Page 12 - Flathead Beacon // 4.27.16

NEWS
County to Move on Proposed Majestic Valley Zone Change Shift to business zoning would allow for restaurant, hotel, and more signage
BY MOLLY PRIDDY OF THE BEACON
The Flathead County Commission will make its nal decision on an attempt to change the zoning for the land around the Majestic Valley Arena on U.S. Highway 93, an adjustment that would open up the adjacent lot to commercial development.
Jan and Bob Parker, the people behind Winter Park Ventures and Majestic Val- ley LLC, are seeking to change the zoning designation for the 37-acre lot south of the arena from an agricultural designa- tion, SAG-5, to a business-friendly zone, B-3. Currently, the land is grassy rolling hills, along with a caretaker cabin and a pavilion.
The general idea, according to the Parkers, is to continue to ful ll their motto, which is “eat, sleep, compete.” With the new zoning designation, they
would want to add businesses that would complement the arena, such as a restau- rant, a hotel, and additional signage.
A hotel would be 60 or 70 rooms, Jan Parker told the commission during an April 20 hearing, and would be for those people competing at the arena. As it stands now, reining and cutting horses, which can be worth tens of thousands of dollars, must be left at the arena while the horses’ owners drive back into Kalis- pell for food and lodging.
Most of these owners would like to stay near their livestock, she said, and the Parkers would like to keep people o the road at all hours – during major competi- tions, sometimes the only warm-up time a competitor can book is at 3 a.m.
The Riverdale Land Use Advisory Committee, representing the River- dale Neighborhood Plan in place, voted
unanimously to recommend approval of the project, as did the Flathead County Planning Board.
In order to build a hotel, the Park- ers would have to get a conditional use permit, and the commission also heard discussion about Kalispell potentially annexing the land due to water and sewer needs. The Parkers said they don’t mind building to city standards.
After hearing from the applicants, the commission decided to hold o on its nal vote until April 27, allowing them more time to read public comment on the project.
Commissioner Phil Mitchell said his one concern with this project is that by approving it, the county might be setting up Kalispell to have to “come to the table” and work with the Parkers for water and sewer.
But overall, the commission said its job is to judge the zone change, not the potential project’s merits. There had been opposition to the project, most notably from Citizens for a Better Flat- head, who said the Parkers’ needs could be addressed with a planned unit devel- opment (PUD) overlay, not a blanket zone for 40 acres. Mayre Flowers, executive director at CFBF, also said she thought the application was premature, given the annexation conversation with Kalispell.
The Parkers also said rumors that the land was already for sale are unfounded, and they plan on following through with their plans if the paperwork goes through.
“The arena has proven over the last 15 years to do everything we said it was going to do,” Jan Parker said.
mpriddy@ atheadbeacon.com
Zinke’s re-election campaign reported raising more than $783,000 during the rst three months of the year and had more than $1 million to spend against his Democratic opponent, Denise Juneau.
The Zinke campaign said its latest fundraising numbers are the most money ever amassed by a Montana candidate for congress this early in the campaign.
Meanwhile, Juneau gained about $363,000 in her bid to unseat Zinke after a single term in Congress, with $524,000 cash on hand to execute the campaign, according to documents led with the Federal Elections Commission.
Juneau, who is nishing her sec- ond term as Montana’s superintendent of schools, has raised $620,000 since launching her campaign.
tscott@ atheadbeacon.com
Money Floods Into Montana Campaigns
Governor’s race tops statewide campaign contributions while Zinke, Juneau tally big bucks
BY TRISTAN SCOTT OF THE BEACON
The two major candidates for governor are on pace to set state spending records in Montana’s marquee political contest, while the bid for the state’s lone congressional seat is also shaping up to be one of the most expensive in Montana House-race history.
Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock’s fund- raising skills were on full display as he reported collecting nearly $160,000 during the past month in his bid for re-election, according to campaign nance reports for the period covering Feb. 26 through March 27.
GOP rival Greg Gianforte reported rais- ing about $112,000 during the same period, according to reports led with the state’s Commissioner of Political Practices.
That leaves Bullock with roughly $1.1
million socked away for a pitched politi- cal battle that is just beginning to hit its stride, while Gianforte reports having $363,000 of campaign cash in the bank.
Bullock’s campaign isn’t easing up its fundraising e orts, however, and campaign manager Eric Hyers said he worries the incumbent candidate would quickly lose ground if Gianforte taps his own personal wealth to nance his campaign – a major concern for Democrats from the beginning.
“My biggest anxiety is making sure we have the resources to compete against both an opponent who will likely spend millions of dollars of his own money, and his deep-pocketed allies at the [Republi- can Governors Association],” Hyers said. “We have to turn up the heat. We simply can’t a ord to fall behind now, or we’ll never make up the ground.”
Gianforte came into his fortune by transforming a software business con- ceived in his Bozeman home into a global enterprise, earning millions of dollars before selling the company, RightNow Technologies, to Oracle for $1.8 billion.
Bullock has already raised more than $1.5 million in his campaign for a second term, putting him on pace to handily exceed the $1.9 million he raised during his 2012 campaign.
In total, nearly $5.2 million in con- tributions owed into the gubernatorial campaign four years ago, the most for any gubernatorial election in state history.
Republican opponent Rick Hill drew $2.1 million in contributions that cycle, outraising Bullock.
In the race for the U.S. House of Repre- sentatives, freshman congressman Ryan
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