NEWS

Commission considers swapping Clara Park land with NorthWestern

Jenn Rowell
jrowell@greatfallstribune.com

The City Commission will conduct a public hearing Tuesday to consider swapping a piece of Clara Park with NorthWestern Energy for a new substation.

The park is located at 4110 Ella Drive.

The utility company needs to build a new substation while keeping the current one operational to increase capacity because of growth on the east end of Great Falls.

City Planning Director Craig Raymond said the proposed plan would let NorthWestern build on the southern corner, then dismantle the existing substation and clean up the site to give that property back to the city to be incorporated into the park.

If the parcel NorthWestern returns to the city is smaller than the parcel they plan to build on, then the company will give the city cash for the difference.

The company will also pay to relocate city utilities, Raymond said.

"It's a pretty significant investment on their end to make it happen," he said.

The Park and Recreation Advisory Board and Neighborhood Council 4 have already approved the swap.