08-01-25 City Manager Report1
City of Kalispell
OFFICE OF THE CITY
MANAGER
Information Memorandum
8/1/2025
1. Parks and Recreation
On July 8, Michael Terrell - Landscape Architecture,
hosted an open house at Depot Park to gather public
input for the Kalispell Parks and Recreation Master
Plan update. Approximately 40 community members
attended, offering feedback on current programs,
operations, and their vision for the future of parks and
recreation in Kalispell. In addition to the open house,
the consultants held meetings with 30 stakeholders who
provided insights and perspectives from across the
community.
On July 9, the consulting team also participated in both the noon and evening Picnic in
the Park events at Depot Park, engaging with numerous citizens in an informal setting to
gather further public input. The next open house is scheduled for August 19.
To ensure broad community input, a 25-question survey was developed and remains open
through August 31. To date, 415 residents have responded. The survey is available at:
www.kalispell.com/masterplan.
Throughout the summer, staff have continued regular
maintenance of parks, gardens, sports fields, and trails.
Recent efforts include the removal of multiple unauthorized
camps in the north section of Lawrence Park
.
Ongoing vegetation management includes addressing
invasive weeds such as thistle in playgrounds, burdock along
the trail at Woodland Park, and poison hemlock on the
hillside at Heritage Park. Additionally, several dogwood
shrubs in poor condition were removed from Woodland
Park.
At KYAC, staff collaborated with Traffic Signs and Signals
CITY OF
KALISPELL
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to install 20 ADA parking signs in the older section of the complex, along with 8
additional signs along the northern fence line. A new backstop net was also installed at
Lee Field in the Majors pod.
Forestry staff completed pruning trees along 10th Avenue West and are currently pruning
on the 500 block of 9th Avenue West.
The last session of swimming lessons started on July 29. The last day the pool is open to
the public is August 17.
Picnic in the Park concerts started on July 9 and occur each Wednesday at noon and 6pm.
Staff have received positive feedback regarding changes that have been made to this
year’s concert series – hosting two concerts on the same day vs. different days.
Upcoming musicians include Rooted Heart, Matthew Morris, North Valley Music
School, Brent Jameson Duo, Wylie Gustafson and Wildwind.
Montana Shakespeare in the Park will visit Kalispell on Thursday, August 14, at 6pm at
Woodland Park. This year’s performance is “As
You Like It,” with a pre-performance with the
Bozeman Symphony.
Camp Woodland has been a summer highlight for
local youth since mid-June, featuring arts and
crafts, active games, field trips, concerts, and
friendship-building experiences.
Several specialty
camps have also been
offered through KPR,
ranging from Harry Potter Camp, STEAM Camp, and
partner program camps with the Glacier Art Museum,
Montana Kayak Academy, and the ever-popular
Skateboarding Camp.
Youth Tennis lessons had 30 players participating. This
program is offered in partnership with Logan Health Medical
Fitness Center. Adult Drop-in Tennis is hosted each
Wednesday evening through August 13 at the Flathead
Community College outdoor tennis courts. An average of 13
adults drop in to play each week.
The 3v3 Basketball program concluded on July 29 with a
single-elimination tournament featuring all 17 teams. The
season has been a great opportunity for participants to
improve their skills and enjoy friendly competition.
UK International Soccer Camp, a partner-led summer soccer
camp, welcomed 31 kids this year. Varying with each group,
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the curriculum can include International Day, small-sided games, and a World Cup
competition.
Runnin' Rascals Flag Football begins on August 23, with registration closing on August
3. The program is nearly full for the 1st–2nd grade boys division, though space remains
for the 4–5 age group and Kindergarten teams.
Fall soccer registration is filling quickly as well with registration closing on August 10.
2. Public Works
Water Production
As we settle into full summer mode, water production has reached near-record levels. In
June alone, our facilities produced over 216 million gallons—representing a 28%
increase over the 10-year average for the month.
