City commissioners on Monday will again tackle the issues surrounding the proposed redevelopment of the Caird Engineering property on the east side of Malfunction Junction, a discussion that stalled in a stalemate two weeks ago.

City Manager Ron Alles and staffers have proposed a revised summary for the Rocky Mountain Development Council's application for a $2.07 million federally funded housing-stabilization grant to position RMDC's proposed senior-housing project as the beginning of a potential transition for the historic railroad corridor into a commercial and educational center.

Also late last week, the Montana Department of Commerce - which is charged with divvying up the state's allocation of $19.6 million in grant funding - said the notion of possibly using the money to clear the Caird site before trading the land and building housing elsewhere likely wouldn't be feasible. And the state has now named awards for more than half its total allocation.

Commissioners will again take up the proposal Monday at 6 p.m. in the third-floor chambers of the City-County Building.

In a draft of the new summary, Alles said the property next to the busy intersection of Montana, Helena and Lyndale avenues could include low-income senior housing, commercial development and the potential expansion of area educational facilities. The University of Montana-Helena and Helena Public Schools, both nearby, are significant landowners and could be interested in expansions at or near the site, he said.

"The city of Helena intends to work towards the creation of the Caird Area Redevelopment Project, a mixed-use project of housing and commercial, with an emphasis on educational or educational support activities," Alles wrote.

"Because this idea has only evolved in response to strong community interest in this … application, the details are not finalized and indeed cannot be without further consultation with the neighborhood, area property owners and the College of Technology and the Helena School District," he added. "Financing options … likewise would need to be heard in a public process."

In an administrative meeting last week, Commissioners Paul Cartwright and Alan Peura, who earlier advocated a possible land swap with UM-Helena, said they liked Alles' ideas.

"This lays out a vision, commits us to a direction, but allows this application to move forward," Cart-wright said.

Mayor Jim Smith, who voted against the tabling motion two weeks ago and has supported RMDC's application, said he was unsure whether Alles was following the entire commission's direction or that of two members - though he said he appreciated the initiative.

Peura disagreed and noted the city's attorney had advised the commissioners to work with Alles and staff to explore potential points of consensus.

RMDC Development Director Jeff Miller said Friday the organization is open-minded about the possibilities raised by the city but still must work through the details to see what is feasible. The agency has labored publicly now for nearly a year to seek funding for the Caird project.

RMDC first proposed developing 58 units of low-income multifamily housing at the site, but then-unanswered questions about the 2.4-acre property's environmental contamination, high per-unit costs and concerns from neighbors prompted the state Board of Housing to decline the agency's application.

The organization reworked the proposal to bring down per-unit costs, learned the cleanup price would be on the low end - at about $130,000 - and secured the interest of Clint Erb, owner of Better Body Fitness of Montana Inc., before returning to commissioners.

A four-member commission tied a vote and then tabled the issue two weeks ago, with Cartwright and Peura declining to get behind the housing proposal when other possibilities may arise. Smith and Com-missioner Matt Elsaesser supported the plan, both believing opportunity now knocks for the industrial site, which has long sat mostly vacant and on the market.

Reporter Larry Kline: 447-4075 or larry.kline@helenair.com.

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