Page 14 - Flathead Beacon // 9.23.15

NEWS
CITY BEAT
BIGFORK
Voters to Decide School Bond Request for High School Upgrades
Ballots are in the hands of voters in Bigfork High School District #38 who will settle a bond request for $14 million to redevelop the aging high school.
School district administrators are ask- ing voters to approve a 20-year bond for a significant makeover of the high school, which has not seen a major update in over 50 years. The election is being conducted solely through mail-in ballots that are due back by Oct. 9. The voting district encom- passes the unincorporated county com- munities between Creston and Condon.
If voters approve the bond, property taxes for a home valued at $200,000 would increase by roughly $70 annually, according to school district estimates.
School administrators and board members have already tried and failed to gain voter approval for renovating the high school twice in the last decade.
Now, as district-wide enrollment con- tinues to increase and more classes are shuffled into the middle school building, administrators say the high school is in dire need of redevelopment.
An independent site assessment last year found structural issues and growing needs throughout the campus, including more classroom space.
FLATHEAD
District Court Judge Search Down to Four
Four candidates vying to replace Flat- head County District Court Judge Ted O. Lympus will be interviewed in Kalispell on Oct. 5.
Six Flathead Valley attorneys applied for the district court job and Richard Pat- rick DeJana, Amy Poehling Eddy, Kay Lynn Lee and Daniel Richard Wilson were selected for an interview with the Judicial Nomination Commission. The interviews will be open to the public and will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Flathead County Justice Center in Courtroom 3 on the third floor.
After the interviews, the judicial commission will deliberate and select three to five nominees for Gov. Steve Bullock to appoint. The person selected will serve on the bench but will have to run for election in 2016 to serve out the rest of Lympus’ term until January 2019. The Judicial Nomination Commission includes District Judge Richard Simon- ton of Glendive, Mona Charles of Kalis- pell, Elizabeth Halverson of Billings, Hal Harper of Helena, Land Larson of Bill- ings, Ryan Rusche of Columbia Falls and Nancy Zadick of Great Falls.
Lympus, 72, stepped down from the bench on Aug. 31. Until a new judge is appointed, two retired judges, Katherine Curtis and Stewart Stadler, have been presiding over Lympus’ court.
If approved, the renovation project would progress in priority phases. The school’s priorities would be adding eight new classrooms to ensure all high school students would be taking classes in the high school instead of the middle school. The site would be better compartmental- ized and space would be used more effi- ciently for classes and other school pro- grams, according to planners. An esti- mated 24,000 square feet of new space would be built onto the existing building, according to the project plan.
Enrollment in Bigfork has now risen for five straight years after seeing a con- sistent drop a decade ago. Projections show the district’s enrollment could hit 1,123 students within 10 years, according to a CTA report.
COLUMBIA FALLS
Celebrate a New Look for ImagineIF Library
Library officials are unveiling the newly remodeled library in Columbia Falls this week.
ImagineIF Libraries is holding a com- munity celebration on Wednesday, Sept. 23, from 5-7 p.m., with live music by the Ashley Creek Ramblers. The public is invited to tour the newly remodeled library and enjoy refreshments and a community photo exhibit, Portraits of
FLATHEAD
Evergreen Enterprise Zone to be Permanent by Year’s End
The new business-friendly zone in Evergreen will likely become a perma- nent part of the county’s zoning regula- tions, but the county planning office said adding it to the regulations involves more than just a simple vote from the Flathead County Commission.
According to BJ Grieve, senior planner at the Flathead County Zoning Depart- ment, the county will likely add the Ever- green Enterprise Zoning Overlay to the zoning regulations by the end of the year, but not before some time travel and rewriting history occurs.
The zone has been in place for two years in a trial phase, and adds a lengthy list of allowed uses to Evergreen’s main business area around U.S. Highway 2. It was put in place at the request of the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce, who wanted to see the area’s empty spaces become more inviting for industrial businesses.
After the first trial year and another year in extension, the zone is headed toward permanency, Grieve said. How- ever, regulations say all permanent zoning has to comply with a plan, like a neighborhood plan or a city master plan.
