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04-27-26 City Council Work Session MinutesCITY COUNCIL KCM OF WORK SESSION MINUTES ALISPELL Aril 27 2026 at 7:00 P � � p.m. City Hall Council Chambers, 201 First Avenue East Video of this meeting with time stamped minutes can be found at: https://www.kalisl2ell.com/MeetinaVideos. A. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hunter called the meeting to order at 7 p.m B. ROLL CALL Council Member - Kari Gabriel: Present via video conference Council Member - Sam Nunnally: Present Council Member - Jed Fisher: Present Council Member - Sid Daoud: Present Mayor - Ryan Hunter: Present Council Member - Wes Walker: Present Council Member - Lisa Blank: Present Council Member - Kyle Waterman: Present Council Member - Dustin Leftridge: Present Staff present included City Manager Jarod Nygren, City Clerk Aimee Brunckhorst, and Community Development Manager Nelson Loring. C. DISCUSSION 1. Safe Streets and Roads for All Implementation Grant FY2026 9� a City Manager Jarod Nygren provided a brief background on this item. 00:03:27 Community Development Manager Nelson Loring presented the staff report. 00:12:30 City Manager Nygren provided additional information about the projects that staff are currently recommending for the grant application. 00:14:56 Council Member Leftridge asked about impacts in grant competitiveness if some elements were left out of the grant application from the Safety Action Plan. 00:15:21 City Manager Nygren asked questions about competitiveness. 00:16:10 Council Member Fisher asked about land acquisition. 00:16:23 Council Member Waterman asked questions about the intersection of 13th Street and past discussions about the intersection. Page 1 of 7 Kalispell City Council Minutes, April 27, 2026 00:19:20 Council Member Waterman asked further questions about 13th Street and drainage issues at 1 lth 00:18:52 Council Member Waterman asked about the rapid flashing beacons that the County put in at the courthouse couplet. 00:19:50 Council Member Daoud asked whether landowners had been approached near the proposed roundabouts. 00:20:27 Council Member Daoud asked about design changes to the north side. 00:21:31 Council Member Nunnally asked questions about the intersection of 13th Street East. 00:22:52 Council Member Blank asked questions about future grant opportunities. 00:23:36 Council Member Daoud asked about the dollar match and where the money would come from. 00:24:08 Council Member Nunnally confirmed Main Street would still be designated a Federal highway. 00:24:24 Mayor Hunter asked about cost breakdowns. 00:25:49 Mayor Hunter asked further cost related questions and prior cost estimates. 00:26:56 Mayor Hunter asked about prior designs of a center meridian at St. Matthews School. 00:28:18 Mayor Hunter asked about the items recommended north of the couplet. 00:29:35 Mayor Hunter asked about future funding sources for further projects related to the Safety Action Plan. 00:30:22 Council Member Blank asked about the designation of Highway 93 and possibilities of a change in designation. 00:31:20 Council Member Waterman asked follow up questions about the designation. 00:31:40 Council Member Fisher asked about projected construction timelines. 00:33:04 Council Member Fisher asked about the roundabout design size. 00:33:27 Council Member Nunnally asked questions about the previous Hwy 93 Bypass grant request and how it interacts with Highway 93. 00:35:32 Council Member Fisher asked about the traffic impact studies that have been done. 00:35:58 Council Member Leftridge asked about curb extensions at the intersections north of the couplet. Page 2 of 7 Kalispell City Council Minutes, April 27, 2026 00:37:12 Mayor Hunter asked further questions about curb extensions. 00:37:39 Council Member Waterman asked questions about sections of missing curbs. 00:38:43 Council Member Daoud asked about plans for 1" and 1st 00:39:32 Council Member Nunnally asked about the water fire safety capacity for certain businesses on Main Street. 00:40:52 Council Member Fisher asked about details related to Tax Increment Finance funds. 00:41:48 Council Member Daoud asked about water infrastructure repairs and then about possible contaminants on Main Street. Manager Nygren spoke regarding grant opportunities available for contaminant remediation Public Comment Mayor Hunter opened public comments on this item and for general public comment. 00:44:00 Joseph Biby, Public Comment Biby spoke regarding his past experiences growing up in Kalispell, his love of Kalispell, and then to his current experiences on 1" Avenue East with people speeding, reckless driving, excessive noise, and other negative experiences with people cruising on Main Street and the nearby streets on Friday evenings. He thanked Council for the extensive police presence last Friday. He read a written statement about his views regarding the cruising issue and how residents are being negatively impacted and how dangerous it is. (See written public comments.) He spoke regarding past statements of some of the Council members regarding the issue, and how disheartened he and his neighbors have been regarding the issue. 00:51:28 Bill Moseley, Public Comment Moseley, CEO of GL Solutions, and Chair of the Downtown Kalispell Forward Coalition spoke in support of the southern Main Street reconstruction grant proposal. He spoke regarding the goal of the Forward Coalition to improve the economic vitality of downtown. He talked about multiple issues that downtown is facing and said they will bring multiple proposals brought forward over time. He talked about the positive impacts the reconstruction project would have if awarded and said they would encourage council to support the grant application. 00:53:54 Cody Olson, Public Comment Olson said he was initially skeptical of the road diet but has since done research and his views and reasoning including higher foot traffic, sales, and increased safety related to how downtown would benefit from a road diet so downtown will be for people and not vehicles. 