The Polson City Commission authorized city staff to explore a potential land transfer or purchase with Cougar Ridge Development that could provide property to build a second fire station.

Fire Chief Clint Cottle reminded the commission that the city was outgrowing its current station, located next to City Hall.

“Our current fire station was never built or intended for a fire station, and it really wasn't built for the size of the apparatus that we house in there,” he said.

The commission gave city staff the go-ahead to look at exchanging city-owned property, located east of the wastewater treatment plant on Kerr Dam Road, for a parcel across from the Mission Valley Aquatic Center in the Ridegewater Development, owned by developer Mike Maddy.

The property on Kerr Dam Road was originally leased to TAMSCO manufacturing in 1994. The company built a manufacturing plant, and the subsequent owner, B&I Holdings, signed a 25-year lease with the city in 2003.

Cougar Ridge is a majority owner in B&I Holdings and currently pays the city around $18,000 annually for use of the building, which is primarily leased to the State of Montana for the adult probation and parole office.

Cottle listed several reasons the Cougar Ridge property could be beneficial, noting that the volume of calls received by the department is higher on the east side of town, a station in Ridgewater would offer access to both Hwy. 93 and 35, and the development has an adequate water supply and good communications infrastructure. It would also place fire services closer to areas of growth, which can be a plus for insurance ratings.

The Memorandum of Understanding begins March 1, and dissolves a year later. Each party must fund its own research, appraisal, survey and title fees as they explore the value and cost of each piece of property, and benefits of a swap or sale.

City manager Ed Meece informed commissioners that the city is in the midst of interviewing four engineering firms. Its current firm, HDR Engineering, was hired in 2020 and “has excelled in many ways” Meece said. However, the city has had issues “moving projects from design to construction” as well as cost overruns and communication issues. He said the finalist would be invited to a commission meeting for an interview.

Sue Arneson, president of the Sandpiper Art and Gift Gallery, asked the commission to extend a Tax Increment Finance district grant, which the Main Street gallery used to pay for a new awning. Arneson said the awning they installed doesn’t meet city building codes – as stipulated by the TIF program – because it’s not fireproof.

“We've got the awning up, the painting is done, it's all been installed, we've paid all the bills, and now we've come to find out that we need to have fire resistant fabric,” Arneson said. “And we're just between a rock and a hard place.”

The project was supposed to have been finished Jan. 22.

Meece clarified that in order to replace the awning, the gallery should have secured a building permit, which in turn would have spelled out the requirement for fire resistance fabric or treatment on the fabric in accordance with state and local fire codes. The gallery didn’t realize they needed a permit for the awning.

The commission voted unanimously to extend the contract for six months so that the weather will be warm enough to spray the fabric with fire retardant, provided that turns out to be a feasible solution.

Commissioners also voted unanimously to annex a short portion of Irvine Flats Road where it’s adjacent to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes casino project, which was annexed in 2023. Meece said the annexation was at the behest of Lake County, which is responsible for the remainder of Irvine Flats Road, and is also in keeping with state laws stipulating that when a municipality annexes property, it must also bring adjoining or abutting right of ways, streets and alleys into the city’s street system.

A second annexation of 11th Street East, between 7th and 11th avenues, was also approved in the wake of the completion of a joint infrastructure project with Lake County.

The commission’s next regular meeting is Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.