City OK’s contract for fishing pond pier
CHRIS PETERSON | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 day, 19 hours AGO
The fish pond at River's Edge Park.
Chris Peterson is the editor of the Hungry Horse News. He covers Columbia Falls, the Canyon, Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness. All told, about 4 million acres of the best parts of the planet. He can be reached at [email protected] or 406-892-2151. | March 4, 2026 5:50 AM
The fishing pond at River’s Edge Park in Columbia Falls will soon have a wheelchair-accessible pier and other rock piers to make it easier to fish.
The city last month approved a contract with Mountain Trades Contracting for $110,933 to construct the pier, which was about $39,000 less than the original cost estimate.
The city had already secured a $70,000 Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks grant to assist with funding of the pier. Organizations like DREAM adaptive, which works with a variety of folks with disabilities, often use River’s Edge Park. The piers will add another dimension of accessibility.
The pond is stocked a couple of times a year with native westlope cutthroat trout by FWP.
The work on the pier should begin later this year.
In other news, the city extended a contract with MavenOps to do the city’s social media and other public outreach. The contract, in total, is for $1,500 a month until June 30 of this year and then it will be taken under consideration on an annual basis after that.
The contract is split between $750 from the city itself and another $750 per month for Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) Communications through the police department.
The city has recently updated its website and increased its social media presence across its departments on several platforms. MavenOps is owned by Lauren Manley.
• Council extended the preliminary plat for the Garnier Heights subdivision, which is a 100-plus unit subdivision between Meadow Lake Drive and North Hilltop Road designed by developer Mick Ruis about three years ago. It was never developed however. The extension means the subdivision can still move forward without going through the planning process again. It was first approved in June 2021 and the plat was about to expire.
• The city did not formally adopt a resolution that would set parameters for city interaction with Immigrations Custom Enforcement actions that might happen here. City Manager Eric Hanks told council that the police departments existing policies already align, with one exception, with the resolution which was proposed by resident Anne Higgins.
Kathy McBride, another Columbia Falls resident, urged the city to not consider it anyway, as she felt it was in violation of existing state law against sanctuary cities. The city of Helena is currently being investigated for a resolution it passed concerning ICE by state Attorney General Austin Knudsen for possibly being in violation of the state statute.
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