00:55:53 Casey Wyckoff, Public Comment Wyckoff, co-owner of a business on Main Street is in support of the Main Street project. He spoke regarding witnessing vehicle pedestrian accidents on Main Street and listed multiple reasons why he would be in support of this grant application. He suggested rewording `road diet' to `pedestrian feast'. He talked regarding the long-term positive impact of funding and being good stewards of those funds. Page 3 of 7 Kalispell City Council Minutes, April 27, 2026 00:57:14 Kyle Voiatlander, Public Comment Voigtlander of 4th Street West said he would like council to reconsider allowing multi -family units in all subdivisions saying he believes it brings property values down. He talked about parking and other concerns he has that a four-plex could be built in his neighborhood. He then spoke extensively regarding the high cost of rentals and housing. He relayed frustration related to an encounter with an investigation that the City and the County Sheriff s Office are working on together, and his view that burglary crimes are not being responded to quickly enough. He spoke in detail to his view that the police should not respond to cruising issues and that the issue should be approached through education within the schools. He spoke in opposition to a lane reduction on Main Street and talked about the reason he believes driving on Main Street is loud. He talked in opposition to bump outs. He believes the grant application should be used to apply for sidewalks on Meridian. He said he supports the 13th Street roundabout and then spoke regarding MDT guidelines. He talked about infrastructure related construction concerns. He believes Council Member Waterman should recuse himself from a vote on this issue. 01:14:07 Jodie Cross, Public Comment Cross, a realtor who lives in the County and works in Kalispell spoke as a huge supporter of Friday night cruises. She talked regarding an interaction that she saw between a police officer and a cruiser on Friday night and that she had posted a picture on social about it to tell cruisers to be smart as the police were out. She felt the interaction was positive. She then talked about the problems that occur later in the evening after the classic car owners have left, and her idea to emulate a drag strip in Anaconda that allows young people to use it when events are not taking place. She felt the officers did a great job last Friday night. 01:18:53 Council Member Nunnally left the meeting. 01:18:58 Lorraine Clarno, Public Comment Clarno, the President and CEO of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce spoke to her experiences as a member of the large working group that worked on the Safety Action Plan for many months. She talked about the importance of relying on the engineers who know and recommend what will work with healthy, safe transportation systems. She explained that the Chamber was in support of applying for the original grant that was under consideration last year and they are also in support of applying for this grant application. She spoke regarding downtown experiencing multiple issues, and the importance of not passing on this grant opportunity to improve safety, low traffic, and reduce the amount of semi's using Main Street. 01:22:05 Marshall Noice, Public Comment Noice of 127 Main Street said he and his family have had property on Main Street in Kalispell since 1968. He is in full support of this project as it was presented last year, and with this current proposal. He spoke in support of safety as a way to support business, providing reasons why. He asked Council to take advantage of this opportunity. 01:23:47 Arthur Fretheim, Public Comment Fretheim of 9th Street East spoke regarding discussions he has had with people that have residents near the cruising and how negatively affected they are, and he has been in the past, by major noise issues, and speeding that occurs. He talked about going downtown on Friday and the cruising he saw and how speeding and other negative behavior affects people and how those hinder people from enjoying downtown. He spoke in support of the police enforcing laws. He Page 4 of 7 Kalispell City Council Minutes, April 27, 2026 spoke about the lack of sidewalks on Meridian and his support of utilizing any left -over funds to pay for that. 01:31:00 Ryan LaGrow, Public Comment LaGrow spoke regarding tourism downtown and whether the crosswalks downtown are in working order. He talked about keeping trucks off Main Street and alternative routes for trucks. 01:32:33 Beth Kornick Public Comment Kornick spoke as a newer business owner downtown and in support of the Safe Streets initiative. She loved the idea brought up by another speaker related to marketing a `pedestrian feast' and her support for reducing the lanes to three. She talked about the loud traffic noise on Main Street and how that affects their business. She spoke in support of improvements at 1 lth Street. She asked Council to consider voting for this grant opportunity. She said she enjoys being on Main Street between 5 and 8 pm on Fridays and seeing the cars and appreciated comments about having alternative areas for kids to drive and private citizens in Lewiston offering land for kids to cruise. 01:34:38 Jessie Wood, Public Comment Wood, General Manager of Blacktail Mountain Ski Area, member of the Chamber Board spoke in support of this grant proposal and her appreciation of the changes provided by staff. She said she utilizes 1 lth and 13th frequently and loves this proposal. 01:35:26 Jeri Moon, Public Comment Moon, Association Executive for the Northwest Montana Association of Realtors spoke in support of this safe community initiative before Council and their hope that they would vote for this grant. 01:36:05 Seeing no further public comments, Mayor Hunter closed public comment. Public comment received in writing to the Mayor and Council can be seen at www.kalispell.com/publiccomment. 01:36:15 Council Member Waterman provided discussion as to why he appreciates this proposal. 01:38:32 Council Member Daoud provided discussion as to why he was opposed to last year's grant proposal and to his positive views on this new proposal. 