City will celebrate pickleball courts

The Columbia Falls City Council last week OK’d Heritage Days as an official city function, a formal process necessary to have the parade and other events.

The city will celebrate its new pickleball courts on Saturday, July 29, at Columbus Park. Organizer Ray Negron said there will be demonstrations, lessons and pro dealers there to talk about equipment beginning at 10 a.m. with a ribbon cutting at 10:30 a.m. The event runs until 11:45 a.m.

Mayor Don Barnhart publicly thanked the Heritage Days committee for the work they do on the annual event, which this year runs from July 26 to July 30.

In other news:

• The city opened its public hearing on the 2023-24 city budget. The street lighting district will see no change at $30,049 while the street maintenance district will rise to $330,000, a 4.4% increase to pay partially for a “floater” position that works in the city’s parks, streets and water divisions. City manager Susan Nicosia noted that the state has also changed the way it doles out gas tax revenue to cities. The annual funding will now come monthly beginning in September, rather than one lump sum.

The city expect about $135,000 in gas tax funding this fiscal year.

• City councilman John Piper brought up concerns about traffic lights on Highway 2 that still don’t have dedicated green left-hand turn signals.

The signals turn yellow at many intersections, but not green. As a result, there have been more than a few fender benders over the years. The problem was cited in the city’s transportation plan in 2021, but nothing has been done about it on the state end.

Nicosia said she would invite MDT district administrator Bob Vosen to an upcoming meeting. The city has also long sought a traffic light at the Truck Route and Highway 2, but to no avail.

• Nicosia and council talked about the railroad crossing at 12th Avenue West. The street has largely been constructed by work ends abruptly at the railroad crossing, because the city is awaiting word from the railroad on how it should be finished.

The railroad previously suggested the city install, at its expense, railroad crossing arms at the intersection, but they are very costly and the city balked at that.

It has since reached out to Montana’s Congressional delegation for help on the matter.

At the very least, it could take 6 to 10 months to get an easement from the railroad for the sidewalks and to finish the street.

• Council earned that longtime police Sgt. Sean Murphy will soon retire. The department will look to hire a replacement from within the ranks.

• In a meeting earlier this month, speaking a resident, Clint Peters brought up concerns about the smell from the Weyerhaeuser MDF plant. It seems to have started in the past 8 months or so, he said.