Ainsworth Park upgrades planned

Ainsworth Park in Thompson Falls is getting an upgrade thanks to a donation by a local company.

At Monday's meeting of the city council, held in the junior high gym and attended by more than 30 people, Mayor Rusti Leivestad announced that Montana-Dakota Services, Inc. (MDS) of Thompson Falls is donating more than $100,000 for playground equipment for the park. The playground equipment will include two separate installations, with a large structure on one side of the park and some equipment suitable for younger visitors that will be placed near the bathrooms. The equipment purchase will total just under $100,000, but the company also committed another $10,000 for initial maintenance of the equipment.

"We very much appreciate what they are doing for the city and the families of the city," council member Raoul Ribeiro stated as he made a motion to accept a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the city and MDS. Mary Taylor with MDS said local contractors Rick Sorlie, Chad Pardee, Ben Traver and Curt Kegel have volunteered to help with the installation and site prep work. Council member Shawni Vaught expressed her appreciation to the volunteers.

"We are really excited about this project for the kids," said Mary Taylor with MDS. She noted that for adults, there will also be some exercise equipment stations installed along the existing walking path, and that the playground will have rubber mulch for added safety and less maintenance.

Prior to the start of Monday's meeting, the council held a public hearing regarding House Bill 355 funding, which the city proposed to use for street work. With minimal public comment in the hearing, during the meeting the council voted to use the funding for street improvements in conjunction with phases 3 and 4 of the wastewater project. While the funding agencies will repave and repair portions of streets affected by the wastewater project, the city will use the HB355 funding to pave the remaining portion of those streets.

The council also voted to retain Ribeiro as council president and voted Hayley Allen-Blakney as vice president, and took action to renew MOUs with the Sanders County Dog Training Club and TRACS. The animal shelter has been taking care of strays for the city for more than 10 years, Police Chief Chris Nichols stated.

Mayor Leivestad stated that a city zoning committee meeting will be held Monday, Feb. 12, at 5:15 p.m., ahead of the next regular council meeting. "It will be a listening time for public comment," Leivestad explained, adding that the zoning committee will undergo some training before that meeting.

During the public comment period of the meeting, Gussie O'Connor expressed her concerns about the speed of traffic on Main Street. "It seems like we're experiencing summer traffic now," she said, and told of two instances where there were issues with traffic stopping for pedestrians in front of her barber shop. O'Connor asked that the city consider purchasing radar speed monitors. She and resident Catherine DeWitt submitted a video last year for a grant competition to purchase two monitors, but the video did not win the contest. "Please do everything you can to help make the town safer and slow traffic down," O'Connor pleaded with the council. Residents Jake Susic and DeWitt also spoke in support of O'Connor's request.

Resident Steve Oswald commended the city staff for their transparency and taking the time to show him how the budget worked. Resident Cindy Bronner had questioned items in the budget at the December meeting, and Oswald said he went to city hall to ask questions following that meeting and that his questions were sufficiently answered. Bronner then addressed the council, asking the council about repairs completed to the city pool in 2023. She requested a spreadsheet detailing repairs to the pool. Bronner was unable to finish her presentation in the allotted three minutes of public comment, having to have the microphone taken away as the mayor repeatedly struck a gavel in an effort to get Bronner to end her speech. Bronner then provided her remaining materials to resident Nancy Johnson, who provided additional signatures for a petition regarding the Forest Service's Orchard property north of town. Johnson provided 56 signatures and stated that the group has provided 800 signatures total for the petition.

The next city council meeting will be Monday, February 12 at City Hall.