11-17-17 City Manager ReportCity of Kalispell
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
Information Memorandum
11/17/2017
1. Parks Department
Kalispell Parks and Recreation's Forestry division hired Dusty Gage to fill our Arborist
position. Dusty comes to the city with five years as a tree climber in the private sector
and twelve years as a wildland firefighter where he served on a hotshot crew. Dusty is an
ISA certified Arborist and has a great passion for urban forests.
A plumbing upgrade has been completed at the Woodland Water
Park lady's shower room. Park staff are now preparing to tile
the shower area.
The Flathead Valley Hockey Association held their first practice of the season on
November 13 on the upgraded concrete floor. The upgrade could allow for an extended
season and provide better ice for the community.
Park staff began stringing Christmas Lights on the Engelmann Spruce at Depot
Park. Thirty strands of lights will be hung on the tree. This is an annual
tradition for the City and the BID to light the tree for the holiday season.
Our fall youth basketball leagues finished in early November with over 200 children
participating in the pre-K and K-2nd grade basketball leagues. Our new fall soccer
program was well attended with 143 participants. We are continuing to look at
expanding both our spring and fall leagues for this upcoming year.
The Afterschool program has been implementing new holiday
themes and crafts for November and December. Some of the
crafts for November include Thanksgiving hats, shaving cream
leaves, thankful trees, and handprint turkeys.
We have our holiday programs and special events starting in the
beginning of December.
Kalispell Parks and Recreation will be open for the annual Art Walk and Holiday Stroll
on Friday, December 1 from 5pm-7:30pm. We will be displaying art projects from our
Afterschool program as well as offering a holiday cookie decorating activity. A special
thank you to Rosauers Supermarket for donating the cookies, frosting, and other items to
make this happen.
We will also be hosting our annual Santa's Calling on Wednesday, December 6 from
5pm-7pm. Volunteer Santas are given a list of children to call, along with some
information about each child. This is a free program and is always a treat for both kids
and the volunteers. If you would like to volunteer to be a Santa, please give us a call at
758-7717.
2. Fire Department
Since the last update, the Kalispell Fire Department has received 129 calls for service and
has conducted 2 outreach trainings with approximately 120 individuals in attendance.
Fire department staff are currently organizing documents and information for the EMS
information request by the Center for Public Safety Management, LLC.
Fire department staff are also reviewing the requirements for our fire department
physicals and medical consultations for injuries and return to work procedures and
requirements.
The Kalispell Fire Department will also be hosting a car seat clinic this Saturday
November 18, 2017, in cooperation with Flathead County Buckle Up Montana. This
event will occur between 11 am and 2 pm.
3. Public Works
Kalispell WWTP Annual Tank Inspections
Every year in the fall, WWTP Operator's perform annual inspections on two
Clarifiers, three Secondary Clarifiers, the Headworks tt
Grit Chamber, and the Re -aeration Basin.liba-11
Each tank takes two to three operators approximately one week to complete. The process
maintains the operation level of the WWTP.
Water Maintenance
The Water Maintenance Division has repaired 13 water main ruptures since January of
this year. Typically, customers experience a 4-6 hour window where they may not have
water service, as was the case for the most recent repair of the six-inch cast iron water
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main located on Conrad Drive. Upon notification of the main break at 7:30 am, the
Water Maintenance Division was able to excavate the 6' deep water main, repair the 14"
hole in the main, and return water service to several residential homes, commercial
businesses, and a school by 1 pm.
4. Building Department
Five single-family building permits were issued in the past 2 weeks bringing the total of
new single family/duplex units for the year to 123 compared to 132 at this time last year.
Multi -family units issued so far this year are at 44, compared to 86 for all of last year.
The building permit for the new addition to Fresh Life Church located @ 120 - 1st Ave.
East was issued. The project is estimated at $2.8 Million. A building permit was issued
to Mudman Burgers for minor remodeling of an existing building at 1260 - Hwy 2 West
next to the new Rivals Bar & Grill. They plan to open in early 2018.
5. Planning Department
At the November 14 Planning Board meeting, the board unanimously approved a request
by Team Development, LLC to annex a 9.6-acre tract of land immediately west of the
new grade school on Airport road. The west half of the site would be zoned R-4 and the
easterly half would be RA-1. The board also unanimously recommended approval of the
fifth and final phase of the city initiated rezoning of the Core Area to B-3 Core Area
Business. This phase covers the area west of 71h Ave. West, south of Idaho, east of
Meridian and north of First Street West. One property owner at 2 9th Avenue West
stated he wanted his 50 foot lot removed from the B-3 proposal as he wanted to remain
B-2 General Business. He stated he had just purchased his lot and had some very
specific uses in mind, which in the short term would comply with the current B-2 zone
but conflict with the proposed B-3 zone. The site contains a metal building and parking
area. The board concurred and recommended leaving this lot out of the larger proposal.
The planning board then adjourned to a work session and discussed several proposed
amendments to the Kalispell Growth Policy map specifically in the north Kalispell area
as part of our overall Growth Policy map update.
Staff has received a request for annexation with initial zoning of RA-2 multi -family and a
conditional use permit to allow the construction of 324 multi -family units on a 15-acre
site on the north side of Two Mile Drive just west of Hawthorn Avenue. This matter will
be heard at the December 12 Planning Board meeting.
6. Police Department
The National School Shield program was hosted at Flathead High School November 6-
10. This is the first time this NRA sponsored school safety program has been held in
Montana. The training is focused on the possibility of attacks on our schools and in
evaluating school safety and security. Seven local officers (Libby, Eureka, Whitefish,
and Kalispell) and school staff participated in the program which trains them in analyzing
schools from many safety perspectives, including crosswalks, burned out lights, tripping
hazards, and the mitigation of active intruders. Once the assessment is completed, state
and federal grants can be pursued to improve deficiencies that are identified.
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