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12-31-25 City Manager Report1 City of Kalispell OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER Information Memorandum 12/31/2025 Parks & Recreation On December 17, Kalispell experienced a significant wind event with gusts reaching up to 70 mph, resulting in multiple downed and damaged trees across the city. Parks and forestry crews responded promptly, working in coordination with public works to clear debris, address hazards, and restore access in parks, streets, and public spaces. Cleanup efforts continued as conditions allowed to ensure public safety and minimize disruptions. We appreciate the community’s patience and cooperation as crews worked efficiently to respond to this weather-related event. As part of the December 17 wind event, the arbor with mature vines in the Rose Garden in Woodland Park was also damaged and fell due to the high gusts. Parks staff have assessed the damage and sectioned the area off. Crews are currently evaluating replacement options and developing a plan to rebuild the arbor in a way that maintains the character of the garden while improving durability. Adult Pickleball will begin on January 14, 2026, at Peterson Elementary School. This marks the second year of the program, and registration has been strong. Staff anticipate a highly engaging experience for participants, welcoming both new and experienced local pickleball players. Registration is currently open for our new Adult Recreation Programs, including Art Workshops, Zumba, and Creative Art Journaling workshops, expanding opportunities for adult enrichment and wellness within the community. Planning for the 2026 Picnic in the Park summer concert series will begin in mid-January. Several area musicians have already expressed interest in performing. A formal Call for Musicians will be open from January 20 through February 20, with talent selection scheduled for the week of February 23. Kalispell Parks and Recreation welcomed its newest team member, Katie Lynch-Dombroski, on December 10. Katie accepted the Recreation Programmer position, overseeing operations at Woodland Waterpark and managing winter enrichment programs. She is currently onboarding and will begin focusing on aquatics programming in January. Katie brings experience in lifeguarding and swim instruction leadership, along with a background in interpretive recreation and environmental education. 2 Freeze Out Camp continued to serve families during winter break by providing a safe, active, and engaging environment for children during out-of-school time. This year’s camp included walking field trips to the Glacier Art Museum, Flathead County Library, Depot Park Building, and nearby parks, along with special activities and crafts designed to create memorable experiences, including a visit from Santa. Registration did not meet minimum participation requirements on Friday, December 6, and Friday, January 2; therefore, camp was cancelled on those dates. The Kids Holiday Workshop, scheduled for December 24, was also cancelled due to low enrollment, as a minimum of ten participants is required to operate the program. Registration remains open for Tennis is Elementary and Spring Little Dribblers. Registration for the Kalispell Kickers program closed on December 28. The program will be held at Rankin Elementary School and begins on January 10. Public Works Leaf Collection and Street Sweeping: As weather permits and during peak seasonal leaf fall, Public Works conducts routine street sweeping and leaf collection throughout the city. • Leaf Collection: The Street Division collected approximately 1,940 cubic yards of leaves citywide from mid-October through the end of November. For reference, this volume is equivalent to 161 twelve-yard dump truck loads. Collected leaves are transported to the material storage yard south of the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), where they are placed in windrows and routinely turned by Parks and Recreation staff. This process promotes natural decomposition and results in usable compost. 3 • Sediment Collection: Street sweeping not only enhances community appearance but also reduces the discharge of sediment, debris, and other urban pollutants into local waterways through the stormwater system. Sediment collected by street sweepers is stockpiled and tested annually to ensure it meets clean fill criteria prior to final disposal at the landfill, reuse on city projects, or placement on city-owned properties. The goal is to sweep each city street three to four times per year, with additional emphasis on low -lying areas. In total, 1,049 lane miles were swept this year. Planning At the January 13 Planning Commission meeting, there are two agenda items. The public hearing for the land use plan will be a major step in the process and is the culmination of 16 work sessions with the Commission over the past year. We also held 40 stakeholder meetings/presentations as well as other public outreach events such as our fair booth, Thursday fest, and pop-up events. We anticipate that we will then begin working with the Council towards a formal adoption this spring. The second agenda item is the preliminary plat for Mountain View Phase 2. Mountain View is the subdivision on the north side of Foys Lake Road. Phases 1A and 1B contain roughly 100 residential lots. Phase 2 would add 51 additional lots. Also, the Kalispell–Whitefish Access Management Plan for the Highway 93 North corridor has been revised by the Department of Transportation to address the comments provided during the local government review. The updated version has been posted on MDT’s website and can be found at: https://www.mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/kalispellwhitefish/. 4 Building In the last 3 weeks we have issued permits for 2 single-family homes and 0 townhouses. That will keep the total of new single-family/duplex and townhouse units for the year at 114 compared to 141 last year at this time. There have been 404 multi-family housing units issued so far this year compared to 27 last year at this time. There were a total of 392 combined building and/or fire inspections completed in the last 3 weeks. Residential – 70 Plumbing – 35 Commercial – 64 Mechanical – 42 Electrical – 37 Fire – 144 Fire Type of Incident Number of Calls Details Fire-Related Calls 1 Vegetation, building, vehicle, other Vehicle-Related Incidents 2 1 with injuries, 1 without EMS-Related Calls 130 Advanced Life Support (ALS) and Basic Life Support (BLS) Other Calls 59 False alarms, good intent, cancelled en route Total 192 Department Updates: FF/PM Doug Schwartz retired after 20 years of service.