10-02-15 City Manager ReportCITYOF _ City of Kalispell
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
MONTANA
Information Memorandum
10/2/2015
1. Parks Department
Kalispell Parks and Recreation would like to welcome
Liz Jones to our staff as our Recreation Superintendent.
With a degree in Recreation Administration, Liz has
worked for the US Navy in programming and comes to
Kalispell from Helena where she worked for the City of
Helena Parks and Recreation Department. She has
volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters, with a rural
fire department and enjoys many outdoor activities.
Parks & Rec hosted the NFL Punt, Pass & Kick event on September 26, 2015. There
were 22 participants; boys and girls ages 6 — 12, who participated in our free local
competition, which serves as a qualifier for the sectionals in Missoula on October 11.
Participants are scored on the distance and accuracy in which they can punt, pass, and
kick a football for a combined overall score. The national winners are featured at the
NFL Super Bowl Halftime show.
Crews are working on the winterization of irrigation systems. They will start in outlying
neighborhood parks and finish in Woodland. Winterizing irrigation in all of our parks
can take up to 3 weeks, depending on a few variables. Once the irrigation systems are
complete, the bathrooms will be winterized.
On September 19, Parks and Recreation saw two separate volunteer led projects have
great success as they raised funds for park amenities. Lawrence Park went to the dogs for
a couple hours for Doggie Dayz. This event was to help raise money for an off leash dog
park. The Paws to Play group and their partners raised $3,500.00 at this event that saw
several hundred participants. The Boulder Project also held a very successful block party
downtown that raised $10,000 for the boulder project.
On September 27, 35 bikers participated
in Kalispell's Tree Cycle, learning about
some unique and noteworthy trees as
well as understanding management
issues and gaining a vision for the future of Kalispell's urban forest.
The final steps have been completed for Kalispell's 2015 Urban Forestry Program
Development Grant through the DNRC. Twelve hazardous maple trees were removed in
East Courthouse Park and on south main, while 12 trees were planted in boulevards
through the city's new tree cost share program.
September 30, through October 2, four parks staff will be attending the Northern Rockies
Tree School in Livingston, Montana. This year's conference will be focused on tree and
sidewalk issues as well as trees and human health.
The biannual "Trees to Paper to Trees" Recycling drive, which raises money for the tree
fund, will be held on October 3, at the Flathead County Fairgrounds. The Tree Board and
Parks staff have partnered with Pacific Recycling, Evergreen DisposaINalley Recycling,
Kalispell Middle School, and Pizza Hut to make this event possible.
Throughout this summer we have worked with several agencies and companies to
identify a process or product to address the algae blooms in the Woodland Park Pond.
Due to the pond eventually flowing into state waters, chemical treatment is somewhat
prohibitive. Organic solutions are still being looked at and researched. However, at this
point we have not identified a long term solution. An interim plan that staff came up with
to immediately address the issue was to skim the pond with a net and ballast system made
from old tennis nets. While this process was labor intensive, it did net several yards of
algae.
2. Public Works
Water Production Facilities
Water Operators perform facility
maintenance on an annual basis to extend the
life of the facilities and protect the water
system from natural elements. This year,
operators repaired the deteriorating cinder
blocks on the Noffsinger Spring House and
the Small Booster Station. The old paint was
stripped off the buildings with a pressure
washer, the pockmarks, cracks and grout
lines were resealed, and finally two heavy
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coats of paint were applied.
Kalispell Leaf Collection
Street crews remove leaves from city streets during the Fall
Season from October 1 — November 30 (dates may vary due
to weather). Residents and business owners are encouraged
to rake the leaves from the boulevards onto the street
approximately two feet away from the curb. Leaf piles
placed two feet from the curb ensure the leaf machines can
operate efficiently. City Street
personnel will make every effort
to remove leaves as quickly as
possible. Routinely, avenues are
done on Mondays, Wednesdays,
and Fridays, and streets are done on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Outlying residential areas will be done daily. Vehicles must
be removed from the curbsides during leaf pickup operations.
Bagged leaves and bundle branches should be placed in the
alley for solid waste pick up.
Residents are encouraged to not place rocks, dirt, cans, bottles, branches, and items of
this nature in the leaf piles. This can cause bodily injury to city personnel, bystanders
and cause damage to the machinery.
3. Fire Department
Since the last update, the Kalispell Fire Department have received 123 calls for service
and have conducted 3 outreach trainings with approximately 70 individuals in attendance.
October 4-10 is fire prevention week. This year's FPW campaign, "Hear the Beep Where
You Sleep. Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm," provides an opportunity to
educate the public about the importance of having working smoke alarms in every
bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the home.
In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day
proclamation, and since 1922, Fire Prevention Week has been observed on the Sunday
through Saturday period in which October 9 falls, the day in which the "Great Chicago
Fire" and the "Peshtigo Wisconsin Fire" occurred in 1871. According to the National
Archives and Records Administration's Library Information Center, Fire Prevention
Week is the longest running public health and safety observance on record. The
President of the United States has signed a proclamation proclaiming a national
observance during that week every year since 1925.
This year the fire department has scheduled fire safety education events throughout the
week, and into the following week to help get the word out about fire safety.
