05/01/06 Chamber/Letter of Support0
Area Chamber of Commerce
May 1, 2006
The Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
City of Kalispell
312 First Avenue East
Kalispell, MT 59901
RE: Letter of Support: Hilton Garden Inn Project
Dear Mayor and Members of Kalispell City Council:
The Board of Directors for the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce strongly supports the placement
of a Hilton Garden Inn and Convention Center on the Armory site according to the terms
presented for your approval tonight.
A facility large enough to seat 800 for a meal or 1,200 in a theater style configuration will be a
tremendous benefit both in attracting conventions and in providing a major new venue for local
residents and organizations to conduct their events. If anything, the projections of economic
impact contained in the briefing material are overly cautious. Research conducted for the
Kalispell Chamber of Commerce by the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research in 2002
indicated that 1) nonresident visitors spent $74 million or about $5,212 per county resident
annually in Kalispell, 2) travelers to Flathead County stayed in the state twice as long as
statewide visitors. This project will add important new capability for serving nonresident visitors.
The Planned Unit Development (PUD) proposed to address the casino issue and height issue is a
legitimate and proper tool to use with complex projects which bring substantial benefits to the
City. The PUD was unanimously approved by the City Planning Board at their meeting on April
12.
The purchase price is at the appraised value for the property. And, indeed, was the only proposal
received on the site. Furthermore, the use of $890,000 of tax increment funds for this project is
reasonable and prudent given the 112 jobs that will be created, the $2.7 million payroll, and
projected property taxes of $260,000 to be paid annually.
Sincerely,
Board of Directors
Kalispell Area Chamber of Commerce
15 Depot Park • Kalispell, MT S9901
(406) 758-2800 • Fax (406) 758-2805 • Email: info@kalispellchamber.com • www.kalispelichamber.com
KALISPELLAREA CHAMBER OF C01M, s -
April 25, 1 1'
At its regular Board of Directors meeting of April 25, 2006, the Kalispell Area Chamber
of Commerce adopted the following resolution:
"It is moved that the Kalispell Chamber Board of Directors support the Hilton Garden
Inn project as proposed by the City Manager in his memorandum to the Mayor and City
Council, dated April 24, 2006 "
Moved by Jim Oliverson
Seconded by Bill Schottelkorb
Passed on a vote of 15 in favor; -0- opposed
Voting in Favor:
Chris Ahner, Northwest Montana Association of Realtors
Susie Burch, Flathead Valley Community College
Dick Buchanon, ByteSavvy
Steve Clawson, Wells Fargo Bank
John Dudis, Crowley Law Firm
Dick Hammett, HE Simpson Lumber Company
Tom Kurdy, The Daily Inter Lake
Mark Lalum, CHS
Tom McElwain, Stewart Title
Carol Nelson, Carol Nelson Design
Jim Oliverson, Kalispell Regional Medical Center
Bill Schottelkorb, Western Building Centers
Mark Twichel, Mergenthaler Transfer and Storage
Deb Wilson, Brendan House
Jeff Wilson, Properties Northwest
Voting in Opposition:
None
Recorded By:
0
Joe terreiner, President and CEO
K risi ell Area Chamber of Commerce
Kalispell Downtown Association
17 Main Street
Kalispell, MT 59901,
(406) 755-7004
April 26, 2006
Mayor Pain Kennedy and
Kalispell City Council
P. O. Box 1997
Kalispell, MT 59903-1997
RE: Hilton Garden Inn Proposal
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Please be advised that the Kalispell Downtown Association Board of Directors, at its
meeting held April 10, 2006, enthusiastically and unanimously passed a resolution
supporting and encouraging all appropriate actions by the Kalispell City Commission for
the development of the "Armory Property" as a hotel and convention facility and
specifically to support the Hilton Garden Inn proposal as presented to the meeting by City
Manager Jim Patrick.
It was the consensus of the directors present and commenting that the proposed facility
would help the overall fiscal vitality of the Flathead Valley and the Kalispell Downtown
area, that it has the potential to help sustain businesses during the so-called "shoulder
seasons" and to improve the tax base without significant, additional infrastructure costs.
The hotel by itself would present a competitive challenge to some of our members, while
a hotel with a convention center would actually complement those members because of
the overflow from meetings (conventions) exceeding the Hilton's available sleeping
rooms.
Please add this letter to the official records supporting your approval of the Planned Unit
Development and taking such other actions necessary to meet the developers' time frame
and move the project forward as expeditiously as possible.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Sincerely Yours,
Thomas O. McElwain
CC: KDA Board of Directors