Kalispell Eyes Meta Settlement Funds for Indoor Recreation Center

Kalispell city councilors are hoping to use funds from the landmark settlement with Meta Platforms, Inc. for a new indoor recreation center. The media giant settled with states in August after a trial determined the corporation had designed its apps Facebook and Instagram to be addictive to children and hidden that information from the public. Montana is guaranteed to receive $89 million with the potential to receive $127 million for mental health services and after-school programming.

State Attorney General Austin Knudsen launched an investigation into Meta in 2021, finding the media giant hid extensive internal research that illustrated significant negative impacts on young users’ mental health. He filed a lawsuit against Meta in 2023, alleging the company had violated consumer protection laws and federal law about the collection of data about children.

The August settlement dictates that at least half of the money must go toward efforts to remediate harms caused by social media including after-school and summer programs, crisis intervention services, funding for outdoor activities, and other services geared toward mental health.

At Monday night’s council meeting, councilors approved sending a letter to Knudsen’s office requesting capital projects such as community recreation centers be included in possible uses for the state’s award.

“I can’t think of a better use of those funds than to give children something else to do other than be on social media,” Councilor Sid Daoud said.

Kalispell does not have a public indoor recreation facility, something residents and councilors have bemoaned for years. A new parks and recreation master plan in the works identifies an indoor rec center as a community need, and the city has allocated some funds to explore such a project’s feasibility. Councilors briefly discussed the possibility of using funds from the Meta settlement for a rec center in a prior meeting.

At Monday night’s meeting, Mayor Ryan Hunter proposed an alternative letter to the one originally presented to councilors by city staff. He cited concerns he had that the letter implied a guarantee that the city would use Meta funds for a rec center, when it had yet to go through the public process.

The alternative letter references the benefits of a recreation center including a space for social connections and opportunities for physical activity, especially during the long winter months. The letter also goes into other possibilities Kalispell may consider for the funds, including “helping to restore or reopen mental-health facilities that have closed, or supporting scholarships for students pursuing training to become therapists or other mental-health professionals, with an obligation to work in the Kalispell community for at least two years after graduation.”

“Other ideas may emerge through the City’s public process,” the letter says. “The important point is that communities should have the ability to consider capital investments such as a recreation center alongside programmatic uses when those investments directly advance the settlement’s remedial purposes. A capital project can create lasting infrastructure and capacity for youth recreation, mental-health services, prevention, after school and summer activities, and other programs that address the needs identified by the settlement.”

While some councilors said they preferred the first letter’s singular ask for use of funds for a recreation center as a “strong” request, a council majority approved Hunter’s new letter. City staff clarified that with either letter the city would still need to go through the proper public processes to spend the funds.

“I think we’re all in agreement that both letters are suitable going forward,” Councilor Kyle Waterman said. “I think the most important thing is the bricks and mortar of this.”

Councilors unanimously approved sending the letter to Knudsen’s office.

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