The Kalispell City Council approved a resolution Monday night that designates certain City Airport projects as ones to be paid with tax increment fund dollars. But the council voted 6-3 to table a resolution to sell $2 million in bonds to pay for the projects.

Several members of the public who protested the project Monday night (and at past meetings) said the city could find a better use for the land than an airport. They said an airport serves a small number of people whereas something such as an arts center would benefit more people.

Opponents also have voiced concern that the airport is too close to residential areas.

However the council thinks the airport is in the right place and needs to be improved, Mayor Pam Kennedy said.

"I think that's the unanimous feeling from the council … it's just the method of getting it done" that still needs to be decided, she said.

The Federal Aviation Administration two years ago approved the plan that includes building a new ramp and taxiway, constructing a new access road and security fencing. The FAA will pay for 95 percent of the project's land acquisition and capital costs.

The $2 million in bond sales would pay for the city's expenditures before the FAA reimbursements come in, Kennedy said.

But council member Bob Herron said there are better ways to cover that temporary hole than with tax increment fund dollars.

"There's a lot of funding vehicles that aren't being looked at," Herron said.

Herron suggested the people who use the airport come up with the money rather than having the city sell bonds.

"The users need to step up and think outside the box and think of some ways to pay for it," he said.

Other council members questioned the bond sale, too, so the council agreed to meet in special session on March 28 to discuss the matter further.

The bond sale resolution comes back to the council for a vote at the regular meeting on April 4.

Reporter Camden Easterling can be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at [email protected]