveled by pedestrians. The walk along Fourth will serve the new Glacier Gateway school, which is slated for completion in fall of 2022.
The sidewalk would run north from the school and then around the corner to tie in with Railroad Street. The total estimated cost of the project is $1.133 million.
Secondly, the city should expect more than $4.357 million in American Rescue Plan Act grants for its $5.5 million sewer project. Coupled with saved capital cash in the sewer fund of $1.143 million, the city expects to be able to upgrade the treatment plant without having to borrow money.
The latest grant award came recently when the city was notified it was one of 73 projects across the state that were recently approved by the state Infrastructure Advisory Commission. Though the funds are federal, the state set up a commission appointed by Gov. Greg Gianforte to rank and ultimately, approve the funding requests.
The city received a combined $2.857 million. The city has already received $750,000 in a separate ARPA grant and is expecting another $750,000 next May.
The grants help absorb most of the cost of the upgrades to the city’s sewage treatment facility. The facility has to reach a high water quality standard of its final discharge from the plant because it releases its water directly into the Flathead River, which has some of the cleanest water in the nation.
The city is also working with the county on another aspect of city sewage treatment — the leftover solids. The county is working on eventually creating a biosolids facility, which would turn solids from the sewage into mulch for gardens.
Right now, the solids are disposed of at the county landfill and the city has to pay fees to dump the solids.
That plan is still in the development stages.