05-06-86 Parking Comm MinutesMay 6, 1986 PARKING COMMISSION 2:00 P.M.
• Chairman Gordon Pirrie and Commission members Colin Wills, Bob Ivey,
Harry Farrington, Chief Stefanic and Ed Gallagher present. Mayor Kennedy,
Building Official Jackson, Gary Christiansen, Chuck Mercord and John McMillan
and Bill Paullin from First Federal, and Roger Hopkins of the Daily Inter
Lake also in attendance.
FIRST FEDERAL PARKING LOT - Chuck Mercord referred to a letter the bank
had sent to Gordon Pirrie which contains some facts he felt needed to be
added to the appraisal of the lot. (Letter attached to original minutes).
After a short discussion the Committee agreed to recommend to the Council
that the City purchase the lot for $150,000. A copy of the letter will be
included with the minutes so Council will be prepared to vote.
REMODELING OF FIRE HALL - Mayor Kennedy stated that he had heard of
a parking structure plan for Third Street and asked if there was any problem
with going ahead with the renovation of the old fire hall for office space.
He was told that the plan had been dropped because of the lack of funds.
Bob Ivey said that personally he felt it would have made better parking spaces
than storage as it has been for several years, but he had no problem with
the plan for office space. Ed Gallagher told the history of the project:
With the sale of the Elms property the funds were to go for demolition of
both of the old buildings except that Mayor Happ vetoed demolition of the
old fire hall. Gary Christiansen said that if the City goes haead with the
remodeling it will be the second time the City will go back on it it's word
to demolish the building and use the area for parking. He felt the City
was being hypocritical to tell businesses what they must do and then go back
on their original commitment when parking on the east side is in such demand.
Mr. Pirrie said he would prefer spending twice the $52,000 to build a new
structure that will last rather than putting the money into the old building.
Mr. Christiansen stated that the multi -level parking facility idea will need
to be resurrected to meet parking needs for the east side, and then the building
would have to go. Mr. Pirrie shared his idea that the parking facility plan
would be good for the KM Building, and went on to suggest that skywalks through
the downtown area should be looked at for the future. He said it might be
a good idea for the City to rent temporary space for a year or so in order
to look at long range plans. Mayor Kennedy indicated he would go back and
read the minutes to see what transpired but that he had trouble agreeing
with parking spaces being of more value than office space.
CASH IN LIEU OF PARKING - This was a long discussion which included
the following comments, suggestions and ideas:
Norbert Donahue joined the meeting and stated that the Commission
should not change the parking ordinance but rather deal with each
case individually, set a price based on facts, but leave the ordinance
intact as a control tool.
Gordon Pirrie recommended a charge of $300-$400/space, with terms.
Make charge reasonable enough to not drive away developers.
Giving cash in lieu of perking spaces does not relieve the pressure
• of a bad parking situation, but does provide income to help relieve it.
When the downtown redevelopment went into effect an arbitrary number
of parking spaces was set for each of the downtown buildings according
to square footage and use.
PARKING COMMISSION
• May 6, 1986
Page 2
Until a dollar amount is set which can be defended it would be
hard to enforce.
Criteria for setting fee: 1) stimulate growth and development down-
town, and 2) don't offend thsoe who have already paid out for parking.
Gary Christiansen said he is being asked to pay in lieu of parking,
he will be paying increased taxes because of the remodeling, and
he is already paying for parking spaces for his employees. How
many times should he be expected to pay? If the Commission doesn't
want the downtown to come to a screeching halt the fees must be
reasonable.
Where in downtown can you buy parking spaces within the 500 foot
of your business that is required?
Resale possibilities are nil if parking requirements are not eased
or a reasonable solution found.
A solution that is economical, justifiable, controlable, and workable
is needed.
Building Official Jackson said that new buildings are not the problem,
but the formula for providing parking for existing buildings when
the use is changed is the problem.
• N. Donahue gave a history of the ordinance and the thinking that
went into it. Before the ordinance anyone could bring in any kind
of business and not provide any parking. Meters were installed
in an attempt to help and they did keep the traffic moving, but
traffic numbers have increased. The ordinance was drafted with
the idea of being flexible. Credit was given for existing businesses.
Recognizing the physical impossibility of buying parking adjacent
to the downtown businesses the cash in lieu of was added so the
City could purchase parking elsewhere. The Parking Commission
was created to assess the impact of businesses and recommend to
the Council the best solution - based on facts vs. emotions. Mr.
