Kalispell City Council meets tonight at 7 p.m. for a work session to discuss the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) component of the proposed Transportation Plan and the CIP’s relationship to transportation impact fees.
Impact fees are charges the city applies to new homes or business construction to compensate for the services the city must then provide for things like fire and police protection, water, sewer and drainage. Transportation impact fees, which the city currently does not charge, would pay for road upgrades and maintenance when a development goes up that will cause traffic increases.
Several developers of large commercial projects, like Glacier Town Center and Hutton Ranch Plaza, say the proposed traffic impact fees are too large. The council will hammer out its opinions of the transportation impact fees tonight, and will vote at the April 21 meeting. No formal votes are allowed at a work session.
Also up for discussion tonight, the Hilton Garden Inn has requested an additional $520,000 in tax increment financing reimbursement to deal with soil problems. Council will also discuss how to deal with signs that do not conform to city standards, particularly the Days Inn/Glacier Peaks property on U.S. Highway 93 North.
And at 6 p.m., the city council will hold a closed executive session to evaluate City Manager Jim Patrick.