With all available sources online (excluding the new North Tower Well), the water
system is operating in good shape. So far in July, our peak day was July 7, with a
production of 10.2 million gallons. The average daily production for July has been
approximately 8.2 million gallons.
Buffalo Hill Well Replacement
On June 12, City staff completed and placed back into service Buffalo Hill Well. The
well replacement project included removal and replacement of the pump, 262’ of 10”
column pipe, drive shaft, bushings, discharge head and motor. At final completion, costs
for the project totaled $193,950.74. Original estimated project costs were $250,000.
Since replacement, Buffalo Hill Well has continued to be the City’s largest water
production facility at ~2,100gpm.
300
275
250
225
200
175
150
125
100
75
50
City of Kalispell
Total Wat,er Producti on ,(Million Gallons)
May June
■ 2022 ■ 2023 ■ 2024 ■ 2025
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3. Planning Department
The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing August 12 and take comments on
the items below:
1. File # KPUD-25-03 – Montarise Developments, LLC, has submitted applications
for Silverbrook Village, an amendment to the Silverbrook Planned Unit
Development (“PUD”). The property, which contains 11.7 acres, is currently
zoned B-1 (Neighborhood Business) with the PUD overlay. This proposal would
maintain the underlying zoning designation. The proposal calls for 198
residential units intended to be developed as condominiums with a variety of
housing types ranging from two-unit buildings to larger multi-unit buildings. The
proposal also has 20,400 square feet of neighborhood business uses that are
included within mixed-use buildings. The property is located at 441 and 465
Diamond Peak Drive.
2. File #KA-25-07 - A request by the Kalispell Development Services Department
and Bibler Resources Company to annex property located between South
Meridian Road and the Highway 93 Bypass, and between Appleway Drive and
Foys Lake Road, commonly known as the “WYE Track,” along with adjacent
property, with an initial zoning designation of P-1 (Public). The property is
intended to be developed as a park. The annexation would place approximately
25.7 acres of land in the city.
3. File # KZC-25-01 - A request by Bibler Resources Company for a zoning map
amendment to rezone 10.55 acres of land located at 301 Fenn Way from city B-1
(Neighborhood Business) to city P-1 (Public). The property is intended to be
developed as a park.
The Planning Commission will also hold a work session on the following item:
1. Staff will present elements of the preliminary draft land use plan and an update on
public outreach and public comments submitted to date. Future work sessions
will be noticed and a formal hearing will be held before the Commission forwards
a recommendation to the City Council for its action.
Documents pertaining to the agenda items are on file for public inspection at the Kalispell
Development Services Department, 201 First Avenue East, Kalispell, MT 59901, and are
available for public review during regular office hours. In addition, information on the
agenda item is posted on our website at Planning Commission | Kalispell, MT
(civicplus.com) under Planning Commission “upcoming agenda.”
4. Building Department
In the last 2 weeks we have issued permits for 1 single-family home. That will keep the total
of new single-family/duplex and townhouse units for the year at 67 compared to 88 last year
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at this time. There have been 71 multi-family housing units issued so far this year compared
to 24 last year at this time.
There were a total of 332 combined building and/or fire inspections completed in the last 2
weeks.
Residential – 79 Plumbing – 24
Commercial – 38 Mechanical – 39
Electrical – 25 Fire – 127
5. Community Development
Staff held a meeting with the Revolving Loan Fund Committee to discuss future TIF Loan
applications, should Community Development receive one in the near future. The meeting
was to discuss application requirements and loan terms. City TIF Programs provide for loan
applications for programs such as Façade Improvement, Rehabilitation/Code compliance, site
demolition, etc.
6. Fire Department
Incident Summary (July 16 – July 29, 2025)
Type of Incident Number of Calls Details
Fire-Related Calls 3 Vegetation, building, vehicle,
other
Vehicle-Related
Incidents 9 5 with injuries, 4 without
EMS-Related Calls 123 Advanced Life Support (ALS)
and Basic Life Support (BLS)
Other Calls 48 False alarms, good intent,
cancelled enroute
Total 183
Annual fire hose and fire pump testing has been completed.