07-01-16 City Manager ReportC.ITYOF _ City of Kalispell
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OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
MONTANA
Information Memorandum
7/1/2016
1. Planning Department
MDT hosted an open house at the Red Lion Inn Tuesday, June 28, concerning the
ongoing study of the US Highway 93 Court House Couplet. The format of the meeting
and the information provided was similar to the council work session several months ago.
MDT will collect public input received at this open house and share it with the city in the
coming months as MDT moves forward on developing actual design suggestions.
Interest in the Core Area Plan remains high as the staff did presentations to the Lions
Club and the Evergreen Chamber as well as at the Kalispell Chamber Luncheon in the
past 2 weeks.
2. Building Department
The building department has issued 6 single-family permits in the past 2 weeks. This
brings the total of new residential units for 2016 to 76; compared to 28 units for the same
time period in 2015.
Commercial drawings (applications for building permits) have been submitted for the
following new construction projects in the past 2 weeks:
• Hobby Lobby, a $2.5 million, 55,000 square foot arts and crafts store to be
located in Spring Prairie Phase 4 near the intersection of Hwy 93 N and Old
Reserve Drive;
• Flathead Valley Community College Student Housing, a 124 bed, $8.4 million
project located in the northwest portion of the campus;
• American Title Co, a $600,000 office building, located at 219 East Center Street;
and
• US Forest Service $250,000 storage facility located at their campus on Wolfpack
Way.
• KRMC will be constructing a three story, 180,000 square foot Women and
Children's Center located just east of the main hospital. This project is valued at
$40,000,000;
• A tenant improvement project, valued at $650,000 to be completed in the Heart
Surgical Center located in the surgical tower of KRMC. This project is valued at
$650,000;
• A remodel of the office building located at 245 Windward Way. The valuation for
this project has not yet been determined;
• Starbucks on the north end of Kalispell is proposing an $180,000 remodel.
Permits have been issued and construction has begun on Krispy Kreme and The Shops
located in Spring Prairie Phase 4; and major remodels at the Rocky Mountain Heart &
Lung offices located at 350 Heritage Way and The Summit Athletic facility located at
205 Sunnyview Lane.
3. Public Works Department
Old School Station Wellhouse Damper Maintenance
The damper system in the generator section of the Old
School Station Well House was malfunctioning,
creating issues for the operation of the backup
generator. The generator intake requires cool, clean
air, from the damper system in order to maintain
generator efficiency and safe working conditions.
Replacement costs for the damper system was solicited
and the low bid was $4,900. After troubleshooting the
cause of the malfunction, Water Production Supervisor
Matt Guckenberg and the Production Operating Staff
took on the challenge of disassembling the damper,
fabricating components and replacing the worn parts.
The total cost for the in-house repairs came to $10 for
the materials, proving a cost savings of $4,890.
Engineering Division
The Engineering Division is responsible for the review of private development's
engineering design to ensure compliance with Kalispell Design and Construction
Standards. The Engineering Staff participates and coordinates the review with the
development's engineers to ensure City Standards are being executed. Over the past
several months, the following projects have been reviewed and approved, or are currently
being reviewed by the Engineering Staff.
• Kalispell Regional Hospital (KRH) Northwest Family Medical
• Fuel Kalispell
• KRH Sunny View Parking Lot Phase 3
• Gardner Regional Pond
• KRH Women's and Children
• Papa Murphy's
• Blanchard Dental
Spring Cleanup Solid Waste Collection Day
The City of Kalispell's Solid Waste Division completed their third annual spring clean-up
for residential rollout customers during the week of May 16, 2016. This annual service
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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 35 tons of debris and around 50
appliances for the residents on the roll out accounts in addition to 68 tons of debris from
the alley accounts.
2nd Ave East Water Distribution Project
Construction of the 2nd Ave
East Water Distribution Project
for the City of Kalispell is at
substantial completion. The
construction to replace the 2"
water main with an 8" water
main for three blocks at 3rd
Ave E and 14 St E was
completed in three weeks. The
main is active, all service lines
are in service, and the new fire
hydrants are operational.
4. Fire Department
Since the last update the Kalispell Fire Department have received 244 calls for service
and have conducted 7 outreach trainings with approximately 212 individuals in
attendance.
As part of a State wide program, the Kalispell Fire Department has recently received 2
Lucas II chest compression devices. The Cardiac Ready Communities Program has
offered the devices to the communities of Montana in hopes of increasing the
survivability of those suffering from cardiac arrest. These devices offer automated chest
compressions while working in conjunction with emergency responders during cardiac
arrest events. This in turn allows emergency responders to complete other life saving
measures.
Fire department staff, in cooperation with the Flathead County City Health Department,
hosted a child protective seat clinic Thursday, June 16, at Station 62.
Attached you will find a photo of our new
ambulance as it is being built. Part of the 300
build days is awaiting the arrival of the chassis
from the manufacturer. The chassis has been
delivered to the builder and construction has
begun.
5. Parks and Recreation
A request for qualifications (RFQ) was initiated June 1, 2016, to find a qualified
consultant to write Kalispell's first ever Urban Forest Management Plan. One proposal
was received by the closing date and it meets the requirements outlined in the RFQ.
