As the seniormost member of the Columbia Falls City Council, Michael Shepard says he has seen the city go through ups and downs and he believes it on the cusp of another economic upturn.

“We’re at the point where we’re seeing growth again in Columbia Falls,” said Shepard, who has been on the council for 16 years.

The town no longer has the industrial jobs it once did, but he notes that it has gradually evolved into a bedroom community for the rest of the Flathead Valley. 

“It’s diversified ... There’s a lot of outflow from here headed to Kalispell,” he said, referring to people commuting to work.

“Growth will be hitting us again,” he said. “Literally, we’ve almost run out of building space within the city limits. So we will be looking at areas around the city.”

As a member of the city’s Planning Board, Shepard has been involved with planning issues in the “doughnut” perimeter around the city, and he predicts that areas east of the Flathead River are probably ripe for residential development.

 “It’s been tried twice but the third time could be the charm,” he said.

Shepard said he’s also interested in following through on development of the city-owned River’s Edge Park, which has about 1,000 feet of frontage on the Flathead River.

He would like to see the city build a river access in cooperation with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks because the nearby Teakettle access gets too crowded with floaters and their vehicles.

“That park would be ideal for another launch area,” he said. “I’d like to see that completely done before I’m out of here.”

Shepard said he has been closely involved with modernizing and maintaining the city’s water and sewer infrastructure and he has been highly active with the board responsible for steering the city-county 911 center. 

After attending 175 meetings since 2007, Shepard is stepping down from that responsibility and being replaced by City Manager Susan Nicosia.

Shepard said management problems related to the call center have been the result of representatives from other cities being far less involved than they should be.

“Some of the folks out of Kalispell have made 10 meetings and nothing we have done seems to suit them,” he said.

Shepard takes pride in Columbia Falls being managed in a conservative and effective manner and he believes his experience would serve the city well for another four years.

“I’ve been kicking around and doing this stuff for a long time but I am no politician,” he said. “If you ask what I think, you’ll get a straight answer.”

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at [email protected].