As the first phase of the city’s Gateway to Glacier Safety and Mobility project comes to fruition this fall, the city council last week had a good-natured debate on whether the resulting boulevards on Seventh Street West and Fourth Avenue West should be rocks or grass.

Councilman John Piper said he liked rocks, as they are low maintenance and while some people take care of the grass, there are others that don’t, which results in weeds.

City councilwoman Marijke Stob, however, said she didn’t like rocks, as they made the walks in the summertime all the hotter. She definitely preferred grass.

Mayor Don Barnhart split it down the middle, saying rocks were low maintenance, yes, but grass looked better. As far as not maintaining the grass, he noted that happens everywhere in the city, though most people are good about it.

City Manager Eric Hanks said the city will likely look for a mix. The city has plans to plant trees in some areas and where people wanted grass in front of their house, they did pipe in irrigation under the sidewalks to make sure the lawn got water.

He also said the city would likely plant other types of ground cover to mitigate the rocks.

Mother Nature often has a say in such matters and over time, grass, and weeds sort of end up growing where they want to, human intentions or not.

The $10-million-plus project, funded primarily by a federal grant, is wrapping up in the next few weeks, as Seventh Street West is now paved.

Crews will be striping the roads and putting up signs in the next few days. While there were initial concerns that the road might be too narrow, now that’s its competed, there’s plenty of room for two busses to pass and there’s plenty of room for pedestrians with a sidewalk on one side of the road and a shared use path on the other.

The second phase of the project starts next spring, when contractor Nelcon Inc. of Columbia Falls will reconstruct 13th Street West from Fourth Avenue to 12th Avenue. The city will have to foot the bill for about $300,000 in engineering costs for the final phase of the project. That cost is not covered by the federal grant.

In other news;

• The council heard from Martha Road resident Ken Jarboe about people doing burnouts on the street for long distances. The city a few years painted a yellow line down the center of the road and fog lines on each side as a “traffic calming” measure.

But the paint has worn away.

Jarboe gave the city and the police a drive full of videos of the dragsters.

• The city recognized sewage treatment plant lead operator Grady Jenkins for 30 years of service. Jenkins was also public works director for five years in his tenure.

They also had a discussion on how to hire a replacement, as he’s expected to retire after his 31st year.

• Hanks talked a bit about a new sidewalk on Railroad Street that has been promised for years. The project should start next year and will be undertaken by the state Department of Transportation. The concern from city councilwoman Kathy Price was what, if any, impact it might have on the Heritage Days parade.