Loading...
08-03-18 City Manager ReportCity of Kalispell n OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER Information Memorandum 8/3/2018 1. Public Works Stormwater management permit applications for the City of Kalispell are now online. We are completely transitioning to an electronic permit process and will no longer be supporting paper submittals, additionally payments can now be made online when submitting the permit. Online permit applications, inspections, and terminations information will all be tracked through Cityworks, Our website provides the link at www.kalispell.com/467/Stormwater-Permits- Ordinances to the application along with additional resources including a stormwater map and resources on local water quality issues. :F'MRNWA11 ER PP:ikMUS 6 OR'.11Vp8.ANCKS Wmi xC», Jvu The entire stormwater permit process is now paperless, from permit submittal to plan review to s inspections. Stormwater permits will be able to be linked to building permits within Cityworks and multiple departments will be able to track progress back and forth. This is an exciting step forward as we are the first City in Montana to offer online stormwater permits! Last week, the City's Sewer Crew completed two major repairs on separate sewer mains that were semi -collapsed in the west area of town. Due to the depth of the main, the repairs were completed in coordination with an excavation contractor. The City Sewer Crew supported the construction through installation of the new sections of pipe, backfill, and materials handling. The collaborative effort allows for an efficient and timely repair while minimizing sewer service interruptions. 2. Police Department KPD recently took possession of our new Major Crime Unit/Crisis Negotiation trailer and spent time outfitting the trailer with cabinets and shelves to store needed supplies. KPD officers have competed annual outdoor firearms qualifications and training. Recently, Officer Dennis Bain conducted a bicycle safety course at Trinity Lutheran school and Officer Jason Parce and Cairo gave a K9 presentation at the Summit. 3. Parks Department Local Master Gardeners partnered with the Flathead Garden Club to spruce up one of the planting beds at Lawrence Park. They pulled weeds and pruned the dead material from the shrubs. They are also developing a planting plan for the bed for the future. A second path was enhanced by a Montana Conservation Corp youth work crew at Lawrence Park on July 16-20. The trail takes off from the loop path and connects Whitefish Stage to Lawrence Park. The enhanced path follows the Stillwater River. The Woodland Park Pavilion recently received a fresh coat of paint. Lights have also been changed to LED's and two yard lights were added to brighten the park at night. For our second year in a row, we have partnered with Imagine If Libraries to offer story time at the Woodland Water Park activity pool. Last year, we offered one session and had approximately 30 parents and children attend. This year, we have had several programs with over 100 children and parents attending. Our last story time program of the summer will be on Friday, August 10, at 10:30am. Another second -year partnership that continues to grow is our Performing Arts Camp offered in conjunction with instructors from the Resound School of Music and Theatre. Growth in this program increased 20% this year. Special thanks to Sarah Burdick and Amy Zoltek for their hard work and the wonderful culminating performance at the end of the camp. 2 We have 37 parents and children signed up for our KPR Family Rafting Day on Saturday, August 11. Families can choose either a half -day whitewater trip or a half -day scenic float. Both trips take place on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River which boarders Glacier National Park. The Glacier Raft Company has given the Kalispell community a great discount for the experience ($20 off their advertised adult rate and $10 off their child rate). We still have spots available for those that may be interested. his://www.kalispell_com/DocumentCenter/View/1159/family -rig-2018?bidld= 4. Fire Department Since the last update, the Kalispell Fire Department has received 390 calls for service and has conducted 5 outreach trainings with approximately 150 individuals in attendance. This represents roughly a month of activity. Recently, eight Kalispell Firefighters participated in a three-day Confined Space Rescue course. This course focused on safe operations during confined space rescue in compliance with OSHA and NFPA regulations and standards. There are a multitude of permitted confined space areas both in the public and private sectors that are present in our response area, with entries being made on a regular basis. 5. Information Services Two network switches in the public safety building were replaced. IT staff continue to make changes to the computers connected to switches that were already in use at the public safety building. IT staff updated the Stormwater and building permit reports for Cityworks. A server change required resourcing the database of the 20 permit reports for Cityworks. 6. Community Development The community volunteer Kalispell Trail Crew group met on July 31 to view preliminary concepts of trail alignment and features of the TIGER project based on feedback from June's Deep Dive public outreach. The group viewed for the first time the potential trail from the north-east end where the overpass bridge crosses US Hwy 2 to the crossing at US Hwy 93. Incorporating comments received from the Trail Crew, the design team consultants at Alta and KLJ along with City staff will refine renderings and share those concepts through community outreach beginning at the Northwest Montana Fair. City staff will have a booth at the Expo building during the Fair and be available to discuss the design concepts on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (August 15-17) of Fair week. 7. Building Department In the last 2 weeks, we have issued permits for 4 single family houses. That will bring the total of new single family/duplex and townhouse units for the year to 51, compared to 70 last year at this time. The fifth and final apartment building for Owl View Landing was issued; an 8 unit building is located at 206 Sawyer Lane valued at $745,791. That brings the total of multi -family units permitted to 44 for the year compared to 44 multi- family units for all of 2017. The fire inspection program saw 5 short-term rental inspections and 26 new fire/life/safety inspections. We have completed all businesses along Airport Road. We will begin moving down Main Street this month beginning with the County complex at the south end of Main Street. 8. Planning Department The planning board has two items scheduled for the August 14 board meeting. The first item involves the Eagle Valley Ranch PUD which encompasses approximately 99-acres and creates a new vision for the project site which was known as the Valley Ranch PUD. The site is located east of US Highway 93 North, south of Ponderosa Estates and adjacent to the Armory property and Kalispell North. The proposed development calls for 225 residential lots, 12 mixed -use office/residential lots and an apartment complex site. A work session was held at the planning board in July that was attended by several adjoining property owners. A second hearing involves a request by Kalispell Housing Group, LLC for a PUD amendment on approximately 17-acres of the 325-acre Silverbrook Development. The site lies north of Silvertip Drive and south of the Commercial POD along Church Drive. The change would take an area platted for 60 two -unit townhomes (totaling 120 housing units) and convert the area into twelve 4-plex condominium buildings for a total of 48 units and 180 apartment units situated in four 30-unit buildings and two 15-unit buildings. The four-plexes would be 2-story in height, the larger buildings would be three story. The net effect would be taking the proposed 120 housing units and increasing the density to 228 units. The design is intended to buffer the commercial POD on the north end by gradually increasing the neighborhood density as the development proceeds north. The Kalispell Trail crew met on Tuesday and conducted a very preliminary review of the east half of the proposed trail design through Kalispell. Staff also presented the results of the public comment collected this past month and the open house held on July 10 to discuss the advisability of extending Woodland Drive from Center to Idaho as one the M Complete Street options which is part of our Tiger Grant application. Staff sent information to all property owners along Woodland Drive and advertised a 30 day comment period. 30 people attended the open house and a total of 60 public comments were received. 58 of the 60 comments supported taking Woodland Drive off the table as a viable option. The Trail Crew concurred with the results. Staff will contact the Woodland Drive neighborhood and let them know the results of this process. At this time, the preferred route for a complete street extension is 8 h Ave. West.