Donahue stated he felt it was a good ordinance and flexible enough
to mold to each situation.
The question of the City being responsible for providing parking
was raised but the response was that it was only responsible to
use the money to help alleviate parking problems.
The number of spaces required cannot be juggled, but the amount
charged per space can be.
Suggestion that there be a fixed figure per space with the option
for an individual to come and request a variance.
The entity making the impact on the area should provide for parking,
not the City without help from that entity.
• The Commission asked Building Official Jackson to contact other cities
to see what they are doing with downtown parking problems. He will report
back.
ajg
OIRST FEDERAL SAVINGS
BANK
May 5, 1986
Mr. Gordon Pirrie, Chairman
City of Kalispell Parking Commission
City Hall
Kalispell, MT 59901
Dear Gordon:
Thank you for the opportunity to review the appraisal on First
Federal's parking lot which has been offered for sale to the
Kalispell Parking Commission.
Mr Brown's appraisal indicates the site without the improvements
is valued at $7 per square foot or $122,500, and the paving and
other improvements contribute an additional $5,000 for a total
• fair market value at $127,500.
In as much as First Federal has been evaluating and lending on
properties in Kalispell for thirty years, we feel we have a fair
understanding of values, and it is our sincere opinion this
evaluation does not reflect fair market values for the following
reasons:
1. Mr. Brown did not include the most recent comparable
sale on Main street in his appraisal.
2. Mr. Brown did not use comparably located sites and
sales in his evaluation.
3. Evaluations received from two real estate brokers
reflect much higher evaluations in the $9.50 to $10 per
square foot area, which in fact, reflects an
improvement in values over the past few years. We
enclose copies of correspondence.
4. Two sales completed since Mr. Brown's appraisal, one
Hardee's Family Restaurant, reflect a higher market
value. These, plus the sale of the above mentioned
reflect an improvement in property values over the past
two years rather than a decline.
• 5. The property evaluated is existing and is to be used as
a parking lot; and currently owned city parking lot on
FIRST FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK OF MONTANA — P.O. Box 27 • 202 Main Street • Kalispell, MT 59903-0027 • 406-755-7101
Mr. Pirrie
page 2
5/5/86
•
First Avenue West's actual cost including improvements
is considerably more than the subject property.
6. Current property valuation for tax purposes is
substantially higher than Mr. Brown's evaluation.
Examples:
1. The surface parking lot located on lots 15
and 16, Block 36, recently sold for $70,000
cash or $10 per square foot. This is shown as
listing #2 on the appraisal report. (It is my
understanding the buy -sell was signed last
December.)
2. Possibly it may be more appropriate to
extract a land value from an improved Main
Street location such as the pending China
Shop sale (almost across the street from our
lot), the pending Ford Building Sale (similar
location) or even the Western Outdoor Store
sale of a few years ago.
3. The Equity sold the west half of Blk 15 for
$350,000 cash or $8.45 per square foot. It is
reported neither the buyer nor the seller
attributed any value to the service station
which is to be razed.
4. Hagel sale to Hardee's Restaurant, part of
lots 5 & 6 and all of lots 7 & 8, Block 15,
which is 9,250 square feet, sold for $135,000
or an average price per square foot of
$14.59.
5. Although final figures are not yet available,
preliminary information obtained from the
Department of Revenue indicates the new
appraisal of our lot for property tax
purposes will be in the $9 per square foot
range.
6. Mr. Brown indicates the land value for sites
such as Aluminum Products lot located on
First Avenue West ($7.15 per square foot) at
• a higher value than ours. I personally do not
feel this is comparable in value or location.
Mr. Pirrie
page 3
5/5/86
•
•
n
U
In addition to the above comments, as a basis for reconsideration
of the value by your appraiser, I am providing the attached
schedule of vacant sites which have sold in Kalispell. As you can
see by reviewing the sales, the $7 per square foot certainly
seems low.
In an effort to negotiate a fair price to all and to continue the
positive redevelopment effort in uptown Kalispell, we are again
willing to reduce our asking price on this property to a below
actual costs, the same as First Federal has done in the past on
other parking lots provided to the City of Kalispell at below
costs - the one lot behind the bowling alley, the other lot
behind Plaza West, which is currently producing income for the
city. This offer of $150,000 is below our costs and the resulting
$8.50 a square foot figure appears well below current sales and
property tax values.
In view of First Federal's strong support of cooperation in the
private and public sector for the development of our community,
we would hope that after your review of these actual sales and
facts that you would consider the $150,000 offer a fair price.
President