City promises for Red Bridge project re-examined

Columbia Falls city manager Susan Nicosia advised the city council on May 5 to tighten up its language before committing itself to a new grass-roots effort to rehabilitate the Old Red Bridge.

Columbia Falls businessman and wilderness guide Greg Fortin is spearheading a new effort to get the historic bridge over the Flathead River restored as a pedestrian bridge and tourist attraction.

City councilor Jenny Lovering asked that the bridge project be put on a list of city goals during a goal-setting workshop on April 21. The project made the list despite reluctance expressed by a few councilors.

Nicosia explained that Fortin had asked the city and county to come up with a memorandum of understanding similar to one they signed in May 2009, and she wanted clearer language to address any misunderstandings before a new agreement was approved.

At the time of the MOU, the now-defunct Last Best Place Task Force and a business entity called Old Red Bridge LLC had called for building a boat launch, kayak landing, bed and breakfast, and restaurant near the bridge approaches as a way to help fund the bridge restoration. The groups also wanted the city to annex land at both ends of the bridge to accommodate the projects.

Nicosia emphasized that the city could not simply agree to such proposals for several reasons — the city is barred by state law from annexing just any land it wants, and the proposed projects would need to go through the normal public planning process.

She also noted that the $50,000 figure that the city had “committed” to the bridge project was a very preliminary estimate for the cost of extending the Fourth Avenue West bike path to the bridge, putting in parking and rebuilding the western approach to the bridge. A lot of time has passed since then, she added.

A copy of the 2009 MOU was included in the May 5 city council meeting packet. Parties to the MOU included the city, county, First Best Place, Old Red Bridge LLC and the Montana Department of Transportation. The copy in the packet was signed by then-city manager Bill Shaw and Dave Renfrow for First Best Place.

According to the MOU, the city agreed to “consider” seeking funding opportunities and “consider” annexation of county property east of the bridge. Annexation “would be contingent on the full completion of the project, and subject to council approval.”

In addition, according to the MOU, the city “will consider, subject to the approval of the city council” entering into a long-term lease with Old Red Bridge LLC for land on either side of the bridge.

Mayor Don Barnhart asked Nicosia how much it would cost for the city attorney to draft a new MOU. He asked if it would make more sense for Fortin to draft the MOU and then bring it to the city for review.

Nicosia explained that Fortin wanted something to show the Flathead County commissioners that indicated the city supported the project.

Lovering noted that supporters of the bridge project had seen the matter go back and forth from the city to the county, with each one wanting the other to show support for the project.

Nicosia disagreed, noting that the commissioners had told Fortin they wanted “community support” and “concrete funding support.”

“I see it more as an issue of show me the money,” Nicosia said.

Funding problems long dogged the bridge project. First Best Place initially lined up with $25,000 in donations that went to preliminary engineering work, but the full estimate for engineering was closer to $100,000.

With the total cost for rehabilitating the bridge ranging from $750,000 to $2.5 million, First Best Place got the county to earmark $500,000 in federal Community Transportation Enhancement Program (CTEP) funds for the project.

The CTEP money depended on matching funds, but no more money was forthcoming. According to a September 2011 fundraising plan, First Best Place had raised $51,000 in commitments and no cash. Seeing no progress, the county commissioners voted unanimously to redirect the CTEP funding to other projects.

The city showed stronger support for the bridge project in July 2010. That’s when Shaw told the city council he didn’t see any problems with the city taking ownership of the bridge once the rehabilitation work was completed.

“Once it’s restored, our insurance agents don’t have a problem with that,” he said.

When councilor Mike Shepard asked Shaw how bridge maintenance would be funded in the future, Shaw said it shouldn’t be overwhelming.

“We won’t take it over and then need maintenance the next year,” Shaw replied. “It will be another 15 to 20 years before maintenance becomes an issue.”

Councilor Dave Petersen remarked on the popular support for the bridge project at the May 5 meeting.

“Who wouldn’t want to see the bridge restored?” he asked.

Shepard pointed out that some shoreline neighbors might not.