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05-31-19 City Manager Report1 City of Kalispell OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER Information Memorandum 5/31/2019 1. Police Department Officer Jason Parce and K9 Cairo attended the Pacific Northwest Police Detection Dog conference in Seaside, OR May 19-24, The organization is dedicated towards enhancing the professionalism and training of detection dog handlers throughout the Pacific Northwest. Member states and provinces include Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Washington and British Columbia, Canada. Officer Bagnoli and Officer Bain attended the Mountain States Tactical Officer’s Association Conference in Helena May 20-24. They participated in training to enhance their skills as assigned police snipers. In May all member of the Kalispell Police Department recertified in AED, CPR, and choking response. Officer Randy Kaare participated in a tactical medicine for first responders course in Kalispell on May 23. 2. Parks Department A contractor has finished the pruning of the trees at Depot Park. Contract tree pruning is continuing on 1st Ave W and in the WN part of town. The Master Gardeners, along with the Garden Club, and Friends of Lawrence Park came together on May 15, to continue work on rehabilitating a planter bed at Lawrence Park. Park staff have planted flowers in front of the Public Safety Building as well as the cannon at Woodland Park. They have also prepared the downtown planters which will be planted by the Downtown Business Association. 2 The Forestry Division responded to a couple of hazard trees that were reported to the department. In anticipation of the summer event season, we have made some improvements to the electrical systems in Depot Park. We added a lockable cabinet for four 50 amp receptacles and four 20 amp GFCI receptacles on the east side of the park to better serve vendors for events like Picnic in the Park, Arts in the Park, and the Great Bear Festival. We will also be adding LED lighting to the gazebo. Camp Woodland Summer Day Camp registration continues to increase. Staff are cleaning the facility and transferring sports equipment and art supplies in anticipation of camp starting on June 10. Staff will also be completing their CPR and first aid training on June 8. The children at the Cairo’s Kids Afterschool Program had a great educational visit from the staff and birds from the Montana Wild Wings Recovery Center. Beth Watne and Susan Miller brought several birds from the center and discussed their mission and the types of birds they assist. 3. Fire Department Since the last update, the Kalispell Fire Department has received 117 calls for service and has conducted 2 outreach events with approximately 180 individuals in attendance. Staff from the fire department also participated in the Spring into Safety Day at the fairgrounds on May 18 and presented information to middle school kids for a STEM career day at Flathead Valley Community College on the 21st. On May 21 and 22 Kalispell Fire Department’s Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team participated in inter-agency drills with Montana National Guard 83rd Civil Support Team (CST). HazMat Team and CST members worked in an integrated response model over the two days to assess and mitigate training scenarios including chlorine leak, pressurized pipe leak, clandestine lab manufacturing processes, and radiologic source identification. The CST trains with all of Montana’s 6 Regional HazMat Teams on a revolving basis. Montana’s Regional HazMat Teams are located in Kalispell, Missoula, Great Falls, Helena, Bozeman, and Billings. Fire Department staff are taking part in our annual Emergency Vehicle Operator Course and recertification. This involves setting up a vehicle obstacle course and completing a series of driving tests to prove competencies. 4. Human Resources Human Resources has scheduled this year’s wellness screening for city employees, dependents, and retirees for September 5-6. 3 5. Building Department In the last 2 weeks, we have issued permits for 9 single-family homes and 2 townhomes. That will bring the total of new single-family/duplex and townhouse units for the year to 45, compared to 35 last year at this time. We are currently sitting at 24 units of multifamily housing year to date. Last year, at this time, we had issued permits for 36 apartment units. A permit was issued for a 2nd shell building in the Treeline Center located at 625 Treeline Rd. The project is valued at $800,000 and will have 3 lease spaces. The new 7200 square foot DA Davidson building located at 176 Timberwolf Parkway has begun construction and is valued at $900,000. 6. Planning Department Staff testified in Helena before the Montana State Housing Board on May 20 in support of Creekside Estates, a 40 unit elderly tax credit funded housing project proposed to be constructed on Financial Drive in Kalispell. The Housing Board was taking comment on 16 applications for tax credit funded housing in Montana. Eight projects from around the state were selected for the final round. Unfortunately Creekside Estates was not selected to go forward. The developer indicated that he would try again next year. 7. Information Services The City’s Electronic Records Management website has a new look. The site can be accessed directly from the https://kalispell.com home page by hovering over Government and clicking Archive from the right most list. The Laserfiche and Utility Billing websites were setup on new servers. In the coming week(s) the City’s Public Access website will be moved to a new web server. The City Public Access site is where the public apply for public works and building permits. Limited downtime will occur. 4 IT staff setup the pool computers, phones and other equipment at the pool in advance of the summer season. Scanners and printers are being setup on the MDTs that will be used during the police department electronic ticketing training. 8. Community Development Kalispell’s Brownfields Assessment Grant has been extended to September 30, 2021. The purpose of the extension is to allow sufficient time for needed environmental site assessments, both Phase I and Phase II, related to the TIGER grant project. 9. Public Works Solid Waste Annual Spring Cleanup Collection Day The City of Kalispell’s Solid Waste Division completed their sixth annual spring clean-up for residential rollout customers during the month of May 13. This annual service allows residential rollout customers to put large items and excess household items on the curb for rear loader pickup. These items may consist of couches, washers, dryers, yard debris, large boxes and other items that do not fit in their rollout container. This service does not allow the collection of any hazardous products like oils, antifreeze, batteries, pesticides or weed killers. A two-man crew operating a rear loader collects the large items and delivers them to the County Landfill. The solid waste staff, in just one week, removed around 32 tons of debris and multiple flatbed truck loads hauling 20+ appliances to the landfill. Water Main Replacement The water main replacement project for Conrad Drive is under way. The contractor has installed ~ 50 ft of new water main starting at College Ave and Conrad Drive. After completing the mainline installation in Conrad Drive, the contractor will tie into the existing water main at the intersection of Woodland Drive and Second Ave E. The project is expected to be finished by the beginning of July.