Page 14 - Flathead Beacon // 9.16.15

NEWS
CITY BEAT
WHITEFISH
Wisconsin Avenue Paving Begins This Month
Wisconsin Avenue in Whitefish will be under repair for much of September as the main north-south corridor con- necting the downtown center to the city’s north side and Whitefish Mountain Resort undergoes milling and paving.
The Montana Department of Trans- portation is overlaying the road from the north end of the viaduct to the intersec- tion of Big Mountain Road.
The project will last 25 days, and while traffic will be maintained on the corridor throughout construction, motorists and commuters should expect delays, roadside flaggers and a reduced speed limit.
The Whitefish City Council priori- tized Wisconsin Avenue for a corridor study that will evaluate existing land uses and opportunities for new land uses that will support existing businesses while protecting the character and quality of adjacent residential neighborhoods.
WHITEFISH
Shopko Hometown Store to Open Sept. 20
A Shopko Hometown store will open Sept. 20 in the Mountain Mall in
FLATHEAD COUNTY
County Drops Fire Restrictions in Cooler Weather
Following the lead of state and federal land agencies, the Flathead County Com- mission on Sept. 10 voted unanimously to remove all fire restrictions – both Stage 1 and Stage 2 – in place in the county.
The restrictions were put in place during the driest part of the summer,
Whitefish, with a grand opening slated for Oct. 2I a.
The Wisconsin-based retail chain has signed a lease with mall owners Car- rington Co. for a 37,500-square-foot space in the center of the mall. Shopko Hometown is the chain’s newest concept, aimed at smaller communities ranging from 3,000 to 8,000 in population, and carrying about 70 percent of the mer- chandise carried at its larger stores while requiring less than half the space.
The store will add between 25 and 30 jobs to the mall.
The excitement surrounding our grand opening isn’t just about the prod- ucts we sell, it’s about making life eas- ier for the customers we are privileged to serve,” said Peter McMahon, Shopko CEO, in a prepared statement. “It’s about the stuff that counts – the essentials that help people get ready for work or school or to enjoy the weekend with family and friends.”
A special grand opening event on Oct. 2, highlighted by a $2,500 check presen- tation to Whitefish High School by the Shopko Foundation, will take place at 8:45 a.m. All residents are invited to join the Shopko team and community leaders for the event. For those who can’t wait for the grand opening celebration, the store will be open to customers starting on Sept. 20.
when wildfires were pulling firefighting resources to the limit. The recent spate of cooler, wetter weather caused the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, and Glacier National Park to drop their fire restrictions.
The commission discussed removing the restrictions during a Sept. 4 meet- ing, but only Commissioners Pam Holm- quist and Gary Krueger were present, and could not come to a unanimous decision
The first 100 customers in line will receive a free $10 Shopko gift card. A number of prizes will also be given out through “register-to-win” events. Cus- tomers will also be encouraged to sign up for Shopko’s loyalty program to receive exclusive mailers, $10 off on their birth- day and special email announcements and offers. Each customer who uses their loyalty member card on the day of the grand opening will be entered into a drawing for a $1,000 shopping spree. Refreshments will be served inside the store.
The store will be open seven days a week from 8 a.m. - 10 p.m.
KALISPELL
Firm Studying Population, Traffic Growth as Courthouse Couplet Planning Restarts
An engineering firm is studying growth projections for Kalispell and future traffic patterns in an effort to bet- ter understand how U.S. Highway 93 should be designed in downtown.
Robert Peccia and Associates was hired to study the road couplet around the Flathead County Courthouse and the surrounding area. The firm met with city, county and state officials recently to restart the process, which has been
on whether to rescind all the restrictions or just the harsher Stage 2 designation.
During the Sept. 10 meeting, Commis- sioner Phil Mitchell apologized for not being at the previous meeting, and said the non-vote did not help farmers, log- gers, or contractors.
Mitchell said the commission, specifi- cally Krueger, should have at least voted to roll back to Stage 1 restrictions.
Krueger replied that he made his
delayed in recent years but is resurfacing. With the Kalispell bypass slated to be completed next fall, local and state plan- ners are preparing for changes to traffic in the downtown area. Peccia and Asso- ciates will analyze growth patterns and projected housing and employment in and around Kalispell through 2040 and present that information to the Kalis- pell City Council and Flathead County
Commissioners.
“It’s a good time to have this discus-
sion,” Kalispell Planning Director Tom Jentz said.
The Montana Department of Trans- portation has wanted to address the courthouse couplet since the early 1990s, before traffic flow significantly increased through Kalispell and before the U.S. 93 Alternate Route began materializing as an attempt to reduce traffic conges- tion through downtown. State officials have proposed widening the road to four lanes — two lanes on each side of the courthouse — while county officials have asked for the highway to be reshaped to one side. City officials have expressed concerns that widening the highway to four lanes would only continue to flow large amounts of traffic into downtown and hamper any efforts to transform Main Street into a calmer, more attrac- tive city center.
[email protected]
previous decision on the “facts of the matter,” and that the energy-release com- ponent for the valley bottom and small fuels dropped below 90 percent, and the weather was transitioning away from a high fire danger environment.
“We put these (restrictions) on in high fire danger areas, and that’s the state law. I try to follow state law when I’m doing this,” Krueger said.
[email protected]
NEWS
COUNTY BEAT
CLOCK FOR THE COUNTY COURTHOUSE
Mike Hovila, right, operations supervisor with Flathead County Building and Maintenance, passes a clock through the window to James Androuais, with Americlock, as they install the device in the Old Courthouse’s tower on Sept. 14. The county received $9,800 from an anonymous donor to purchase the clocks, and it’s the first time in the building’s 113-year history that there will be clocks in the tower.
GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
14
SEPTEMBER 16, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM