Great Falls' Independent News Source
The city’s golf courses have been operating in the red for years. City officials are moving forward with a new plan to address the two public golf courses that have been a drag on the city’s budget for years. City Manager Greg Doyon has directed Park and Recreation Director Steve Herrig to develop a request for proposals for management of
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City Commissioners split the vote 2-2 on the proposed pool fee increases. Since Owen Robinson was absent and commission policy requires three affirmative votes, the fee increase proposal failed during the Tuesday meeting. No members of the public attended the meeting to speak in opposition or support of the proposal. The prayer group was in attendance as usual, plus one
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Pool fees are back on the City Commission for Feb. 20 after being pulled from the Feb. 6 agenda. Small increases are being proposed for open swim fees at the Natatorium, Water Tower and Jaycee pools and at the Mitchell Pool for children two and under. Those increases are each 50 cents. The proposal would raise the open swim fee at
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The city has six collective bargaining agreements that cover about 75 percent of the city’s workforce. The city has about 589 employees with 11 open positions currently and about another 158 seasonal or short-term positions, according to the city human resources department’s data from last week. Earlier this year, the City Commission approved a two-year labor agreement with the Montana Public
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A sewer main that serves Malmstrom Air Force Base and collects sewage from a large portion of the east end of town has been deteriorating. During their Feb. 6 meeting, City Commissioners will consider a $1.437 million contract to Planned and Engineered Construction to reline a deteriorated portion of the main between 15th Street and 38th Streets North using trenchless technology.
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The city is conducting the first utility study since 2001. The process was just getting started in January and Jim Rearden, public works director, said the team plans to come to the City Commission in April or May with a comprehensive review. A $137,313 contract was awarded to Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc., or AE2S, during a December commission
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Great Falls Fire Rescue is celebrating the promotion of eight lieutenants next week and is in the process of hiring new rookies. The department is also in the process of appointing a new assistant chief since Ron Scott retired at the end of December. GFFR Chief Steve Hester said he expects to announce his selection on Feb. 2. Depending on
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Small increases are being proposed for open swim fees at the Natatorium, Water Tower and Jaycee pools and at the Mitchell Pool for children two and under. Those increases are each 50 cents. The proposed increases would generate an estimated $6,140 toward pool operations, according to the staff report. About $4,311 would be generated at Water Tower and Jaycee pools
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The proposed park district will be on the Jan. 16 City Commission agenda for a first meeting and to set a public hearing for Feb. 6. That meets the deadlines set under state law to put the park district on the May 8 ballot. During a special work session Monday morning, commissioners discussed the mechanics of how the assessment process
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Snow and ice removal crews at Great Falls Public Works operate on a 24 hour schedule during the winter. They’ve been busy the last few weeks. “It usually takes a good 24 hours after a snow event to get to all our priority roads,” said Eric Boyd, city street division foreman. Boyd and the street division were kind enough to
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