07-31-20 City Manager Report1
City of Kalispell
OFFICE OF THE CITY
MANAGER
Information Memorandum
7/31/2020
1. Parks Department
Forestry staff is working with hazardous trees that continue to be
discovered from the May 31 windstorm. The Spring Prairie tree
that blew over in that windstorm has now been cut into logs and
will be hauled and securely stored to be milled and repurposed at
a later date.
Field Staff are working to replace a failed slide pump at the pool.
The failed pump will be repaired and used as a backup for the
future. Typical pump failures at the pool are from the bearings
seizing or wearing out.
Park restrooms are now open to the public. Signs have been installed informing the
public of the restroom sanitization schedule per our conversation and recommendation of
the Flathead County City Health Department. Irrigation repairs and adjustments continue
due to summer heat and needed repairs. Most irrigation has been off through June due to
the amount of rain we received.
July 27-31 was “Dollar Days” week at Camp Woodland Summer Day Camp, sponsored
by Park Side Credit Union. Park Side brought in a LED big screen on Monday so the
kids could enjoy an outdoor movie at Woodland Park. Kids will be participating in
activities all week where they will have the opportunity to earn “Park Side Bucks” they
can spend at Friday’s carnival. The carnival will have games, cotton candy, shaved ice,
and a dunk tank.
We had a large turnout for our annual summer cheerleading
camp at Lawrence Park. We had 46 girls (ages 4-12)
participate in this year’s camp (compared to 22 in 2019).
Due to COVID, the participants weren’t able to do any
stunts, so the week was focused on a variety of cheers and
dance routines. The participants showed off their skills with
a final performance for friends and family at the end of the
week. Special thanks to the members of the Glacier High
School Cheerleading squad who helped coach the camp.
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On July 29 we started a new competitive 3v3 Basketball League open to boys and girls
who have completed grades 3rd through 8th. The league will be played at Thompson
Memorial Park. Teams consist of 4-6 team members and a coach. Teams will play 4
games over a 4-week period.
2. Police Department
Officers Brady Gray and Randy Kaarre attended a two-day Montana Physical Agilities
Test (MPAT) Proctor Certification course at the Montana Law Enforcement Academy.
This course will prepare participants to administer the MPAT. State certified proctors are
the only persons eligible to administer the MPAT.
Officer Sean Keller attended a School Resource Officer (SRO) Basic course last week.
This is a week-long course that emphasizes three main areas of instruction: 1)
Functioning as a police officer in the school setting, 2) Working as a resource and
problem solver, 3) Developing teaching skills. Officers gain a solid working knowledge
of the School Resource Officer concept and how to establish a lasting partnership with
their schools.
New officer candidate oral interviews were held on July 22 and 23. Twelve candidates
participated. The next phase of the hiring process is a thorough background investigation
which will be ongoing for the next couple months.
Sergeant Jordan Venezio was promoted to Lieutenant of Patrol. This position will
primarily work a night shift and report to the Patrol Captain.
3. Planning Department
The Kalispell City Planning Board will hold a public hearing at their August 11 meeting
to hear one application request consisting of the following:
1. File #KCU-20-04 – A request from Husky Partners, LLC, for major preliminary
plat approval for a three-lot subdivision called Glenwood West Phase 2. The
property contains approximately 3.60 acres and is located at 70 Glenwood Drive,
extending to Financial Drive. The existing lot currently contains two apartment
buildings. It can be described as Lot 1 of Glenwood West, as shown on the map
or plat thereof on file and of record in the office of the Clerk and Recorder,
Flathead County, Montana.
The Planning Board will forward their recommendation to the Council for their
consideration at the September 8, 2020 meeting.
After the regular Planning Board meeting, the Board will hold a work session on two
topics that have generated board discussion at recent meetings. The discussion is
intended to be preliminary on both topics, potentially generating ideas and provide
general direction to staff. The first item relates to setbacks in the B-2 (General Business)
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zone. Current front setbacks are 15 feet while parking buffers are 5 feet. Design
preferences are for buildings to be closer to the street with parking in back, but the
current requirements create an incentive for developers to place the parking in front and
thereby saving 10 feet of developable area. The second item is alleys, which is becoming
a more common place discussion as developments get denser with smaller lot
sizes/widths. While alleys are allowed under current rules, they are discouraged in many
ways. There are many benefits of alleys, which allow for parking, storage, garbage
collection, etc. to occur away from the main streetscape in neighborhoods and effectively
shielding some of the more utilitarian aspects of a property. However, due to long-term
maintenance requirements and associated costs, the City generally does not take
ownership of new alleys. Developers also are often reluctant to use alleys because of the
loss of developable land.