Parks and Recreation partner, Paws to Play, held a "Pints for Paws" fundraising event at
the Kalispell Brewery on June 28, 2016. Planning has started for Doggie Dayz on
September 17, 2016.
Summer Day Camp is underway with participation numbers for week 2 slightly higher
than last year (442 campers in 2016 vs. 436 for 2015). This week our field trips were
bowling at Picks and Bike Day.
We have begun two new partnerships with the Flathead City -County Health Department
(FCCHD). The FCCHD will be providing low-cost bicycle helmets ($7) to Summer Day
Camp participants. In addition, limited scholarships are available for those families
unable to afford a helmet. A representative from FCCHD will also visit the camp twice
this week to go over helmet fitting with campers.
FCCHD will also be providing two free portable sunscreen stations to be used at day
camp and other programs. These are battery powered and hands -free which prevents the
potential issue with sunscreen build up on the handle. This will help us reduce potential
sunburns for campers that forget sunscreen on a particular day.
We are excited to start the Picnic in the Park concert series this week with the Luke
O'Connell Band on Tuesday evening (June 28, 2016) and Ron Sanders on Wednesday
during lunch (June 29, 2016). We have done several radio interviews and blanketed local
businesses to get the word out about the series.
Our first session of swim lessons was at capacity at Woodland Water Park. We hosted
our first Family Pizza Party on June 20 and we are getting ready for our big 4th of July
event, Red White & Blue Day.
June 18, 2016 we had our first ever fly fishing program,
Reel Fly Women. This program taught women the basics
of casting and fly tying. Evaluations received from the
participants gave positive feedback along with ideas they
would like to see Kalispell Parks and Recreation explore.
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The first session of Sports Camp started on June 20. A total of 24 participants signed up
and learned basic skills of sports such as basketball, soccer, floor hockey and more.
June 6 through June 10, the Montana Conservation
Corp worked with Parks and Recreation to
complete a conservation improvement project at
Leisure Homeowners Park. This improvement is
part of the offsite mitigation plan the City agreed to
with the Corps of Engineers for bank stabilization
work that was done at Buffalo Hill Golf Course.
Approximately 9UU tree seedlings have been
planted. Park staff will be installing bird houses and bat boxes as part of the project in
the coming weeks.
Through a "Round up For Safety" grant from Flathead Electric
Company, Lawrence Park is now more ADA friendly. From the
parking lot you can now make your way to the pavilion, to the
walking path, and onto the playground fall surfacing.
Fresh Life Church assisted Parks and Recreation by
volunteering with the painting of the Woodland Camp Center bathroom
floors as well as pulling and bagging patches of Leafy Spurge from the
Lawrence Park hill.
6. Community Development
The Kalispell Core & Rail Redevelopment project was featured at the Kalispell Chamber
of Commerce Luncheon on Tuesday, June 21, at the Red Lion Hotel. The presentation
included maps, architectural renderings, photos and video specific to Kalispell's US DOT
TIGER grant project. Speakers included staff from the City of Kalispell and Flathead
County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) in addition to Mark Lalum, General
Manager of CHS.
7. Information Services
IT staff is coordinating with the public works and building staff to schedule the upgrade
to the production/live Cityworks system. Once the upgrade is done, anyone who applies
for a permit on the City's Cityworks system can apply for that permit online.
The AV on -air programming device and new AV editing computer arrived. IT and AV
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staff are starting to work on setting up the systems.
8. Human Resources Department
The HR Director was asked by the State Volunteer Employee Benefit Association
(VEBA) Director Melanie Denning to serve as one of the "Public Entity" representatives
on a selection committee to review RFP's for renewal of the State's VEBA
business/financial contractor. This contractor handles the funds associated with all the
state recognized VEBA programs and the Heath Reimbursement Plans.
In 2001 the legislature established the formation of VEBA Health Reimbursement Plans
for Montana Public Employees. The benefit provided for a medical reimbursement plan,
which is also commonly referred to as an HRA or "health reimbursement arrangement."
Employees are allowed to vote and form recognized VEBA groups, subject to rules and
regulations. When an employee in a formed group leaves employment, instead of being
just "cashed out" and taxes paid on the accrued sick leave payout, the money is rolled
into a tax free health reimbursement plan. The health reimbursement plans are like a
FLEX and can be used to pay for out-of-pocket medical related expenses. The pre-tax
savings to employees can be over thirty -plus percent. In addition, because this is pre -
taxed payout the City benefits by not having to pay the required taxes on the payout as
well.
9. Finance Department
For the 6th consecutive fiscal year, the City of Kalispell has been presented the
Certificate of Achievement in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers
Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for the comprehensive annual
financial report (CAFR). The CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the
standards of the program including demonstrating a constructive "spirit of full
disclosure" to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and
user groups to read the CAFR. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of
recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its
attainment represents a significant accomplishment. In addition, the finance department
received an Award of Financial Reporting Achievement as the department primarily
responsible for preparing the award -winning CAFR.
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