01:41:21 Council Member Leftridge is fully in support of the full package and why he is in support of the current proposal. He talked regarding specific areas within the current grant proposal and the various positive benefits. 01:43:19 Council Member Nunnally joined the meeting again. 01:43:27 Council Member Walker spoke in support of the plan and his initial concerns that the original application was too ambitious. 01:44:48 Council Member Walker spoke in support of replacing downtown trees and then talked about the problems the trees have with the constraints they have on Main Street and engineering solutions that may improve their health and asked Council to take those into account. Page 5 of 7 Kalispell City Council Minutes, April 27, 2026 01:50:30 Council Member Fisher spoke regarding videos that he has seen showing road diets causing a loss of business in specific locations. He spoke in support of the current grant proposal recommendation and why. 01:52:53 Mayor Hunter spoke in support of the full plan. He provided discussion about why he supports a road diet. He talked about the reasons why he is in support of the current grant proposal recommendation. He provided discussion as to why he would like to pursue the road diet at a later date. He then spoke regarding the discussion provided by Council Member Walker regarding street trees and how important street trees are and looking at associated solutions that support mature trees. 02:00:21 Council Member Gabriel spoke in appreciation to the discussion about the street trees. She then provided discussion as to why she is in support of the grant proposal as recommended. 02:01:37 Council Member Nunnally spoke regarding a previous visit to Washington D.C. and problems he has seen on two lane streets. He spoke in appreciation of the discussion regarding trees. 02:03:25 Council Member Blank provided discussion in support of the grant proposal and in support of other solutions within the Plan and why she hopes they will be reconsidered in the future. 02:05:58 City Manager Nygren said he will work with community partners on the grant proposal and said city staff will begin working on the grant application and bring a resolution of support before Council soon. D. PUBLIC COMMENT General public comment was taken during the work session discussion. E. CITY MANAGER, COUNCIL, AND MAYOR REPORTS City Manager Jarod Nygren provided the following report: • The Parking Advisory Board reviewed studies from the Downtown Forward Coalition, and some parking strategy recommendations will be coming up on a future work session. • P.J. Sorensen who has been with the city for 27 years and was integral to bringing forth MLUPA was named the Development Services Director. Nygren congratulated Sorensen. 02:07:56 Council Member Gabriel spoke in appreciation of the support offered by Council. 02:08:24 Council Member Walker thanked staff for the report, and the public for their thoughts. 02:08:53 Council Member Nunnally thanked staff for their work on this project and looks forward to this process. 02:09:18 Council Member Nunnally announced that his wife, a local Girl Scout Robotics Team Coach, is currently with her team in Texas competing at the World Championship in Robotics. Page 6 of 7 Kalispell City Council Minutes, April 27, 2026 02:09:50 Council Member Blank thanked staff for their work on this project. She talked regarding working with the Kalispell Police Department and how professional she has seen them be and how grateful she is for everything that they do. 02:10:43 Council Member Waterman agreed with Member Blank and spoke in appreciation of current law enforcement. He then spoke regarding cruising on Main Street and the difference between those cruising responsibly and those who are driving dangerously and how to support the positive aspects while discouraging unlawful behavior. 02:13:23 Council Member Leftridge spoke to his appreciation of multiple items moving in the right direction as it relates to Main Street. He spoke with appreciation of staff, council, public, and stakeholders. 02:14:08 Council Member Fisher spoke in support of Kalispell Cruize and the official events they put on. He talked regarding supporting law enforcement. He talked about classic car owners generally being lawful but supporting law enforcement who are enforcing laws. 02:15:37 Council Member Daoud spoke regarding positive changes coming downtown on the near horizon, and people living on Main Street. He talked about positive things happening within the Police Department and response times improving and to other related positive community policing changes including keeping officers in the same ward. He thanked staff for their work putting the Safety Action Plan and proposals together. 02:19:27 Mayor Hunter congratulated Mr. Sorensen on his promotion. He then thanked Police for their law enforcement efforts downtown on Friday nights. He talked about his views that he would like to find a balance between those who enjoy cruising and those who are being negatively impacted. He spoke regarding misinformation online about himself and asked people to take the time to listen to what he is saying or give him a call if they have questions or concerns. F. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Hunter adjourned the meeting at 9:22 pm. Aim e Brunckhorst, City Clerk Minutes approved May 18, 2026 UPCOMING SCHEDULt !�' •, ' "3`; : �: Next Regular Meeting — May 4, 2026, at p.m. — Council Chambers Budget Work Sessions —May 11, aiid'ednesday, May 13, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. —Chambers PARTICIPATION Watch council sessions live with the agenda and supporting documents or later with documents and time stamped minutes at: h-Ltps://w-vyw.kalispell.com/MeetingVideos. The City does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its programs, services, activities, and employment practices. Auxiliary aids are available. For questions about disability accommodation please contact the City Clerk at 406-758-7756. Page 7 of 7