Veteran Columbia Falls City Councilman Doug Karper said he initially thought this would be his last term. But then he reconsidered.

“I still have a passion for what’s going on in Columbia Falls,” he said.

Karper, 63, has decades of experience on the council and longtime ties to the city.

He’s been the head of maintenance and custodial services for School District 6 for 26 years now. He grew up in Pennnsylvania, but first came to Montana as an Air Force veteran at Malmstrom Air Force Base near Great Falls. He met his wife, Colleen, while stationed there 43 years ago. The couple has two grown children, Beth and Michael.

Karper said some of the accomplishments council has made over the years fall under the public’s radar but impact them everyday. The city has upgraded its water and sewer systems and still has held the line on costs — there hasn’t been a sewer and water rate increase in years.

“Those are the things people don’t see,” he said.

He’s excited about the growth that’s coming to the town.

“There’s a sense of vitality and optimism in Columbia Falls that’s been a longtime coming,” he said.

He noted the council is working on an urban renewal plan for downtown and an economic development plan for the industrial park at the north end of the city. He said there’s things the city can do to make a positive environment for small businesses.

“I know how hard it is to make a small business work,” he said. When he first moved here, he owned the former Park Mercantile on Nucleus, but couldn’t make a go of it.

“We can do things to help small businesses,” he said.

By the same token, he said council has done a good job over the years of holding the line on budgets and taxes.

“I think as a council we’re very conservative fiscally,” he said. “We try to keep taxes and costs down.”

He also cautioned that while the new growth is welcome, the city needs to take care of what it has currently, like its parks and other amenities. They make it an attractive community to live in.

“We can’t forget we still have old stuff to take care of,” he noted.

He also credited the volume of work Susan Nicosia has done as city manager over the years.

“She makes it easier to be a city council member,” he said.