Resident implores city to fix his wall damaged after curb project

Columbia Falls resident Steve Osborne urged the city of Columbia Falls to fix his retaining wall at his home before he puts a new fence on his First Avenue East property.

Osborne was one of several residents last year who brought up concerns after the city completed a curb and gutter project in the north end of town on streets that were off-shoots or close to Nucleus Avenue.

Osborne claimed that the project altered the way water runs off the streets and during a heavy rain event last year, the wall was damaged. Since then, he said he has heard “crickets” on the matter.

Later in the meeting Mayor Don Barnhart asked City Manager Eric Hanks to look into whether the city had filed a claim with its insurance on repairing the wall. 

Osborne’s property wasn’t the only one impacted by the project. The city paid one homeowner for a new fence after crews tore out lilacs that were a de facto barrier for decades at their home.

While the lilacs were on city right-of-way, they could have simply been dug up and replanted. Instead, the contractor destroyed them.

Despite the problems, city councilmembers noted the streets do look better now that the work is done, though Councilman John Piper suggested the city go with rock in the space between the curbs and sidewalks, as some people don’t bother to cut the new grass.

The curb and gutter project isn’t completed, either. The city will undergo a second phase of the project this summer and council urged Hanks to reach out to people who will be impacted so they know where the right-of-ways are on their property and what impacts the project will have, if any.

The same holds true for a major project the city is working on with the federal Highway Administration to rebuild Fourth Avenue West and 13th Street East.

In that case, the project has a public relations firm and project crews have been meeting with individual homeowners.

Council urged Hanks to make sure communication is significantly better than in the past on both projects.

The city has already held an open house on the 13th-Street- Fourth Avenue project. Construction is slated to begin in October this year.