In the area in question in Evergreen, the only plan in place is the outdated Kalispell City-County Master Plan from 1986. Grieve said this plan doesn’t even
the Flathead.
The renovation included redesigned
holds pickup and self-checkout areas, fresh paint and a new service desk. Fur- ther updates, coming later this month, are another step toward a welcoming, versatile and interactive library, library officials said. The changes include a revamped children’s area with added space for programs and interactives, a separate nook just for teens, an updated technology lounge, and all-new shelving and furniture throughout the library.
Since rebranding in 2014, ImagineIF has become an award-winning and vibrant community gathering place, a starting point for inspiration and a des- tination for play, officials say.
ImagineIF Kalispell has seen sev- eral phases of remodeling to improve efficiency, create welcoming spaces for exploration and relaxation, and encour- age hands-on learning for all ages and interests.
“People are really enjoying everything that we’ve done so far at the Columbia Falls location,” Senior Librarian Sean Anderson said. “In couple of weeks, we’ll really be stepping into the future. It will be everything that people love about ImagineIF Columbia Falls – great collec- tions, great people, lots of activity – with a fresh, inviting look.”
know Evergreen has water or sewer lines, let alone understand what kind of eco- nomic development the area needs.
The plan also contains a map with all sorts of outdated references, such as a requirement that there will be no devel- opment within the floodplain there, despite the current floodplain encom- passes many houses and businesses, like the Kmart.
In order to make the permanent zone above board, the county first has to write an addendum to the 1986 master plan, basically updating the document on how the valley’s history has occurred in the nearly 30 years since it was written.
There needs to be an update to the text, to the map, and changing the rule that only retail businesses can line the highway, Grieve said.
Once that is considered, the area needs to file for a zoning district with the Ever- green Enterprise Overlay zone. There will be a public hearing on the change at the commission’s chambers on Oct. 14.
It’s an important issue, Grieve said, because even though the valley’s retail center has shifted to North Kalispell, the 500-acre Evergreen area contributes $2 million to the county’s tax base; making the area more open to other types of busi- ness will do well to strengthen it, he said.
KALISPELL
City Plans More Town Hall Meetings
City leaders are hosting more town hall meetings following the success of an event earlier this month.
Kalispell Ward 3 council members Rod Kuntz and Jim Atkinson met with a handful of residents two weeks ago for a town hall meeting.
Kuntz said, “although turnout was light for the first meeting, it was well received and very productive.”
The topics that were discussed at the first meeting included planning and building the right infrastructure for the growing community; how planning should instill community values of fam- ily, business, arts, history and the envi- ronment; and funding challenges and how to deal with infrastructure by non- taxed users that result in congestion, deg- radation, and loss of quality.
Future town hall meetings are sched- uled for Wednesday, Sept. 30, Wednesday, Nov. 4, and Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015 at 7 p.m. City officials remind residents that the meetings are not an opportunity to voice personal complaints, but rather an opportunity to discuss community issues. No formal action will be taken at these meetings.
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FLATHEAD
Unemployment Rate at 4.8 Percent
Montana’s seasonally adjusted unem- ployment rate rose slightly, to 4.1 percent in August.
The Labor Department says that’s an increase of 0.1 percentage points from July’s figure. Nationally, the unemploy- ment rate fell from 5.3 percent in July to 5.1 percent in August. The jobless rates fell in 29 states last month amid wide- spread employment gains while falling oil and coal prices continued to take a toll on energy-producing states.
The employment rate in Flathead County was 4.8 percent last month. There are 754 more jobs in the county than a year ago, according to the state- wide economic stats.
Lincoln County’s rate was highest in the state, 8.7 percent, followed by Glacier County (8 percent) and Sanders County (7.5 percent). Lake County’s rate was 5.1 percent. Lincoln County has 30 more jobs than a year ago; Glacier County has 61 fewer jobs; Sanders has 21 fewer and Lake has 49 more.
Labor Commissioner Pam Bucy says with the unemployment rate holding at around 4 percent, workers should see wages increase. Gov. Steve Bullock notes Montana has 10,700 more jobs than it did at this time a year ago.
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NEWS
COUNTY BEAT
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SEPTEMBER 23, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM