04-18-25 City Manager Report1
City of Kalispell
OFFICE OF THE CITY
MANAGER
Information Memorandum
4/17/2025
1. Parks and Recreation
Lawrence Park men’s restroom was recently
vandalized. The ceiling sheetrock was damaged along
with the FRP on the walls. It appears that the
mechanical chase was the point of entry to gain access
to the attic of the restrooms. Since these restrooms are
seasonal, they have been locked since last fall. The
portable bathroom unit has been vandalized and
damaged several times over the last few weeks and has
been pulled for the season as well. Staff will begin the
repairs with hopes of opening park restrooms around
Memorial Day. The restrooms at Lawrence Park were
just updated a little over a year ago.
Field staff have begun to charge irrigation systems in
parks where turf preparation has been completed.
Park and Recreation staff recently attended the Montana Trails Recreation and Park
Association Annual conference that was held in Bozeman.
Forestry staff pruned 1,225 small to medium sized trees during the winter pruning season
and have now begun preparation for the upcoming planting season. Trees will arrive this
week and installation will take place in the upcoming weeks.
On April 12, the Depot Park building was utilized to host a free pruning workshop that
was put on by the Montana DNRC in conjunction with the Urban Forestry department.
On April 8, the Urban Forestry Committee held its final meeting before hosting the Arbor
Day celebration at Lawrence Park on April 25. The theme for this year’s event is “Plant a
Cooler Future”.
Water to the Woodland Waterpark facility has been turned on for the season. Staff have
been attending employment events and are planning summer staff training.
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The After School Program consistently provides meaningful connections and engaging
activities for 40-50 students. Wednesdays have the largest group of kids maxing out at
50.
Spring Soccer begins on April 15. There are 34 teams and 43 volunteer coaches. The
program is held for six weeks at the Kalispell Youth Athletic Complex.
Adult Drop-in Pickleball is nearing the end of the 8-week program
at Peterson on April 23. The program has had consistent
participation each week with up to 16 players attending. This was
a pilot program and proved to be successful.
Summer registration opened on April 14 for summer camps and
summer programs. Fall program registration will start on July 1.
2. Building Department
In the last 2 weeks we have issued permits for 5 single-family homes. This brings the
total of new single-family/duplex and townhouse units for the year to 27, compared to 41
at this time last year. There have been 32 multi-family housing units issued so far this
year compared to 0 at this time last year.
There were a total of 187 combined building and/or fire inspections completed in the last
3 weeks.
Residential – 42 Plumbing – 11
Commercial – 34 Mechanical – 9
Electrical – 12 Fire – 79
3. Community Development
The Planning Commission held a public hearing April 8 and received comments on the
agenda item listed below:
1. File #KA-25-02 and KCU-25-02– The Montana Department of Transportation
(“MDT”) has submitted applications for annexation, initial zoning of P-1 (Public),
and a Conditional Use Permit for the construction of a combination facility
located at 2905 Highway 93 North. The facility would include an approximately
28,400 square foot new building combining equipment storage, mechanics, and
welding shops under one roof. MDT would continue to store salt, sand and other
materials for maintenance at the location.
The Planning Commission recommended approval of the project, which will be
forwarded for Council consideration on May 5.
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The Planning Commission also held the sixth work session on the land use plan update.
The update consisted of a summary of the public input to date and a summary of the key
topics identified through the outreach process.
4. Public Works
Water Line Service Inventory
City staff continue to make progress on updating the water service line inventory as
required by the Lead and Copper Rule (LCRi). Currently, there are 10,998 water service
lines throughout the city. The inventory has been
updated to reflect the following:
• 40 confirmed lead service lines
• 54 galvanized lines that require replacement
(GRR)
• 339 service lines with unknown material
City staff will continue to investigate and identify
the material of the unknown service lines. An
updated inventory is submitted annually to the
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
Property owners will also receive annual
notifications if their service line is made of lead,
galvanized iron, or is of unknown material.
Notification content will be tailored based on the
specific service line material.
In addition, the city plans to perform validation
potholing on 208 service lines (subject to change
as unknown lines are identified). Validation
potholing must be completed by 2034.
2025 Street and Alley Restoration Projects
Construction for street and alley restoration has begun for the year. This season’s work
will include complete street reconstructions, asphalt milling and overlay of streets and
alleys, major patching, chip sealing, and crack sealing. Projects and maintenance
activities are prioritized annually based on pavement condition assessments and available
budget. The streets scheduled for reconstruction and milling/overlay this construction
season are listed below:
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5. Fire Department
Between March 26 and April 8, the Kalispell Fire Department had a total of 161 calls for
service. Of those, there were 9 motor vehicle crashes, 1 motor vehicle fire, 130 medical
emergencies, 13 false alarms, 2 gas leaks, and 6 public assists.
7 out of 10 recruits have finished the FTO process and are operating independently.
4 Firefighters completed their Firefighter 2 certification.
The Fire training Captain is attending a training conference event in Indiana, focused on
the best safety practices in the fire and rescue industry.
6. Police Department
The police department has hired the levy-supported Crime Analyst position.
Assignment
2025 Season
Street Name From Location To Location Linear Feet
Contractor M & City O 7th St W 1st Ave W 2nd Ave W 365
Contractor M & City O Summit Ridge Dr Hwy 93 N Northland Drive 2,655
City M&O 6th St E 1st Ave E 4th Ave E 1,100
Contractor Reconstruct 3rd St E 1st Ave E 3rd Ave E 730
Contractor M & City O Glenwood Drive Hwy 2 to Two Mile Drive 1,420
City M&O 7th Ave EN E Idaho St South End 630
Contractor Reconstruct 3rd Ave E Center 4th St E 1,755
Contractor M & City O W Montana St Main St 1st Ave W 365
Contractor M & City O 6th St W 10th Ave W S Meridian 1,025
City Reconstruct 3rd St E 3rd Ave E 4th Ave E 310
City Reconstruct 3rd St E 4th Ave E Woodland Ave 944
Contractor M & City O 5th Ave W 11th St W Sunnyside Dr 1,650
City M&O W Oregon St 1st Ave. West North Hwy 93 N 360
Contractor M & City O 8th St W 5th Ave W 8th Ave W 1060
City Reconstruct W Wyoming St 4th Ave WN 7th Ave WN 778
All projects are subject to change based on weather, workload, and any unforeseeable incidents
that may occur in the construction season.
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The year-to-date Calls for Service for the past three years are as follows:
2025: 8,412
2024: 8,279
2023: 9,574
The year-to-date felony cases for the detective division for the past three years are as
follows:
2025: 159
2024: 145
2023: 152