Planning board greenlights casino, talks parking problems

The Columbia Falls City-County Planning board Tuesday unanimously approved a conditional use permit for up to 20 gaming machines at a new bar and casino on Nucleus Avenue.

J & L Golf, Levi LaPrath and Jarred Griffis are planning to open a sports bar at the former New Attitude Hair Salon location.

The property is zoned CB-4 (Central Business) and the zoning ordinance requires a conditional use permit for new casinos, while bars and restaurants are already permitted uses under the zoning.

The bar is only beer and wine, they do not have a full liquor license. The new establishment will be called Wolf Creek Casino.

LaPrath told the Hungry Horse News they plan on starting work in April and hope to be open by June.

Despite a raft of protest on the Hungry Horse News Facebook page by readers, no one from the public spoke out against the permit.

The planning board spent more time talking about downtown parking than the casino permit, though planning board member Mike Shepard recalled a situation years ago when the planning board approved a similar casino permit, only to have the city council vote it down.

The applicant then sued the city and won, he said.

Gaming machines and alcohol licenses go hand-in-hand typically. They’re seen as a way to recoup the cost of the license.

The planning board had a broader discussion about parking.

Board member Patti Singer, who has a real estate business on Nucleus Avenue, said parking is an issue, particularly in winter when roads are icy.

City manager Susan Nicosia said the city is looking to put more curbs and gutters in side streets, which should open up more parking eventually. But the last round of bids was prohibitively expensive, with a quarter of a block running more than $50,000.

So the city will call for bids again.

Shepard said having a parking problem was “a good problem to have. It proves there’s a demand for downtown.”

He said there’s plenty of parking on side streets.

But Singer countered that if people can’t find parking, they’ll simply go somewhere else.

About a year ago, the city held a workshop with the public and business owners on parking. After that, they urged the city to put in timed parking on Nucleus Avenue — so that a rig couldn’t sit there all day.

But with few police to enforce it, the city never put the signs in.

Since then developer Mick Ruis has finished one large building in downtown and is wrapping up another.

The parking problem will likely get even worse as more businesses open up.