The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee agreed last week to distribute $250,000 to the city of Kalispell to help modernize and improve the safety of the city’s public safety building, which houses the police department, fire station and city court.
Mayor Pam Kennedy, who called the public safety building “extremely old,” said city officials approached Sen. Jon Tester about the need to improve the facility. Tester, a member of the influential appropriations committee, helped push the request through. He also played a role, along with Sen. Max Baucus, in allocating $300,000 for a new justice center in Eureka and $400,000 to create a women’s resource center in Sanders County.
“The first responsibility of government is to provide for the safety and security of the people,” Tester said in a release. “This funding will help our professionals on the front lines of public safety to keep our communities safe places to live, work and raise our families.”
The $250,000 comes on the heels of a $96,700 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for a new roof on the public safety building and three new doors at the fire station. The police department also received $57, 224 for a new four-wheel drive vehicle to replace the old one. Also, the city received $340,000 for road improvements.
As of last Friday, the funding still had to be approved by Congress and signed into law by President Obama, but Kennedy said “when the senator makes an announcement like that, it generally means it’s pretty well secured.”
“This is an incredible opportunity for the city to make much-needed improvements in the public safety building,” Kennedy said.