The Columbia Falls City Council earlier this week approved a contract with a local firm for the Gateway to Glacier Safety and Mobility Improvement Project. Nelcon Inc. of Columbia Falls was awarded a $9.4 million bid for the project, which was about $700,000 more than the engineer’s estimate and exceeds the $10 million federal RAISE grant, which pays for the bulk of the project, by $552,099. Some of the federal funds were previously used to pay for engineering and other preliminary work.

The city, in turn, will pay the gap in funding and extend the project out to Sept. 30, 2027. 

City manager Eric Hanks told council the city has funds in its tax increment finance district account to bridge the gap. He also recommended the city add $395,560 for unforeseen costs during the project. 

All told, the city will finance $947,658 additionally toward the project. 

A significant part of the project is within the city’s urban renewal district, which makes it eligible for the TIF monies. 

The TIF district has plenty of reserves, about $4,412,438, Hanks noted in a report to council.

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is a technique that allows a local government or redevelopment authority to generate revenues for a group of blighted properties targeted for improvement, known as a TIF district. As improvements are made within the district, and as property values increase, the incremental increases in property tax revenue are earmarked for a fund that is used for improvements within the district

The city set up a TIF district along Nucleus Avenue years before it was improved.

Expenditures of TIF-generated revenues are subject to certain restrictions and must be spent within the district.

The project consists of reconstructing 1.3 miles of roadway, installing 1.7 miles of sidewalks, and adding 1 mile of multi-use pathways along Fourth Avenue West, 13th Street West and Seventh Street West. Multiple intersections will be improved, as well as parking improvements and Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility in the downtown area.  

The project also includes installing a new water mains under the roadways to improve efficiency and reduce water loss. 

Construction should start this spring. The contractor has agreed to not do any work in front of Glacier Gateway Elementary and the High School while school is in session. 

The city will hold an open house on the project Feb. 18 at council chambers from 5 to 7 p.m. for people and residents along the route interested in the project.