Wal-Mart plans to reassess Supercenter project in Polson

Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal
The nearly two-year-old sign advising that a WalMart Supercenter is coming soon to Polson may still be valid, but WalMart officials are still pondering whether they'll go ahead with plans after a courts cleared the decision-making process of the Polson City Council, which previously approved the construction.

By Berl Tiskus
Valley Journal
POLSON — Wal-Mart is a step closer to building a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Polson since the Montana Supreme Court upheld the district court ruling that the project did not violate the Polson Growth Policy, zoning or development regulations.
Lake County First, the citizen group that brought the suit against the city of Polson and Wal-Mart, has 15 days to appeal the decision. Greg Hertz from Lake County First said he had no comment at this time.
In a phone interview Josh Phair, Senior Manager for Public Affairs and Government Relations for Wal-Mart, said that Wal-Mart planned to wait for the appeal period and from there “we will begin to reassess the project.”
Phair said a lot has happened since land for the Wal-Mart Supercenter was purchased in 2005.
“If and when we’ll see how the new store in Polson fits into our broader growth plan,” Phair said. “We will probably reassess the whole project top to bottom, to make sure the plan is right for our city, our customers and right for us (Wal-Mart.)”
Phair said he believed that should Wal-Mart decide to move forward with the project it would include full-line grocery, a vision center and also probably a money center, offering basic financial services. A tire and lube express and gas station will probably not be in the plan, Phair said, since Wal-Mart ceased building stores with those components nationally.