Depending upon the discussion at the work session, staff will look to take appropriate
steps to further the discussion, which may include bringing in other departments to the
conversation and perhaps eventually bringing one or both items up for formal
consideration.
4. Building Department
In the last 4 weeks, we have issued permits for 16 single-family homes and 4 townhomes.
That will bring the total of new single-family/duplex and townhouse units for the year to
143, compared to 65 last year at this time.
The permit for the 1st building in the 1st phase of The Crossing at Spring Creek was
issued with an estimated value of $1,800,000. This building includes 24 units of the 324-
unit project to be completed over 3 phases.
5. Community Development
On Friday, July 24, 2020, US EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, US Senator Daines,
Attorney General Fox and EPA Region 8 Administrator Greg Sopkin toured Kalispell
Brownfields sites related to the Core Area Redevelopment and TIGER grant project. The
group was hosted by Kalispell Mayor Mark Johnson and included stops at the new
Glacier Rail Park, CHS facility, SunRift Restaurant and the former CHS Agronomy
Center. The purpose was to demonstrate the work being accomplished in Kalispell as a
result of the investment of Brownfields grant funds in this community.
The City of Kalispell and BNSF are making final preparations to sign a railbanking
agreement allowing for City acquisition of the rail line through the Kalispell Core Area.
Acquisition paves the way for removal of the tracks to be replaced with a linear
pedestrian trail, spanning approximately 1.6 miles through the Kalispell Core Area. The
Federal Railroad Administration is concluding review of the Supplemental
Environmental Assessment and summation of public comment. This will allow for the
potential issuance of a Finding of No Significant Impact and selection of the Core Area
north/south connector and final trail design.
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South Kalispell TIF Project—Airport Road and 18th Street:
LHC has installed stormwater infrastructure at the
vacant lot between Airport Rd and 1st West which
will be developed into a parking lot. Right of way
has been cleared on the south side of 12th Street for
the construction of sidewalks. The preparation for
sidewalk installation is also in progress on the west
side of 1st Street West. The project will continue to move from north to south with work
to begin on 18th Street West in the next couple of weeks.
Brownfields Petroleum Phase II Assessment:
On Tuesday, July 28, an 8,000 gallon double walled underground fuel storage tank and
associated piping was removed from the former CHS Agronomy Center on 4th Avenue
East North. The week before the canopy and fuel pumps were removed. The purpose of
the EPA Brownfields funded work is to conduct a petroleum phase II environmental site
assessment at the property to determine and characterize any potential petroleum
contamination at the former gas station site in preparation for site redevelopment.
6. Fire Department
Since the last update, the Kalispell Fire Department has received 144 calls for service.
Fire department, central garage, and a third-party vendor conducted our annual required
pump testing and re-certification of our fire engines. These pump tests require that the
apparatus perform its listed gallons per minutes testing using different discharge pressure,
volume, and time constraints. All units passed and are re-certified.
Fire department staff have also concluded the Firefighter Paramedic testing for the
advertised employment opportunity. Candidates that have completed all testing
successfully are currently having background checks performed. It is our plan to make
employment offers in the coming weeks.
7. Public Works
Secondary Digest Lid Project and Fermenter
Inspection
This week, the one-year warranty inspection was
performed on the east secondary digester. Minor
coating irregularities were identified by the HDR
Coatings Specialist. The project coating
contractor was on site and made the necessary
repairs. The secondary digester system is
scheduled to be back online next week. The
fermenter was also taken off-line and inspected
by the Coatings Specialist this week. Results of the inspection will be summarized in a
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report and used as the foundation for the future fermenter rehabilitation project. The
fermenter is a critical component of the biological treatment process. Volatile Fatty
Acids (VFAs) created in the fermentation process are used in the Bioreactors to assist
microorganisms in nutrient removal. After startup, it takes ~ 2-3 week for the fermenter
to create enough VFAs needed to support the treatment process.