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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.