1. Downtown Parking201 1 st Avenue East
Kalispell, WIT 59901
406.758.7740
Fax: 406.758.7758
City of Kalispell * www.kalispell.com
Office of Community & Economic Development
To: Honorable Mayor Kennedy, City Council Members
Cc: Myrt Webb, Interim City Manage
From.: Nellie Danielson, Community & Economic Development Department
Date: December 3, 2008
RE: Work session for December 8; Downtown parking issues
The downtown property and business owners collectively are voicing concerns that long
term employee parking is a liability to growth and development of downtown. The
parking commission data provides evidence that all parking spaces/lots are at and beyond
capacity. The city staff has received input from. potential buyers of downtown property
that the parking issues are the main reason why sales of downtown property does not go
forward.
We invited the Business Improvement District board, the Kalispell Downtown
Association members, downtown property owners and the City's planning staff to a
meeting in November to prepare for the parking work session. We asked the group to
research and provide primary evidence and documentation to support their perspective
that long term parking is a liability. We asked for them to identify short and long term
solutions to bring to the work session.
My research of city participation in parking needs points towards utilizing tax increment
financing as a component of financing parking, whether it be a structure or a lot.
Whitefish is forgoing a structure due to cost and using TIF funds towards an 81 space lot.
Missoula is financing a parking structure in partnership with the new construction of First
Interstate Bank in downtown Missoula utilizing TIF funds and New Market Tax Credit
financing. Kalispell is eligible to apply for New Market Tax Credit funding assistance.
I have invited Mae Nan Ellingson of Dorsey & Whitney in Missoula to attend the work
session on the December 81h. Mae Nan is assisting the City of Missoula with the parking
structure deal and thought her experience and advice would be helpful to us.
The outcome we would like to see from the work session is 1 ) is there a consensus from
Council that downtown parking is a liability to growth and development of downtown;
2) if not, what are the root causes to increased vacancy rates of downtown property, and
3) what solutions are we willing to support and can actually effect, identifying both short
and long term. strategies.
In closing I am anticipating a meeting with Valley Bank in December to further explore
the parking swap project that went dormant earlier in 2008.