Streetscape draws ire of property owners

POLSON — Business owners along Polson’s Main Street voiced their concerns about the Streetscape Project during the city council meeting last Monday night. Property owners asked if there was any way that the council could create a committee of business owners to talk about funding to help ease the cost of the special improvement district (SID).

“What we want from the city council is some direction from the council to go about doing this,” Main Street property owner Gayle Siemers said.

Siemers said that some people, including those with residences that don’t bring in money, could lose their Main Street properties due to the added cost of the SID payments.

“Main Street is no different from city government,” he said. “We have no money and you put this on us.”

Mayor Pat DeVries said they weren’t even sure they were going to be able to go ahead with this project because things were so tight.

There was discussion that next year’s tax increment financing (TIF) funds could be used to reduce the length of payments or the amount. City manager Todd Crossett said that doing that would limit funds for future projects. Property owners also posed the possibility of the SID fees being dispersed throughout the community.

“The burden would be so much less if it was all the taxpayers,” Siemers said.

DeVries said the SID has been passed two years ago and she didn’t think the city could get involved by creating a committee. It was agreed by the end of the discussion that a group could be made of business owners that could approach Crossett for advice.

DeVries said that when it was time to approve the SID — a council she was not part of — everyone wanted to do it.

“The SID has been created and that is a done said deal,” she said.

Siemers presented a copy of minutes from a 2008 meeting where 25 property owners wrote letters of opposition to the project and two owners wrote in favor of it. Property owner Becky Dupuis said she believed that when the city passed the SID, it was thought that the city had an obligation to find additional funding to help ease the cost.

DeVries said that they could go through the Polson redevelopment group and that funds given would have to be paid out evenly to everyone.

“We’ve got a problem here,” Siemers said. “At least let us address this. I don’t know what’s going to happen. There’s a lot of discontent on Main Street right now.”

COUNCIL NOTES 

The council accepted the resignation of commissioner Ron Boyce since he no longer lives in the district. A presentation on what is happening with the US 93 Polson Corridor Study was given. Murat Kalinyaprak presented to the council the creation of a code of ethics and the creation of an ethics panel. It was tabled for further discussion.