NW MT History Museum Public CommentNorthwest Montana
History Museum
nwmti nstory.ort ; 40b-75 -8 81
124 Second Ave. East
Kalispell, MT 59901
Work session no. 2 (Sept. 8, 2025), following first work session of July 28, 2025,
regarding property assessor #E038913:
Proposal of Northwest Montana History Museum/Northwest Montana Historical Society to
own Central School building (per letter to City Manager Doug Russell, dated May 22, 2025)
Central School building built 1894; sold in 1993 by Kalispell Public Schools for $1 to City of
Kalispell; after renovation leased to Northwest Montana Historical Society for use as
museum; lease expires 2037
Northwest Montana History Museum, opened 1999 in current location, stats from 2024:
® 10,336 visitors, including 1,700 kids
® 147 events
® 130+ exhibits since 1999
® 50,000+ items in collection
® 72 volunteers and work -Based learning for Kalispell Public Schools students
® approximately350 members_
® member: Kalispetl Downtown Association, Discover Kalispell, Montana Nonprofit
Association, Glacier Country Tourism, Montana Historical Society
Museum pays taxes and user fees on the property, some of which is used bythe city
or leased by the city to others. Compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act access
standards involves parking in north lot and access to ramp on north side of building.
As an attraction, the museum also helps generate parking revenue for city through
parking meters installed on Second Avenue East.
Apart from personnel expenses, building maintenance/operation is biggest expense
of the 501(c)(3) institution, including $81 k roof replacement (2010), $15k original wood
floor repair and refinish (2023), and 61 k I-iVAC upgrade (summer 2025). ---�-
Major expenses to come: chiller ($180,000), replace alarm/fire panel per 2025 fire
code inspection ($5,000), exterior painting and masonry repair, elevator update, address
water drainage around basement, climate -controlled space for archival storage
A.J. King
From: Doug Russell <drussell@kalispell.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2025 4:03 PM
To: A.J. King
Subject: parking lot
WARNING: This email is from an external source. Do not click links or attachments unless you
recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Hi AJ,
Here is a photo of the lot. It looks like the parking lot is part of the same parcel as the building.
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Parcel Information
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