07-13-18 City Manager ReportCity of Kalispell
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
City Manager Report
July 13, 2018
1. Building Department
201 First Avenue East
Kalispell, MT 59903
In the last 2 weeks we have issued permits for 3 single family houses. This brings the
total of new single family/duplex and townhouse units for the year to 47, compared to 62
at this time last year. The interior building permit for REI was issued and is valued at
$800,000.
City fire inspectors completed 31 Fire Life Safety Inspections and 3 Short Term Rental
inspections in June. We are moving up South Main toward the downtown at this time,
beginning with the County Courthouse complex.
2. Planning Department
The planning board met on July 10 and addressed three applications. The board
unanimously recommended approval of the 320 unit RV Park called Montana Base Camp
RV. This project involved a growth policy amendment to Mixed Use Urban, a zone
change to B-2 with a PUD overlay, annexation of a small strip of land internal to the
project and a preliminary plat. At the hearing, Citizens for a Better Flathead spoke
against the project. The South Meadows Homeowners Association abutting the southern
boundary spoke in support if the project, as did several other people from the community.
Edge, LLC, also received unanimous approval of a conditional use request to construct
two 4-plex buildings at 24 Appleway. Finally, the board held a work session to discuss
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. The public
hearing for this project is scheduled for the August 14 planning board.
Last month, the Woodland Avenue connector street extension received the most votes
during the Deep Dive edging out 8th Ave. West as the preferred route amongst the initial
3 routes selected for possible development from Center to Idaho as part of the Core Area
Project: Woodland, 6th Avenue West, and 8th Avenue West. In order to find out if there
was real support for this route in the Woodland neighborhood, staff sent out a newsletter
to approximately 120 property owners abutting Woodland Avenue, did a PSA, and
hosted an open house on July 10 at City Hall seeking input on the viability of this route.
35 people attended the open house and a host of people have commented by email and
letter to date. Over 90% of the responses are opposed to the Woodland Extension. We
will leave the comment period open until late July and then make a final report to the
Trail Crew (our steering committee) which is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, July 31 to
review progress.
3. Police Department
On July 9, Officer Dennis Bain taught a bicycle safety course to local youth.
This week, multiple officers attended the ALERRT Active Shooter course. This training
was a two day course taught by the FBI and ALERRT instructors.
On July 11 and 12, Great Falls Police Officer Rich Labard came to Kalispell and
provided training on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Officer Labard suffered from
PTSD early on in his career. After seeking treatment and learning to manage his
disorder, he began instructing other police officers how to recognize symptoms, etc.
On July 9, members of the Major Crime Unit spent the day outfitting KPD's new Crime
Scene/Negotiator trailer.
4. City Clerk/Communications
The City of Kalispell now has an Instagram social media account at
https://www.insta�ram.com/ci!yofkalispell/. Instagram users can now follow the City of
Kalispell to keep up on city governance news, events, and outreach. Meanwhile, the city
Facebook page has reached 4,400 likes with thousands of people reached each week.
5. Community Development
The City of Kalispell, Flathead County, and the Montana Department of Transportation
held a public open house at the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce conference room on
Tuesday, July 10 from 11 am to 2 pm, and 5 pm to 7 pm. Twenty-four people
participated in the event where project staff explained the proposed USDOT BUILD
grant application and answered questions. The application will be submitted by July 18.
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6. Parks and Recreation
Serious Ju Ju and the Rotary Club of
Kalispell Daybreak spent several
evenings removing the graffiti from
the skate park.
Kids are spinning again at Thompson Memorial park as Park
staff removed the old dilapidated merry -go -around and installed
a new one last week at the park.
KPR established a new partnership with the Academy of the Performing Arts this
summer to offer three different camps (Preschool/Kindergarten Dance Camp, Ballet
Dance Camp, and Jazz & Hip Hop Camp). We had 25 kids take part in the new programs
and we are excited about growing this partnership next summer.
Participation in the second session of swim lessons is up 30% compared to the first
session thanks to the warmer temperatures.
Due to cold and rainy conditions, we were not able to host our Story Time with Imagine
IF Libraries in the activity pool on June 29. However due to last year's popularity, we
have expanded the number of programs from one to four and we are hoping for more
favorable weather on our other dates (July 13, July 27, and August 10).
We are about half way through the summer and demand for spots at
Camp Woodland Summer Day Camp is as high as ever. Week 5
and 6 include field trips to Lake Five Resort, Glacier National Park,
and the Whitefish Mountain Resort. We also had an impromptu
visit from the Kalispell Fire Department, who allowed the campers
to tour a fire truck down at the camp center.
7. Public Works
Secondary Digester Project
The secondary digester rehabilitation project is a month into
construction. To date, one of the digester lids has been
removed from the tank and the existing coating is being blasted
from both the digester and the TWAS tank. Once the existing
coating is removed, the contractor will make repairs to the
metal frames and prepare the tanks for coating application.
Pavement Maintenance
Streets in Silverbook Estates and Spring Creek Estates will be chip -sealed the week of
July 9. Chips are compacted with a roller into an asphalt emulsion applied on to the road
surface. The chips are left to cure for a minimum of five days, after which City sweepers
will collect loose gravel that did not get embedded into the asphalt emulsion. Just over 5
miles of city streets will be chip sealed this year.
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