City, county agree to extend services to business park
By DANA GREEN Staff Reporter
Long-awaited plans for a business park and technology enterprise center in Ravalli County are back on the front burner, after a meeting this week between the Ravalli County Economic Development Authority and city and county officials.
Hamilton city officials and county commissioners tentatively agreed Tuesday to a partnership that will eventually bring city water and sewer services to a 490-acre area north of the fairgrounds on Old Corvallis Road.
The two partners were brought together by RCEDA, which has an opportunity to create the business park and technology center on donated land in the area.
The Council on Aging has offered four acres to RCEDA from their parcel on Old Corvallis Road, where the nonprofit organization recently broke ground for a bus transportation hub and new offices, for the development authority's proposed business park.
In exchange, the Council requested that RCEDA facilitate extending city water and sewer to the area.
The project involves installing a sewer lift station and lines, at an approximate cost of $390,652, according to a cost estimate by Professional Consultants, Inc. in Missoula, who also designed the sewer expansion to Corixa in 2003.
On behalf of RCEDA, the county plans to apply to the state revolving loan fund for the initial costs of the installation, but RCEDA will be responsible for repayment, according to Betty Davis, RCEDA Director.
RCEDA plans to repay the loan when future businesses in the serviced area hook up to sewer and water, as part of the city of Hamilton's rebate program, Davis said.
The city rebate program offers developers the opportunity to obtain sewer and water and recoup the costs from businesses who hook up when the project is completed.
"There will be businesses who will want to connect to this," Davis said.
Bob Scott of the Hamilton City Council said that the county commissioners would need to agree to a land use study before the city would consider extending services to the area.
Mixed use, density and open space issues all need to be considered carefully, according to Scott. "It's impossible for the city to plan without knowing what will be connected to it," he said. "We would like a professional planning effort put into this."
The county commissioners agreed to the importance of a land use study for the corridor. "We don't want a hog farm next to the business park," Commission Chairwoman Betty Lund said.
With "proper development," the project could benefit both the city, in sewer connection fees and taxes, and the county, with a new economic development center focused on business incubation and support services, according to Scott.
"If we can succeed in getting this going, it's going to be a good thing for the community," Scott said.
Lorin Lowry, Director of Public Works and Community Development in Hamilton, agreed that a land use study would ensure that the lift station would be adequate to support the potential growth along the stretch of Old Corvallis Road.
"The possibility to divide down to a city lot is there," he said. "This is a significant project."
RCEDA is in the process of locating funding for phase two of the business park: the construction of the 15,000-square-foot facility, Davis said.
Initial plans for the center include RCEDA offices, tenant space, and wet and dry labs.
The proposed project continues the expansion of city water and sewer services east of Hamilton begun by the Corixa expansion, when city and county officials secured over $2 million to fund the expansion to the Seattle-based pharmaceutical firm.
The county and city attorneys are currently drafting an interlocal agreement between the two entities guaranteeing the completion of a land use study for the area.
If the agreement passes muster with the city and county, and the project design passes review by city and state officials, construction on the sewer expansion could start in the fall, Lowry said.
Reporter Dana Green can be reached at 363-3300 or at dgreen@ravallirepublic.com
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