City Manager Ed Meece informed the Polson City Commission that the Department of Commerce has denied the city’s request that it be designated a resort community. He received a letter from Commerce Deputy Director Mandy Rambo just prior to last Monday’s commission meeting notifying him of the decision.

That designation would have allowed the community to seek voter approval for a resort tax – a referendum that’s been rejected twice, with more than 80% voting against the measure in 2009, and around 64% voting it down in 2021. 

To qualify to place the tax on the ballot, a community must have fewer than 5,500 residents (Polson tallied 5,100 in the last census) and be able to prove to the Department of Commerce that “a major portion of the community's or area’s economic well-being must be derived from businesses providing goods and services to non-business travelers.”

Apparently, it’s the latter criteria that didn’t pass muster with the department, based on confidential employment data that Commerce retrieved from the Department of Labor. The letter was accompanied by what Meece described as “a pretty substantive report and detailed economic analysis” that he planned to share with commissioners. The decision, he said, may not be appealed. 

Local option taxes, such as though approved by voters in Columbia Falls, St. Regis and Red Lodge, help pay for infrastructure the tourists use but don't help finance. 

IN OTHER BUSINESS, the commissioners were briefed on a potential land swap between Cougar Ridge developer Mike Maddy and the city. In January, the commission had authorized city staff to explore the exchange of five acres of city-owned property on Kerr Dam Road for four lots at Cougar Ridge, which would eventually house a second fire station.

Maddy’s firm, B&I Holdings, owns the building located on five acres owned by the city and holds a 25-year lease to the property, signed in 2003.

An independent appraiser valued the city’s property at $380,000 and the Cougar Ridge lots at $588,000.

Meece told the commission that by upping the city’s acreage in the trade to 7.7 acres, Polson could avoid paying an additional $208,000 for the Cougar Ridge parcel, and Maddy would “gain ownership and ability to fully develop” the acreage on Kerr Dam Road, which is zoned for commercial/industrial development.

Commissioner Lisa Rehard expressed the concern that the building is “worth more to him when he owns land under it than it is when we own land under it. I want to make sure the appraisal reflected that,” she said.

She voted against the resolution of intent, and the rest of the commission gave Meece and the city attorney permission to continue negotiating the land exchange.

According to Fire Chief Clint Cottle, the Cougar Ridge location would be beneficial in many ways, including existing roads and infrastructure, the ability to design drive-through bays for fire trucks, and access to the Hwy. 93 and Hwy. 35 corridors. He noted that an as-yet unbuilt connector to Hillcrest would also provide quick access to the center of town.