12-03-21 City Manager Report1
City of Kalispell
OFFICE OF THE CITY
MANAGER
Information Memorandum
12/3/2021
1.Parks and Recreation
On the night of November 14, Kalispell received 60 mph winds.
Most of the City trees fared well with us only losing two spruce
trees in Lions Park and one in Woodland Park. In addition to
these trees, our forestry crew is also removing two large dead
Lombardy poplars from the bottom of Heritage Park.
The Parks Field Crew is replacing a large section of the railing in the
Woodland Park Pavilion that has deteriorated. The crew is using
peeled logs and hand tools to replicate the original construction of
the railing section.
Recreation is hiring for multiple positions including after school counselors, recreation
aides for our youth sports programs, and ice-skating instructors. Staff will also be
attending the annual Flathead High School Career Fair on Thursday, December 9.
Our fall youth basketball league, Little Dribblers, wrapped up on Saturday, November 20.
The Kalispell Kickers indoor soccer league (3 years old to 4th grade) will begin on
Saturday, January 22 at Rankin Elementary. Registration for the Kalispell Kickers
program closes on Friday, January 7.
We have finalized the schedule for this year’s Freeze Out
Camp at Elrod Elementary School December 23, 27-30, and
January 3. Field trips this year include ice skating in Woodland
Park, indoor rock climbing at Rockfish Climbing and Fitness,
and a visit to the Kalico Art Center on Main Street. The Freeze
Out Camp schedule and registration form can be found on the
KPR website: https://www.kalispell.com/249/Youth-Camp-
After-School.
2
2.Planning Department
There is no Planning Board public hearing in December. Staff is currently reviewing the
City of Kalispell subdivision regulations in order to ensure that they follow recent
changes in state law, such as the expedited review which was approved by the legislature
this spring. Staff will also make sure that the subdivision regulations reflect any recent
changes to other city design standards, state regulations, or any other necessary
updates. Staff will start with an internal review before working with the Planning Board
and ultimately City Council as part of the adoption process.
Additionally, staff is updating the City of Kalispell Floodplain Management Ordinance to
reflect the most recent updates to the Montana Model Floodplain Ordinance issued by the
DNRC. The revisions include updated definitions, mandatory aspects of Federal and
Montana floodplain law, and the adoption of FIRM panels that include property within
city limits as a result of recent annexation. A public hearing with City Council will
occur as part of the ordinance update at a future date.
3.Building Department
In the last 3 weeks, we have issued permits for 4 single-family homes. This brings the
total of new single-family/duplex and townhouse units for the year to 233, compared to
278 last year at this time.
There have been 569 multi-family housing units issued so far this year. Last year at this
time, we had issued 156 multi-family housing units.
The permit was issued for the new 2-story Whitefish Credit Union located at 2000 Hwy
93 S. The project is valued at approximately $5,000,000.
There was a total of 182 combined building and/or fire inspections completed in the last 2
weeks.
Residential – 72 Plumbing – 38
Commercial – 28 Mechanical - 22
Electrical – 20 Fire - 2
4.Community Development
The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT)
and LHC crews have completed construction on the
Kalispell Bypass – Foys Lake Road Interchange
project. Crews have finished the bulk of construction
activities and drivers are now able to use the full
interchange. Workers will return in 2022 to
3
complete the final layer of asphalt, chip seal, paint final roadway lines, and conduct
streambank restoration at the Ashley Creek bridge just north of the new interchange.
Warm and dry conditions are needed for much of this work. Weekly updates will now
pause for the winter, as there will be no activity on the project until next year. Updates
will resume when final activities of the project ramp up again next spring.
At its November meeting, the Urban Renewal Agency voted unanimously to recommend
a parking garage structure be built on the City-owned “Eagle’s” permit parking lot
located at the southeast corner of First Avenue West and First Street West. The parking
garage is a public/private partnership that falls under the public infrastructure program
within the Downtown Kalispell Tax Increment Financing Assistance Program policies.
The URA recommendation is scheduled to go before City Council at their work session
on December 13 and for Council action on December 20.
5.Fire Department
For the month of November, the Fire Department had 404 responses. Of these, there were
over 300 medical incidents, 10 Motor vehicle accidents, 11 Fire alarm activations, 13
public assists/invalid, 1 Structure Fire, 4 outside Fire types, 2 Haz-Mat (Gas leak, spills,
carbon monoxide), 3 wires down calls, 33 dispatched and canceled enroute (typically a
fire call to assist nearby mutual aid fire departments and canceled after they arrive, i.e.,
Evergreen or Smith Valley or a no injury vehicle accident, canceled by police) and
various other call types.
On November 30, the Fire Department interviewed 3 individuals to fill the 3rd open
Firefighter Paramedic opening. Background investigations are now being conducted.
The Engineers exam is scheduled to take place the 2nd week in December.
On November 29, Kalispell Fire hosted a Fire Hydraulics course at Station 62. This was
organized by Chief Kinzer and taught by Montana Fire School instructor Rick Paulsen.
Candidates that have applied to take the Engineers exam were all in attendance.
Chief Pearce has been working with County Agencies (911 Center, KPD, FCSO and
other Fire agencies) on a Mass Casualty response plan.
6.Public Works
Lower Zone Tanks Roof Replacement Project
The initial tasks for this multi-year capital
improvement project were completed in November.
The tank sites have been surveyed, geotechnical
bores have been completed, and the tanks were
drained and inspected by the City’s structural
consultant. The purpose of the inspection was to
evaluate the condition of the existing tanks, verify
4
that the dimensions and layouts are consistent with available record drawings, and inspect
for any deficiencies that may impact the design. The consultant is currently working on a
Structural Inspection Finding and Alternatives Reports to document the findings of the
inspection and make design recommendations, along with evaluating alternatives and
providing cost estimates for each alternative.
7.Police Department
The Kalispell Police Department Special Response Team conducted testing to identify a
new member for a vacancy within the team. Officer Will Appel, has been selected to fill
this position. Officer Appel brings 10 years of prior experience with a team from his
prior agency to our department.
Captain Jim Wardensky was selected to replace Captain Tim Falkner in the role of
Administrative Captain. Jim is a 24-year veteran of the Kalispell Police Department and
will take over that role beginning December 21. The Administrative Captain is primarily
responsible for the supervision of the records, parking, animal warden, and court security
programs.
With the arrival of 21 additional body cameras, Captain Brett Corbett is organizing office
space in an effort to build an efficient and central docking station in partnership with our
IT Department. The body cameras were authorized by council and provide each field
officer an assigned unit. This will provide a higher level of accountability,
availability, and tracking with our body camera program.
School Resource Officers Eric Brinton and Dennis Petersen are attending School
Resource Officer Basic education. This course is designed for new school resource
officers to provide them with insight and skills for functioning in the educational setting.
Officers will learn the basics of functioning as a school-based law enforcement officer,
informal counselor, educator, and emergency manager. Officers are exposed to
numerous sections on a variety of topics, including Legal Trends, Security for Schools,
School Crisis Planning, Education Programs, Crimes & Enforcement, Legal Liabilities,
and Day-to-Day Operations.
8.Council Orientation
Our newly elected council members toured city facilities and met with respective
departments this week. The process introduces them to personnel throughout the city,
projects that are currently in process or are being planned for the future, and generally
establishes an introduction to municipal operations. Our new council members will be
sworn in on the first Monday in January.