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5/19/2025
Utility extension funding under consideration
Great Falls City Manager Greg Doyon set the stage during an April city commission work session, where officials discussed funding future needs for the city’s water and sewer systems.
To foster development and growth, the city may need to reconsider how the public pays for infrastructure.
“I would just kind of brace the commission for that future conversation because I think there’s an expectation coming our way from developers that the city would pony up and add a contribution toward a large-scale development,” Doyon said.
Soon after, commissioners delayed a vote on sewer and water utility rate increases to reconsider future funding needs. A new proposal is back on the commission’s agenda with two options: the originally proposed 10% increase and a new option for a 27% increase that will establish a fund to “mitigate upfront costs for expansion of public utility infrastructure that could potentially facilitate increased private development in the city.”
This comes while city commissioners are considering a 27-acre development on the east side of town that aims to add 163 single-family homes geared toward entry-level buyers. The developer, Upslope Development, is in discussions with city administrators about the potential for a special improvement district to fund the extension of critical infrastructure like water and sewer service.
This kind of funding structure would be different from the norm for Great Falls. The city’s extension of services plan says that Great Falls may contribute funds to some parts of new development infrastructure, but that the developer should shoulder most of the costs.
A special improvement district, or SID, is one funding method that would require cooperation between the city and the developer to fund infrastructure. A city could secure bond financing to cover the costs up front, and annual assessments for residents of that district would pay off the debt over time.
“It basically sets up a financing method where rather than the developer having to front the costs or take out loans to front the costs, that cost gets wrapped into an assessment on the property and as they sell those lots,” Lonnie Hill, deputy director at the Great Falls Planning and Community Development department, told Montana Free Press.
A consortium of housing stakeholders included SIDs in a list of tools the city could use to incentivize growth. Hill said the city has a 30-year-old SID policy that hasn’t been used often in the past.
“If it’s a tool that developers are interested in pursuing, then we should try to dust off our SID policy and make it available to them and see how it fits into their portfolio,” Hill said.
Upslope is interested in dusting off the policy. Planning materials submitted to the city said that the company is in early discussions with the city about using a SID to build the water, sewer, sidewalks and other infrastructure needed for the neighborhood.
The proposed neighborhood, Meadowview Village, will have privately maintained roadways within the development with two main entryways from 46th Street. This will help the development achieve “efficient lot design,” according to the proposal. Lot sizes could range from 1,200 square feet up to 5,881 square feet. The proposal calls for dedicated green spaces in lieu of large yards for individual lots.
It could be considered a timely coincidence that the city is reviewing a new development at the same time as proposed water and sewer rates that could help support developments. The two projects are not directly related, at least at this time. The special improvement district discussions and utility rate proposals are separate. Regarding the utility rate proposal, city documents say that it would take up to a year for the proposed fund to accrue as much as $6 million.
Still, it’s all part of a larger conversation about the role a local government can play in housing growth. Hill said that as Great Falls spills out farther beyond the Missouri River valley, developers face real (often expensive) engineering challenges. When building out north of town, for example, water starts to flow farther north rather than south toward the city wastewater treatment facilities. Instead of a gravity-fed wastewater system, there might be new costs to build a pump to move that material southward.
“We are running into major infrastructure deficiencies that need to be addressed,” Hill said.
Special improvement districts aren’t the only mechanisms to extend public infrastructure. In an email to MTFP, city of Missoula engineer Troy Monroe outlined a few different ways the city has funded extensions. In addition to targeted special improvement districts, Missoula has an impact fee structure that is charged to new developments and funds infrastructure improvements. There is also a “latecomer’s fee” for new developments that tap into, for example, water mains that a previous developer paid for. The city has also used federal grant funds to develop roads and utilities on the edge of town where development is anticipated.
In Great Falls, public hearings are forthcoming for the Meadowview Village development and the proposed sewer and water rate increases. Both will take place June 3 during the city commission meeting.
Here are the two proposed increases for sewer and water utility rates:
Option 1: 10% increase for commercial and residential customers
Average residential water rate increase: $2.32
Average residential sewer rate increase: $2.89
Average residential storm drain rate increase: $0.83
Option 2: 27% increase to raise $6 million annually for a public utility infrastructure fund
Average residential water rate increase: $4.89
Average residential sewer rate increase: $7.61
Average residential storm drain rate increase: $5.11
Public notice
The Great Falls City Commission will consider dissolving an ethics committee and distributing community block grant funding during its May 20 meeting.
According to city staff, the citizen-led ethics committee structure created logistical challenges that required the expense of additional legal counsel. Tuesday’s meeting will be the second reading of an ordinance to dissolve the committee and redirect ethics complaints to the Cascade County attorney. Read more in last week’s newsletter.
Commissioners will also consider more than $500,000 in community development block grant (CDBG) funds for three projects. Developers of the Leland Apartment building, an affordable rental complex near downtown Great Falls, requested $20,100 to fund a bug removal project and $64,970 to remove “a severe buildup of trash and debris,” according to city documents.
Lewis and Clark Elementary School has requested $153,777 in CDBG funds to supplement its own fundraising for the installation of ADA-compliant playground equipment. That will include an accessible jungle gym, swings and other features, as well as wood fiber surfacing. The Lewis and Clark PTA Association has been raising money for this project for two years, and the project could be completed this summer.
The YWCA is requesting $329,000 from CDBG toward a bathroom remodel at the main facility and at Mercy Home, an emergency shelter for women and children. Shared bathrooms will get updated fixtures, ventilation, private enclosures and accessibility improvements, according to city documents. This money would come from a pandemic relief fund under the CDBG program.
The agenda for Tuesday’s commission meeting can be found here.
Photo op
The Great Falls Police Department’s honor guard stands for the national anthem to kick off a recognition ceremony as part of Police Week.
The day of the ceremony, May 15, was also designated as Peace Officers Memorial Day through a proclamation read by Mayor Cory Reeves. The ceremony recognized the service of officers and community members who acted courageously.
Calling all photographers: Submit a photo for Great Falls This Week to [email protected].
Comings and goings
The city plans to sell the downtown recreation center building at 801 2nd Ave. N., according to a memo to city officials from Finance Director Melissa Kinzler. A market appraisal on the property is nearly finished, and the property will be sold through a public bidding process. Proceeds from the sale would help pay deficits in the recreation fund and the multi-sports fund, which operates the softball field complex on the south side of town.
The new facility, the Scheels Aim High Big Sky Aquatic and Recreation Center, is running a cash deficit, and revenues aren’t expected to keep up with expenses, according to the city memo. The 2026 budget will likely require some amount of general fund subsidy.
City officials are continuing to review funds that receive infusions from the general fund. Read more about those funds here.
