Kalispell City Council voted unanimously Monday to apply for a state grant to fund construction of a shared-use path along U.S. 93 between Logan Health Medical Center and downtown Kalispell.  

The grant money, if awarded, would fund construction of a path on the east side of U.S. 93 — the stretch also known as Sunset Boulevard — going from Wyoming Street up along the Buffalo Hill Golf Course to Mission Street. 

“We’ve been trying to do this project for years, but [the Montana Department of Transportation] has not allowed it,” Councilor Sid Daoud said. “This is something we’ve been trying to do since before I was even on Council.”

The existing section “lacks any connectivity (other than a dirt path), offers poor site distances, has numerous access intersections and access points with limited control and has traffic speeds of 35 [miles per hour] and higher,” wrote Development Services Director Jarod Nygren in a memo to Council. 

Daoud said he often sees pedestrians walking in the busy road in the winter months when plowed snow makes walking alongside it difficult.  

Frank Homan told Council during public comment that he walked the trail every day for 40 years when working at what was then known as the Kalispell Regional Medical Center. 

“It’s a long time coming but hopefully it’ll come,” Homan said. 

The state grant would cover the construction of the path, which comes with an estimated price tag of $648,000.  

The city previously hired KLJ Engineering to prepare the path designs. The firm recommended following the existing horizontal and vertical alignments of Sunset Boulevard, adding a 30-inch curb and gutter, a 6-foot boulevard and a 10-foot paved path along the northeasterly side of the road.  

The portion of road is part of a larger project to build out the shared-use path further north to Bountiful Drive, where it would then connect with existing sidewalk. The entire project is expected to cost $2.7 million. Nygren attributed the high cost to building a needed retaining wall in the northern section of path. 

City staff recommended waiting for another round of grant funding to pay for the northern section.   

DALE BOLZ of Kalispell addressed Council during public comment on behalf of residents frustrated by loud and reckless cars causing havoc in the parking lot by Legends Stadium.  

He described large trucks blaring their horns, performing burnouts and shining high-powered headlights toward nearby houses late into the night.  

“We have gangs, gangs with friends that hold some of our residents hostage, leaving them with little or no way out of this situation,” he said. “Residents cry out for help, but receive frustration with no working, and I highlight working, answers to this dilemma.” 

Bolz suggested lowering the parking curfew from 11 p.m. to 9 p.m.  

COUNCIL ALSO voted to sponsor a grant application to connect the resident-owned Morning Star Community neighborhood with the city’s wastewater system.  

NeighborWorks Montana, on behalf of Morning Star, requested permission from Council to apply for a $100,000 state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation grant that would fund building the needed infrastructure to tap into the city sewer.  

“This would just be an additional funding source to help get that project to the finish line,” said Nygren.  

Hunter saw the grant as an opportunity to preserve affordable housing in Kalispell. 

The effort drew support from Daoud as well.  

“When I first got to Council I was like ‘Who cares about septic systems?’ or whatever,” said Daoud. “But after being here for a while, it’s a big deal. It’s moving the city in the correct direction.”  

The funds will reduce the financial burden on residents by assisting with the replacement of outdated water and sewer systems, according to a letter to Council from Cooperative Housing Director Danielle Maiden.  

DAOUD SUCCESSFULLY passed a motion to postpone a vote to adopt a regional hazard mitigation plan developed by Montana Disaster and Emergency Services.  

Daoud said he was uncomfortable voting without having read through the over 500-page document that he said was given to him last Thursday.  

“Unlike U.S. Congress and the Montana State Legislature, this Council likes to understand what it is voting for,” he jabbed. 

The 2024 Western Montana Region Hazard Mitigation Plan is meant “to identify and reduce long-term risks from disasters or natural events” across Montana, according to city officials. Development of the Flathead County portion of the plan began in 2022 and was approved by the state and Federal Emergency Management Agency earlier this year. 

Flathead County, Columbia Falls and Whitefish have already adopted the plan, which Flathead Emergency Planner Juanita Nelson said would open up grant opportunities for hazard mitigation projects in 2025.   

City Manager Doug Russell said the city currently has no hazard mitigation projects on the docket.   

Council is expected to hold a work session on the plan before voting on its adoption.  

AFTER A public hearing, Council authorized the issuance of a conduit revenue bond package of up to $100 million.  

Ben Johnson with the law firm Ballard Spahr LLP clarified that the hearing is required under state and federal tax law to issue tax-exempt bonds for a nonprofit like Immanuel Living.  

The bonds are solely the responsibility of Immanuel Living, he said.  

THE TIMBERWOLF Ridge subdivision received final plat approval for phase one of the development.  

The entire development would see the construction of up to 400 apartment units across six buildings at 605 Stillwater Road at the intersection with Timberwolf Parkway.   

Phase one contains around 9 acres, which includes three lots, a stormwater facility and public road areas, according to a city memo. Council approved the preliminary plat in March 2023. The development has since met all necessary conditions of approval, and infrastructure has been installed and accepted or bonded for, according to city staff. 

Council also OK’d an expansion of the Renaissance Senior Care living facility.  

The facility, which sits off Liberty Street, was granted a conditional use permit to expand from 13 to 15 beds.  

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and [email protected].