03-13-26 City Manager report and KFD Incident Report and KPD Crime Report1
City of Kalispell
OFFICE OF THE CITY
MANAGER
Information Memorandum
3/16/2026
Parks & Recreation
With fluctuating winter conditions, Parks staff have begun transitioning equipment attachments
in preparation for seasonal turf maintenance. Current efforts are focused on removing leaves that
accumulated on turf areas over the winter while remaining prepared to resume snow removal
operations if needed.
As part of ongoing park visibility and safety improvements, staff removed a willow tree in
Woodland Park that had declined in condition. At the Dan Johns Youth Athletic Complex, staff
have begun preparing the facility for the upcoming season, including repairs to backstop netting
on the baseball fields.
Parks and Building Maintenance staff recently rebuilt the frame displaying photographs of
Kalispell’s past mayors after the existing display had reached its capacity for additional photos.
Members of the Urban Forestry Committee attended the Free the Seeds event at Flathead Valley
Community College on March 7 to promote the City’s Cost Share Tree Program. The committee
will meet on March 11 to continue planning for the 2026 Arbor Day celebration, scheduled for
April 24.
Forestry crews have begun structural pruning operations in the Spring Creek subdivision after
completing work in the Mountain Vista subdivision. Additionally, a staff arborist is currently
train pruning young trees in the Meadow’s Edge subdivision. To date, staff have pruned 822
trees this year.
Art Made Simple was held on Thursday, February 26 and had fourteen adults in attendance. This
program offered accessible, hands-on workshops, designed for ages sixteen and older to explore
creativity through techniques like alcohol ink and metal leaf.
Planning for summer events is underway. Staff are currently soliciting sponsorships for the 35th
Annual Picnic in the Park Summer Concert Series, with musical acts currently being finalized.
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Enrollment is now open for Spring Break Camp, which will run March 23–27. The camp
provides a safe, engaging environment where children can participate in structured activities
during the school break.
Registration is also open for Spring Soccer. This six-week, non-competitive recreational program
serves youth ages 3–4 through fourth grade and focuses on skill development and fun. Sessions
are held at the Dan Johns Youth Athletic Complex and include 30 minutes of instruction
followed by a 30-minute scrimmage.
Little Dribblers began on Saturday, March 7, with 421 participants registered. The program
offers a fun, non-competitive introduction to basketball for youth ages four through fourth grade,
focusing on foundational skills such as dribbling, passing, and shooting. More than forty
volunteer coaches support the program.
Summer seasonal staff recruitment will begin in early March. More than 100 seasonal employees
will be hired to support operations at Woodland Waterpark, implement Camp Woodland, oversee
seasonal sports programs, and assist with summer events.
Staff encourage the community to help spread the word. Job postings will be available on the
City website, Kalispell Parks and Recreation social media channels, and additional outlets over
the next two weeks.
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Public Works
2025 Stormwater Annual Report: The City of Kalispell is required to submit an annual report by
March of each year to stay in compliance with the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System
(MS4) Permit issued by the State of Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
The 2025 Annual Report describes how the City met last year’s permit requirements.
2025 Highlights Include:
• City Crews removed 829 tons of sediment and 349 tons of leaves from City
infrastructure, preventing it from reaching our waterways.
• 182 Construction Stormwater Permits reviewed and approved (12 more than last year)
o 95 Construction Stormwater Permit site inspections.
• 14 reports of illicit discharges to the stormwater system investigated and corrected if
needed.
• The city participated in 14 different public outreach, education or participation events or
programs in 2025.
• The inventory of Non-stormwater discharges was altered to match the best management
practices for flushing the drinking water system that is in place and are described in the
City’s Good Housekeeping and Pollution Prevention Manual.
• The 2025 Annual Report was combined with the City’s Stormwater Management Plan
document to prepare for the requirements expected in the Department of Environmental
Quality’s next permit cycle.
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The City maintains a webpage dedicated to Kalispell’s Stormwater Management Program
at Stormwater Management Program | Kalispell, MT. A copy of the annual report is available
through a link on that webpage.
Road Ratings : The remaining road section ratings for the 2026 roadway assessment have been
completed. Due to the mild winter and clear road surfaces, staff were able to finish the ratings
earlier than usual this year.
Road condition ratings are an important tool used to evaluate the current state of the City’s street
network and help prioritize maintenance, repairs, and future capital improvement planning.
Maintaining updated ratings allows staff to better track roadway conditions over time and
allocate resources more effectively to preserve the City’s infrastructure.
Planning
The Planning Commission held three public hearings on March 10. The first was an annexation
on Highway 2 west of the bypass. The second was an amendment to the West Side Parking
District around Flathead High School adding a block face between the high school and Elrod.
The third hearing was for the MLUPA required updates to the subdivision regulations. All three
items were forwarded to the City Council with a positive recommendation.
Final plats are also pending for Starling Phase 4B and Autumn Creek (north of Highway 2
West).
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Building
In the last 2 weeks we have issued permits for 4 single-family homes, 0 duplexes, and 8
townhouses. That will keep the total of new single-family/duplex and townhouse units for the
year at 50 compared to 11 last year at this time. There have been 0 multi -family housing units
issued so far this year compared to 32 last year at this time.
There were a total of 298 combined building and/or fire inspections completed in the last 2
weeks.
Residential – 77 Plumbing – 31
Commercial – 27 Mechanical – 23
Electrical – 30 Fire – 110
Community Development
The City of Kalispell has applied for the Montana Resiliency Funding Grant. The grant would
help fund the installation of a backup generator at the public safety building. The grant selection
is expected by the end of April.
Kalispell FD MT
Address: 312 1st Ave E, Kalispell, MT, 59901
Incident Count by Primary Incident Sub Group 02/25/2026 - 03/11/2026
PRIMARY INCIDENT GROUP / PRIMARY
INCIDENT SUB GROUP
COUNT
Fire 3
Fire - Outside Fire 3
Hazardous Situation 5
Hazardous Situation - Hazard Non-Chemical 2
Hazardous Situation - Hazardous Materials 1
Hazardous Situation - Investigation 2
Medical 134
Medical - Illness 92
Medical - Injury / Trauma 41
Medical - Other 1
Report ID: 118208 This report was generated on : 03/11/2026 08:47 AM Page: 1 of 2
Kalispell FD MT
Address: 312 1st Ave E, Kalispell, MT, 59901
PRIMARY INCIDENT GROUP / PRIMARY
INCIDENT SUB GROUP
COUNT
Public Service 13
Public Service - Citizen Assist 6
Public Service - Alarms (Non Medical)6
Public Service - Disaster / Weather 1
Rescue 1
Rescue - Transportation (Land)1
No Emergency 21
No Emergency - False Alarm 5
No Emergency - Good Intent 2
No Emergency - Cancelled 14
Total 177
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Report ID: 118208 This report was generated on : 03/11/2026 08:47 AM Page: 2 of 2