07-12-24 City Manager Report1
City of Kalispell
OFFICE OF THE CITY
MANAGER
Information Memorandum
7/12/2024
1. Parks and Recreation
July 10 will mark our 4th Food Truck Wednesday event. We are seeing an increase in the
community enjoying the park throughout the day. The hope is to grow this event next
year to include more food trucks, picnic tables, shade, and live music.
Begg Park recently had a significant irrigation break. Staff are excavating the main to
make necessary repairs and bring the system online.
With the Firecracker baseball tournament over, KYAC staff will begin summer turf
maintenance routines that includes aerating all our baseball,
softball, and the new north fields.
Thanks to a donation from Logan Health, Woodland Park
now has an adaptive swing installed.
Picnic in the Park continues to draw crowds every Tuesday
night. The Kenny James Miller band will play July 16.
Parkside Credit Union will also be onsite with an ice cream
social.
Tennis lessons, in partnership with Logan Health, begin on July 9 for the second session.
Adult Social Tennis takes place every Wednesday until July 24.
3v3 Basketball continues its 3rd week of regular season
games and takes place on Wednesdays at Thompson
Memorial Park.
Runnin Rascals and Fall into Soccer are open for
registration. Runnin Rascals will start August 24. Fall
into Soccer will start August 29.
Summer camps are filling up and new camps are set to begin. Camp Woodland summer
day camp still has limited spots open. Harry Potter Camp and Zombie Survival have a
second session available for registration. Cheerleading Camp registration has opened and
will take place August 5th through August 9th. Our Skateboarding Camp will begin next
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week and will have four sessions.
We will be opening our Afterschool Program registration later this month.
2. Public Works
North Tower Construction
The water tower coating on the ground phase is
complete, which includes painting both logos and the
entire exterior of the steel bowl, minus the tank dome
which will be installed as part of the steel air phase.
The steel air phase crew will arrive at the tank site
late Wednesday (7/10/24) and will prep the site
Thursday and Friday. The plan is to hoist the tank
bowl beginning at 7 am on Saturday morning
(7/13/24). A time lapse camera will be set up to
capture the entire process.
Water Conservation
With the rising temperatures, now is an ideal time to focus on water conservation. Social
Media advertisements and the City Website (Water Conservation | Kalispell, MT)
provide reference material and encouragement to use water wisely through the summer
months. Simple steps can make a big impact. Here are a few tips to help you conserve
water:
• Fix leaks: A small drip can waste gallons
of water.
• Water wisely: Water your lawn in the
early morning or late evening to minimize
evaporation.
• Use drought-resistant plants: These
plants require less water and are perfect for
our climate.
• Drip System: Use a drip system with
plants & gardens.
• Mowing: Raise your mower blade to 3” to
keep the soil cool helping to retain
moisture.
• Use mulch: Mulching around plants
reduces evaporation and keeps soil moist.
• Limit shower time: Shortening your showers by just a few minutes can save a
significant amount of water.
• Turn off the tap: When brushing your teeth or washing dishes, turn off the tap to
save water.
• Use a broom: Clean driveways and sidewalks with a broom instead of a hose.
• Run full loads: Only run dishwashers and washing machines with full loads to
maximize efficiency.
• Install water-saving fixtures: Use low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators to
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reduce water usage.
3. Building Department
In the last 2 weeks we have issued 1 single-family home permit. That brings the total of
new single-family/duplex and townhouse units for the year at 82, compared to 33 at this
time last year. There have been 0 multi-family housing units issued so far this year.
There were a total of 219 combined building and/or fire inspections completed in the last
2 weeks.
Residential – 46 Plumbing – 18
Commercial – 26 Mechanical – 20
Electrical – 14 Fire – 95
4. Planning
The Planning Commission held a work session at their July 9 meeting and discussed the
project below:
1. Files #KA-24-06; KA-24-07; and KPUD-24-02 – A request from Todd Gardner
and Colton Behr, for the Gardner/Anderson Ranch Planned Unit Development
(“PUD”), which includes applications for the annexation of approximately 6.5
acres of land at 2995 Highway 93 South with an initial zoning designation of B-5
(Industrial-Business), annexation of approximately 30.8 acres of land at 330
Demersville Road with an initial zoning designation of R-3 (Residential), and a
PUD overlay on both areas to be annexed along with land zoned B-5/PUD
between United Drive and Lower Valley Road that is currently within the city
limits, totaling approximately 94.4 acres. The area already annexed is subject to a
placeholder PUD without a detailed PUD plan, which limits development without
a full PUD approval. The proposed PUD would expand the PUD area and replace
the placeholder PUD with a full PUD overlay. In general, the plan would allow B-
5 development on 63.7 acres in the area between United Drive and Lower Valley
along the highway and would allow R-3 residential development on the remaining
30.8 acres.
No action was taken on the application, which will be scheduled for public hearing at the
next Planning Commission meeting on August 13.
5. Community Development
The Kalispell City Council will hold a public hearing on the Main Street Safety Action
Plan at their regular meeting on July 15. Information regarding the Main Street Safety
Action Plan can be found at the following link: Safe Streets for All | Kalispell, MT
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6.Police Department
Officers Olsen, Praetzel, and McKinnon graduated from the Montana Law Enforcement
Basic Academy with officer Olsen winning the academy’s fitness award.
KPD completed training for the entire patrol division in basic civil unrest tactics. Officer
Olsen completed phase 1 of Field Training.
KPD’s newest K9 (Reggie), a black and white springer spaniel, continues training with
K9 Handler Vukonich on narcotics detection. Reggie is a “green” dog which means that
he came to us untrained, and the process is a bit slower. This has benefits for the handler
and the K9 as they learn to work together.
KPD received 8 new portable breath analyzer machines from the DUI Task Force at the
City-County Health Department.
Round-up For Safety awarded KPD a grant to purchase 15 shields.
7.Fire Department
From the period of June 26 to July 9, the Fire Department had 162 responses. Of these,
there were 93 medical incidents, 1 house fire, 7 fire alarm activations, 8 motor vehicle
accident with injuries, 2 haz-mat incidents, 2 grass fires, 14 public assists, and 24 nothing
found or canceled en-route.
Personnel are training with new technical rescue equipment, ropes, harnesses, pulleys,
winches, etc. This type of training is essential for quick patient packaging and removal
for injured patients in challenging areas.
Crews attended DNRC Helicopter safety training at the City Airport to prepare for
potential circumstances where we would be working under this type of apparatus. Parks/
Rec day camp kids are touring the downtown Fire Station, meeting crews, and talking
about fire safety.
The department is working on the implementation of new hire processes and upcoming
capital improvements.