Article/Kalispell Considers Annexation PlanKalispell considers 0_/ c?o
annexation plan-
By JO ANN SPEELMAN
The Daily Inter Lake
Kalispell City Manager
f Chris Kukulski wants the
city to begin annexing areas
that have municipal sewer
and/or water service, and to
keep its utility -extension
policy intact.
His suggestions met with
general favor, but some
vocal concerns, from Mayor
Bill Boharski and
Councilman Dale Haarr at
last week's city council
workshop.
Kukulski said the annexa-
tion plan would address a
longstanding thorn in the
city's side — providing utili-
ty services but failing to
require and follow through
with annexation.
Aggressively annexing
See ANNEXATION on Page A3
Annexation plan under consideration
areas already getting service,
he said, would soon take care
of pending requests for service
by making the areas contigu-
ous to the city and eligible for
annexation.
Kukulski suggested the
council immediately annex
Village Greens, an island sur-
rounded by the city on North
Haven Drive, parts of
Greenacres, the south end of
Eighth Avenue East, and Ever-
green to the bridge where the
Stillwater and Whitefish
rivers join.
In late February, the council
seemed to favor extending util-
ity service in return for agree-
ments to annex at the city's
request. Current policy is to
extend services to and annex
only contiguous areas.
The discussion came up
again because the county com-
missioners sent Red Farris
back to the city to ask again if
he could hook a proposed resi-
dential development onto the
Evergreen sewer. Under the
city's contract to treat Ever-
green's sewage, the city must
approve such connections if
the property is outside the
Evergreen district.
Boharski asked several
times, "What's the downside of
the Farris petition? It complies
with the master plan. It's with-
in the urban -growth boundary,
and he's proposed affordable
housing. Farris has agreed to
design and build the subdivi-
sion to city standards and to
annex whenever the city
wants. He'd pay all the costs."
Haarr called it a "disser-
vice" to the rest of the valley to
deny Farris service just
because the property isn't con-
tiguous to the city. "When we
and others look back 50 years,
how will the decision not to
put this property on sewer be
viewed?" he asked.
Councilman Jim Atkinson
said extending sewer to Farris
would "exacerbate the prob-
lem," and Ron Van Natta said
any property getting city ser-
vices should be annexed.
Council member Duane Lar-
son said giving Farris sewer
service would open a door that
could "gut downtown," and
Don Counsel agreed.
Kukulski said it was point-
less to insist on petitions to
annex in return for city ser-
vices, if the council did not act
on the petitions.
Providing services outside
the city, he said, means that
"in a roundabout way" city
taxpayers are subsidizing
those users.
Annexing Evergreen area in
a phased plan, he said, would
extend city limits far enough
to allow annexing the Lincoln
property off Conrad Drive "in
eight months to a year." The
owner of the Lincoln property
has informally asked to hook
onto the Evergreen sewer,
even though it is outside the
district.
Kukulski said he didn't want
to "slam the door on discus-
sions with Evergreen. I think
we can work together."
Haarr said if the city won't
extend sewer service to areas
outside the Evergreen sewer
district, he hopes Evergreen
will put its own treatment
plant in.
He said providing sewer ser-
vice to Farris and Lincoln is "a
no-brainer," because there are
lines through both properties,
"and they are only asking to
use some of our plant capacity
and are willing to pay for it."
"Our discussion tonight
draws the line," said Haarr.
"This is the stimulus for Ever-
green to develop its own sewer
treatment plant. This is our
one chance, and we have
turned our back on it."
Kalispell's attempt a few
years ago to annex part of
Evergreen failed.
Larson didn't see a downside
to Evergreen having its own
treatment plant.
But Boharski does.
"The downside is inefficien-
cy," Boharski said. " We could
have a nice city (with orderly
planning and development)."