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09-02-22 City Manager Report1 City of Kalispell OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER Information Memorandum 9/2/2022 1.Police Department Chief Overman participated as a presenter for a Human Trafficking awareness online seminar on August 31. The training was sponsored by Glory for Ashes, a local non-profit working toward human trafficking awareness. Officer Raul Astorga attended the Montana Law Enforcement Academy Equivalency course August 22-September 2. Officers who have been granted reciprocity based on their law enforcement qualifications and experience in another state must attend the Legal Equivalency Basic Course, which is offered three times a year. This course includes education and training in: Montana Legal Update, Domestic Violence, Use of Force Guidelines and Firearms Proficiencies. The Detectives Division caseload currently stands at 453 cases. This compares with 373 in 2021, and 311 in 2020. Year to date calls for service are 24,328. This compares with 23,537 in 2021, and 21,577 in 2020. Detective Chad Sweigart was recently selected as the new team leader for the Kalispell Police Major Crime Unit. The Major Crime Unit (MCU) is a voluntary assignment that comes in as an organized team to process complex crime scenes. On August 29, the MCU conducted their quarterly training. The training began with inventorying, restocking, and organizing the MCU trailer due to the number of recent MCU call outs. The training also included a round-table discussion to talk about expectations, communication, responses to call outs, equipment needs, and the MCU budget. 2.Fire Department From the period of August 10 to August 23, the Fire Department had 189 responses. Of these, there were 124 medical incidents, 1 House Fire, 7 Motor vehicle accidents with injuries, 13 Fire alarm activations, 15 public assists, 3 Haz-Mat incidents, and 25 dispatched and canceled enroute. 2 The old SCBA Compressor system has been removed and work has begun on the installation of the new system. The Fire Chief has been working with State and regional stakeholders with the regional multijurisdictional hazard mitigation plan. These plans need to be updated regularly to be eligible for FEMA funds in times of disasters or emergencies related to fires, natural disasters, storms, etc. The failing concrete patio at Fire Station 62 was removed and a new concrete patio was poured during the weeks of August 15 and 22. Kalispell Fire assisted West Valley Fire Department with a fully involved garage and house fire on Tronstad Road this past week. 3.Planning Department Upcoming Planning Board The Kalispell City Planning Board will hold a public hearing at their September 13 meeting and take public comments on the agenda items listed below: 1.A request for public comment regarding the Morning Star Court Community Water and Wastewater Improvement Project application to the Montana Department of Commerce, Community Development Block Grant Planning Grant Public and Community Facilities Grant program. This proposed project will be explained, including the purpose and proposed area of the project, activity, budget and possible sources of funding. 2.A request for public comment regarding the Green Acres Court Community Wastewater Improvement Project application to the Montana Department of Commerce, Community Development Block Grant Planning Grant Public and Community Facilities Grant program. This proposed project will be explained, including the purpose and proposed area of the project, activity, budget and possible sources of funding. 3.File #KA-22-07 – A request from Loucas Scholer and Sarah Russell (A/K/A Sarah Davis) for annexation and initial zoning designation of R-4 (Residential) for two properties located at 2150 and 2152 Airport Road. The annexation is to allow the properties to be connected to city water due to a failing well. 4.File #KA-22-08 - A request from Green Acres Cooperative, Inc., for annexation and initial zoning designation of R-4 (Residential) for property located at 1721 South Woodland Drive. The annexation is to allow the property to be connected to city sewer due to a failing septic system for an existing mobile home park. 5.File #KCU-22-02 – A request from Montana Hotel Development Partners and Bill Goldberg for a conditional use permit for a parking structure and for additional height over sixty (60) feet, which is the height allowed by right. The 3 building would contain approximately 242 parking stalls on four levels of parking with general commercial uses on the ground floor and 78 residential units on the upper floors. The building would be eight (8) stories, or approximately 88 feet tall. The property is located at 103/125 First Avenue West. Documents pertaining to the agenda items are on file for public inspection at the Kalispell Planning Department, 201 First Avenue East, Kalispell, MT 59901, and are available for public review during regular office hours. In addition, information on the agenda item is posted on our website at https://mt-kalispell.civicplus.com/314/Planning-Board under planning board “upcoming agenda.” Report to Montana League of Cities and Towns Staff has completed a report regarding recently approved projects within the city. The report was forwarded to the Montana League of Cities and Towns showing how local municipalities are handling housing developments within their jurisdictions. Highlights include the following: 2018-2022 City Council Approved Housing Developments Detached Single Family Homes 905 units (including lots as small as 3500-4000 square feet) Townhouses 678 units (including sublots as small as 1263 square feet and 14 feet wide, with up to 17 attached units) Multi-family 3159 units, plus 83.7 acres of mixed use, including multifamily Other (shelters, group homes) 75 units Land Use Approval Review Time From application to City Council approval, conditional use permits for multi-family projects and subdivision plats take 60 days while Planned Unit Developments take 110 days. The review time allows for public input and transparency. In the timeframe shown, no housing projects were denied by the City Council. Approvals have been based on projects which have been designed with guidance from long-range planning work previously adopted by the City, such as the growth policy, transportation plan, water/sewer facilities plan, annexation/urban growth boundary, and establishment of design criteria. Areas With Multiple Housing Types The City of Kalispell has 6,976 acres of land where residential use is allowed. Of that area, 80.3% allows for multiple units on the property (41.9% allows a duplex or an accessory dwelling unit; 38.3% also allows multi-family). 100% of zones with residential uses allow for some form of housing in addition to traditional detached single- family, with the possibility of guest houses, townhouses, accessory dwelling units, 4 duplexes, or multi-family available depending upon the zone. 2018-August 2022 Building Construction Detached Single Family Homes 598 Townhouses 338 Duplexes 40 units Multi-family 1311 units Total Housing Units Constructed 2287 units 4.Building Department In the last 3 weeks, we have issued permits for 8 single-family homes. That will bring the total of new single-family/duplex and townhouse units for the year to 106, compared to 150 at this time last year. There have been 337 multi-family housing units issued so far this year. Last year at this time we had issued 313 multi-family housing units. There was a total of 248 combined building and/or fire inspections completed in the last 3 weeks. Residential – 57 Plumbing – 19 Commercial – 48 Mechanical - 18 Electrical – 23 Fire – 82 5.Community Development Kalispell’s Core and Rail Development project was awarded the 2022 Phoenix Award for Brownfields Excellence in EPA Region 8 at the National Brownfields Training Conference on August 17, 2022. The award recognize brownfields redevelopment as an essential function of planning, economic development, environmental quality and community development. 6.Public Works TSS Pavement Markings The Traffic Signs and Signals Crew is refreshing pavement markings throughout Kalispell. With school starting, the city has been re-striping school crosswalks. Drivers can do their part by slowing down in school zones and stopping for pedestrians in the crosswalk or those waiting to cross. 5 1st Ave Alley EN Sanitary Sewer Replacement Project Through a competitive bidding process, The City of Kalispell has contracted out the 1st Ave Alley EN Sanitary Sewer Project. The project started this summer and consists of replacing an existing 6-inch and 8-inch Clay Pipe and concrete sewer main with approximately 2,030 linear feet of 8-inch PVC sewer main. Also included in the project are manhole removal and replacement, bypass pumping, sewer service connections, paved surface restoration, and landscape and sidewalk restoration. The contractor has finished sewer piping work within the alley and currently has 3 blocks to complete. The anticipation completion date of the project is October 31, 2022.