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11-18-16 City Manager ReportCity of Kalispell OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER Information Memorandum 11/18/2016 1. Police Department During the first week of November, law enforcement officers from the Kalispell Police Department participated in an operation with the United States Marshalls Service, the Flathead County Sheriffs Office, and the Montana Department of Corrections Kalispell Probation and Parole office. Officers conducted compliance checks on local registered sexual offenders. The purpose of this operation was to locate sex offenders who are non- compliant with their registration requirements. 37 offenders were checked within the City limits of Kalispell; 3 were found to be non -compliant. 2. Parks Department Atter wrapping up Little Squirts and Little Dnbblers basketball on - November 12, we have a flurry of activities in early December. We will once again be participating in the Annual Art Walk where we will highlight local art projects from Flathead High School's �+- '�►iR woodshop as well as art projects from our Afterschool Program. In addition, we will have cookie decorating, raffle prizes, refreshments, and holiday photos. Additionally, in December, we will be holding our annual Santa's calling where Parks and Recreation contracts with Artctic Bell for a direct line to the North Pole. We will be starting our youth ice skating lessons at the Woodland Ice Center with 4 two - week sessions in December through February for children ages 4-15. No experience is necessary and we offer free skate rentals. On Monday, November 7, Patrick Plantenberg with the International Society of Arboriculture, Rocky Mountain Chapter, presented Chad Fincher, the City of Kalispell Director of Parks and Recreation, a Gold Leaf award for having one of the top two Arbor Day Celebrations in a four state region (New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, & Montana) last April. A thank you to Fred Bicha, Parks Superintendent, volunteers and companies that made the event possible. The Street Tree Committee met on November 9, to begin drafting their work plan for the coming year. Arbor Day and the Tree Cycle have become major events for the board each year. Work has begun to repair the Depot Park restrooms that were set on fire in late August. The men's restroom has been gutted and will be sandblasted to remove charred soot from wood structure before putting the restroom back together. With the last tournament of the year complete, the Kalispell Youth Athletic Complex is nearing closure for the year. Staff will move from the complex down to the parks department to help with forestry duties during the winter months. 3. Fire Department Since the last update, the Kalispell Fire Department has received 112 calls for service and has conducted 4 outreach trainings with approximately 54 individuals in attendance. Recently, fire department staff attended a training presented by Dan Madrzykowski, a Research Engineer at Underwriter Laboratories Firefighter Safety Research Institute. This was a two-day presentation on the latest research and findings related to fire behavior, fire attack, and ventilation at the Montana Mutual Aid conference in Helena. As part of our education efforts for fire prevention and safety, we are currently supporting the Underwriter Laboratories launching of the "Close your door" campaign to help prevent fire deaths. Modern construction and furnishings contribute to a more rapid fire spread, smoke generation, and toxic byproducts of combustion than in the past. UL's campaign is designed to create awareness about how such a simple behavioral change can save lives. According to UL, today's fires give occupants 3 minutes or less to escape. Having a closed door can buy valuable time. 4. Human Resources Human Resources is working with city departments and the Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority (MMIA) to audit and update our property, contents and mobile equipment inventory and their estimated costs should we sustain a loss for insurance purposes. 5. Planning Department The planning board met on Wednesday, November 9, and heard two issues. The board acted on a staff request to extend the new B-3 Core Area zoning classification to a 12- block area bounded on the north by Idaho, the east by Third Ave. EN, the south by Center Street and the west by Main Street. No public comment was received and a unanimous recommendation was sent to council to approve the new zoning. The board also heard a request to annex a 3.8-acre tract of land bordering Teal Drive on the west side of Airport 2 Road with an initial zoning classification of RA-2. The neighborhood submitted a petition with 132 signatures opposing the RA-2 zone and recommending an RA-1 zoning in exchange. In addition, at the hearing approximately 20 people from the neighborhood submitted a similar petition and spoke in support of denying the RA-2 zone and in its place supported an RA-1 zone. The net effect would be to reduce the potential multi- family density from the 82 units requested to 55 units. The Planning Board did unanimously recommend to the council that the property be annexed with an initial zoning of RA-1. The associated conditional use permit to construct 82 multi -family units was tabled as it would not comply with the planning board recommendation of RA-1 zoning. Staff has received a preliminary plat application for a 37 lot, single family development to be located south of Merganser Drive adjacent to the US 93 By-pass. The 8.8-acre tract of land will be called South Side Estates and is scheduled for the December Planning Board meeting. 6. Building Department Residential building permits have been issued for 2 single family homes in the past 2 weeks bringing the total to 135 single family and duplex units this year compared to 64 units at this time last year. The building permit was issued for the 164,691 square foot KRMC Women & Children's Pavilion located at 310 Sunny View Lane. The valuation for this project is $37 million. Also, the building permit was issued for the KRMC Central Plant Expansion located at 310 Sunny View Lane. The valuation for this project is $3.6 million.