4. Planning Department
The planning office has received a request for a conditional use permit by Immanuel
Lutheran Corporation for a 5 Phase multi -year project that will involve remodeling and
expanding both the Buffalo Hills Terrace Assisted Living and the skilled nursing home.
The Terrace will see 6 assisted living apartments converted into 12 memory care beds
plus add 12 additional memory care beds, a new entrance into the Terrace and an
expanded dining facility. A 32 unit apartment building will be added to the Terrace with
a partially below grade, one floor, parking facility under the apartments. The Retreat will
convert 50 skilled nursing beds into 32 beds to be used primarily for Rehab but also for
nursing care. The remainder of the skilled nursing facility will also be remodeled. The
planning office has also received a request for a zoning text amendment that would
reduce the required parking numbers for the Center Mall. Both of these issues will be
heard by the planning board at their October 13 planning board meeting.
On September 23, the Kalispell TAC met. They recommended removing Reserve Place
from the urban funded highway system. This stretch of road from US 93 west to Glacier
High School was the original segment of West Reserve that was orphaned when the latest
stretch of Bypass was built. It now serves as a dead ended local street. In its place, the
TAC approved adding Old Reserve Drive from US 93 to the Glacier High School
(bordering McDonalds, Costco and Station 62) to the urban system. TAC also discussed
the need to prepare an update to the Kalispell Transportation Plan (last updated in 2006)
so that it can reflect the impact that the new Highway 93 bypass will have on traffic flows
and patterns. The state has 50% matching funds for these planning efforts. It was agreed
that we need to begin this process in 2 years. TAC also began discussing what our next
urban project would be. Four projects were offered (West Reserve Drive, Willow Glen,
Whitefish Stage and the Grandview extension with bridge from the college to Whitefish
Stage). Discussions will continue for some time on this topic.
Finally, MDT said that construction will begin shortly on the US 93 Bypass and that
LHC's projections show it could be open for traffic in late 2016 if all goes well, with
project completion set for spring -summer 2017.
5. Building Department
Residential activity has picked up in the past month, pushing us ahead of last year's
trend. Most notable is the issuance of a 96 unit apartment complex on Bloomstone,
which is now under construction. This year, residential permits have been issued for 41
single-family, 10 townhomes, 4 duplex units, and 96 multi -family units for a total of 151
residential units. For the same time period in 2014, there were 63 single-family, 12
townhomes, and 2 duplex units for a total of 77 units. No multi -family units were built in
Kalispell for the previous 2 years.
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6. Information Services
IT staff assisted with the closure of the City pool by relocating computers and electronic
systems back to City Hall for off season storage.
The Cityworks program was upgraded to the latest software version. The initial setup of
the public access online permits program is underway. The online permits site for the
building department is not yet available to City staff or the public.
IT staff are in the process of performing security and operational checks on municipal
computers for system protection and operational capacity to aid in maintaining the
network system for city staff.
7. Police Department
Kalispell Police Officers Sean McRae, David Massie, and Sgt. Brett Corbett will be
attending the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Academy the week of October 5-9 in
Kalispell. The academy's purpose is to assist first responders, detention staff, and
dispatchers in engaging, assessing, and assisting individuals in crisis with mental and/or
co-occurring substance disorders. CIT is a 40-hour evidence based training that
encompasses tools and skills needed for first responders to better manage situations
involving individuals with mental health and/or co-occurring substance disorders. CIT
Academy instruction includes: Suicide assessment and intervention, substance abuse and
dual diagnosis, introduction to mental illness, psychotropic medications, legal issues,
elderly and children's issues, developmental disabilities, intervention strategies, and
scenario training.
The Kalispell Police Department will have their armored vehicle (the B.E.A.R.) and an
officer present at two upcoming public safety events. The first event is on Saturday,
October 3, from 9am to 2pm in the Home Depot parking lot. The second event is on
Sunday, October 4, from llam -2pm at the Whitefish Fire Department's Open House.
The B.E.A.R. (Ballistic Engineered Armored Response) is a 13 ton vehicle used by the
Kalispell Police Department's Special Response Team during high risk emergency
situations.
Officer Jason Parce was a guest presenter at FVCC's Bar and Beverage Class on
September 21. Officer Parce spoke to the class about Montana's alcohol laws and other
various topics of concern for new employees or owners of establishments that serve
alcoholic beverages to the public.
On September 30, the Kalispell Police Department held written and physical testing for
new police officer candidates. KPD is trying to fill two newly created positions. 58
applications to test were initially received. 28 applicants showed up to partake in the
testing. After the written testing was completed, only 12 applicants were still in
contention. All 12 candidates successfully completed the physical test. They will all go
through initial interviews with KPD's background investigators. Pending the background
investigators approval and passing a personal history questionnaire, the applicants will
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move on to background investigations. Final interviews are scheduled for mid -
November.
8. Human Resources
We recently completed our annual Employee Health Screening.
Total Participants: 163
a. Employees:101
b. Spouses:51
C. Dependents:9
d. Retirees:2
Our insurance provider's wellness program provides an opportunity for employees and
spouses to earn up to $300 if they meet pre -established personal health goals compared to
last year's numbers, expecting short term costs will outweigh long term expenditures if
wellness isn't monitored and controlled.
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