Commissioners okay Flathead Blues Festival
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POLSON — Approval of 2015 summer events occupied Polson City Commissioners during a large portion of their March 6 meeting.
Darina Huntley and David Venters asked commissioners to approve the use of Salish Point Park for the 5th annual Flathead Blues Festival for Aug. 14 and 15, to waive the noise level and open container ordinances and to close the Salish, Kootenai and Pend O’Reille Loop during the festival. The event donates 5 percent of its profits to the city for Salish Point renovation and an additional 5 percent for a band instrument fund for Polson schools.
In conjunction with Flathead Blues, Heather Holmes of the Sandpiper Art Gallery sought the go ahead from commissioners for use of Sacajawea Park for the Flathead Festival of the Arts on Aug. 15 and 16.
Holmes said the gallery will work with Lake County Reserve Deputies, two of which will be on duty during the art festival, all night and during the pack-up and clean-up of the site on Aug. 16.
Commissioners unanimously approved both motions.
During city manager comment, Shrives said the downtown water-looping project is underway. Workers have found a few surprises, including water lines that were not on maps, he said. Boring under U.S. Highway 93 is scheduled for April 13.
Water in sewage lagoon one, where Polson’s new wastewater treatment facility plant will be built, is being pumped down. Shrives asked commissioners to attend a short field trip to the area on April 18.
Polson Park Superintendent Karen Sargent reported on the rebuild at the Riverside Park bathroom, where a cracked pipe from a couple of winters ago caused water damage and a pump needed to be replaced. Besides the damage, the facility could not equipped for as many visitors as it received, according to Sargent.
The newly remodeled women’s bathroom will have one handicapped stall and three regular stalls, and the men’s bathroom will feature two urinals, one stall and one handicapped stall.
In other business:
• Shrives had a list of meeting dates for the commission’s approval. He said if everything works, commissioners might tentatively be able to adopt the city’s budget on Aug. 3. Preceding that, Shrives suggested a June 15 meeting for commissioners and city department heads to discuss the budget. The final budget meeting will be on July 20 at 6 p.m. with a budget presentation and a public hearing regarding the preliminary budget.
• Shrives noted he had forwarded copies of the Polson Fire Department Agency Review for possible discussion at the next commission meeting.
• Commissioners adopted the safe and accessible streets policy. Sargent presented the agenda item and said the policy contains practical ideas to make Polson “a more walkable, more active community that’s safe.”
• Commissioners voted to donate two Polson Bay Golf Course season tickets as raffle prizes to the Polson Rotary Club for their Festival of Youth.
The next meeting will be held a 7 p.m. April 20 at Polson City Hall.
