The city pool will soon need a new liner and they’re not inexpensive. A new one could cost $300,000-$500,000 for the aging city pool.

That’s just one of the many capital projects on the city’s radar as it begins its 2027 budget process. During a workshop last week, city manager Eric Hanks and the council went over the budget and projects for 2027 and beyond for more than two hours.

The liner in the city pool is more than 25 years old and has actually held up longer than expected.

On Monday, the city council gave the project a green light, which will happen this year.

The city also installed a new pool boiler this year and it’s working well, Hanks noted.

Other budget highlights and future capital improvements include:

• $500,000 to improve drainage at Meadow Lake Boulevard and Woodlawn cemetery. The city is also considering a roundabout at Fourth Avenue West and Talbott.

• Improvements at Pinewood Park including a fitness court, basketball court, bathroom,  and playground improvements. The total cost is more than $500,000, though some of the expenses would be covered by grants  and donations.  Some of the work could happen in 2027, with other work budgeted for 2028.

• The city will also look to finish the River’s Edge Park fishing pier later this year, which cost about $140,000, half of which was covered by a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks grant. The hope was to have the structure in this spring, but the water table was too high to set the piers.

• Another parks project is to work with Glacier Bank on improving the falls at the bank to make the area more attractive for public use.

The city can use Tax Increment Financing to fund the projects.

• From a roads perspective, the city will look at address drainage problems at Talbott and Fourth Avenue West as well as at Meadow Lake Boulevard and Woodlawn Cemetery.

In addition, the hope is to put in green arrow turn signals at Meadow Lake Boulevard, Fourth Avenue West, and Sixth Avenue West, and a light at the Truck Route in 2028.

For its water system, the city is looking at upgrades to the Clare well and an emergency generator there as well. All told, about $500,000 in work.

On the sewer system side, the hope is a federal grant comes through for about $2.5 million for upgrades to the treatment plant, most notably its UV light system, which treats the water going into the Flathead River and for a better dewatering system of its sludge, as the heavier the sludge is, the more it costs to dispose of. That upgrade is hoped for in 2028.

In sewer related news, the Hanks noted that developer Mick Ruis will have to install a lift station for the new Teakettle Heights subdivision that will not only serve the subdivision, but future potential commercial growth there as well as any future hookups by Aluminum City residents.