11-16-18 City Manager ReportTYOF
f - - City p of Kalispell
- OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
-- ---- MONTANA
Information Memorandum
11/16/2018
1. Police Department
On November 7, Officers Chad Fetveit, Dennis Bain, and Quintin Fowler gave
presentations to local high school students through the Leaders of Tomorrow program.
Officer Fetveit gave a tour of the BEAR and a brief SRT presentation. Officer Bain gave
a presentation on the department's robot. Officer Fowler presented on the Taser.
On November 9, Officer Quintin Fowler gave a presentation to staff at Head Start. Staff
had inquired about recognizing signs of impairments for those interacting with youth.
Officers Michelle O'Neil and Jason Parce attended a conference this past weekend in Las
Vegas sponsored by Special Olympics.
2. Fire Department
Since the last update, the Kalispell Fire Department has received 212 calls for service and
has conducted 3 outreach trainings with approximately 135 individuals in attendance.
Fire department staff are switching seasonal operations for winter. This entails some
different operating protocols for cold and freezing weather that impact both fire and EMS
operations.
Fire department staff have also began proctoring this season's EMT Paramedic students
from the college Paramedic class. Students are assigned a Paramedic proctor and are
required to operate under the instruction of the proctoring medic for course completion.
This typically is part of the final portions of the class in order to attain credit hours and be
accepted to test for Paramedic certification.
3. City Clerk/Communications
The City Clerk's office mailed approximately 225 letters to the property owners within
the Downtown Kalispell Urban Renewal Plan boundary with notification of a public
hearing on the plan that will take place during the November 19 City Council meeting.
As an officer of the Board of Directors, the City Clerk will be participating in the annual
program meeting for the Montana Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
4. Community Development
The City of Kalispell hosted the Annual Community Development Block Grant,
Community Needs Assessment Public Hearing in Council Chambers on Thursday,
November 15 from Ipm to 3pm. Participating partners included Flathead County,
Montana West Economic Development, Samaritan House, United Way, Community
Action Partnership of Northwest Montana, Kalispell Public Schools and Kalispell
Regional Healthcare. The purpose of the annual hearing is to obtain the views of
community residents, especially low and moderate -income residents, regarding the
community development needs and priorities of the City of Kalispell and Flathead
County for economic development, housing and neighborhood revitalization, and public
facilities.
5. Building Department
We have issued permits for 3 single family houses and 5 townhomes in the last 2 weeks.
That will bring the total of new single family/duplex and townhouse units for the year to
113, compared to 109 last year at this time. Multi -family units are at 82 compared to 20
multi -family units last year at this time. REI located at 2270 Hwy 93 North as well as
Immanuel Lutherans new Villas project located at 20 Claremont Street have both
received their certificates of completion. REI opened for business on November 9. The
Building Department conducted 35 Fire Life Safety inspections of existing businesses in
the community this month. They are currently focusing on Main Street.
6. Planning Department
The Planning Office received two applications for the December meeting. A 37 unit
single-family subdivision on 11.7 acres called Cottage Gardens located on the north side of
Three Mile Drive, just east of Mountain Vista Subdivision, was submitted. This is a
project that received preliminary plat approval just prior to the recession 10 years ago and
never moved forward. We have also received a request to amend a 10-acre site on the
north side of Kalispell North Town Center just immediately east of the Armory from R-3 to
B-2 Commercial to accommodate the expansion of a proposed multi -family project. Staff
made two presentations of the Kalispell Trail this past week; one to Leadership Flathead
and another to NMAR (North West Montana Association of Realtors).
To see the latest drone video footage of the development of the New Glacier Rail Park
located at 700 Rail Park Drive, please visit the City of Kalispell you tube page at
htlps://www.youtube. com/channel/IJCED-PH7x6SQAWtMpdpp9XVg/videos
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7. Public Works
50150 Sidewalk Replacement Program
The 50/50 sidewalk program has closed on another construction season with various curb
and sidewalk projects completed throughout the city. Projects this year included a mix
of private property and City ADA accessibility projects. Upon completion of this year's
season, Sandon Construction has completed 23 work orders that included 4.2 blocks of
sidewalk and 18 ADA accessibility improvements.
Winter Season
Winter snow season is right around the corner and the city crews are prepped and ready to
take on the snow and ice conditions in the city streets. The city's Snow Policy was
adopted by Council in 1997 and provides a policy on snow removal procedures for
streets, alleys, and sidewalks. The Policy delineates responsibilities of the public and sets
expectations for city roles and responsibilities. A summarization of the policy can be
accessed on the Kalispell website at www.kalispell.com/public works/snow removal or
by calling Public Works at 758-7720. Below is a summarization of the Policy:
Snow Routes: A primary system of unmarked snow routes has been established for
effective snow removal on the collector and arterial system. The snow routes are divided
into first priority and second priority routes. First Priority: Any hour service by the Street
Division for snow routes which are established emergency and school routes. Second
Priority: To receive immediate attention following plowing of first priority routes.
Plowing & Parking in Residential Areas: Residential areas will be plowed within 48
hours of the end of snowfall in excess of 3 inches. Less than 3 inches will not be plowed
from residential streets unless drifting occurs. In central Kalispell plow operators will
clear Avenues on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Plow operators will clear snow from
Streets on Tuesday, Thursday. If you must park your vehicle on the public street then
you are requested to park on the nearest adjacent Street or Avenue on the days when
plows are operating.
Other residential areas, typically South of 18th Street, East of Woodland Avenue, West
of Meridian Road, and North of Colorado Street, where off-street parking is more
abundant, are not impacted by the request to move vehicles between Streets and
Avenues. However, snow clearing in these outlying areas will be greatly improved if on -
street parking is held to a minimum.
Please note: Plow operators will attempt to clear snow from curb to curb. Where access
to the curb line is blocked by parked cars the vehicle owner should expect snow to
accumulate around the parked car as the plow passes the vehicle. City crews will try to
avoid plowing snow against a parked vehicle. However, if it does happen they will not be
able to assist in removing the piled snow.
Plowing Private Property: It is strictly forbidden for a city plow to clear snow or ice
from private property unless it must be done to allow emergency vehicle access. Pushing
snow from private property onto the public streets or sidewalks is also prohibited by the
City Code section 24-18.
Private Driveways: City plows are not responsible for clearing private driveways or
snow from private property. The operators do their best to minimize the driveway berms,
but some accumulation is inevitable. Care will be exercised by operators to minimize the
blocking of the driveways, however the burden is the property owners or occupants
responsibility to clear the driveways.
Alleys: Alleys will not be plowed except to maintain essential City services.
Public Parking Lots: Plowed within 12 hours of the end of snow event by the Street
Division. Parking lots and sidewalks administered by the Kalispell Parking Commission
are not covered by this Policy.
Sidewalks: Sidewalks at City operated facilities shall be cleared within 36 hours of end
of snowfall. Clearing snow from sidewalks adjacent to private property is the
responsibility of the property owner or resident. City Code Sec. 24-17.
Sanding/Ice Control: Use of street sanding abrasives and deicers will be dictated by
specific weather and road conditions of each snow event. Street sanding abrasives and
Sodium Chloride solution (with rust inhibitor) shall be used when the application will
produce a proven result. Sanding abrasives generally will not be used except when a
solution of Sodium Chloride will be ineffective.
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