Page 14 - Flathead Beacon // 10.21.15

NEWS
CITY BEAT
KALISPELL
Kalispell to Vote on Planning Assistance Agreement with Whitefish
The Kalispell City Council on Oct. 19 was slated to vote to approve an inter- local agreement with the city of White- fish to take on planning review work that has surpassed the Whitefish Building Department’s capacity.
City Manager Doug Russell wrote in a memo to council that the agreement allows the City of Kalispell Building Department to assist the City of White- fish with commercial plan review ser- vices and building inspections and estab- lishes guidelines for the service.
Whitefish city officials say the cur- rent staff is overloaded with plans on its new City Hall and parking structure complex, as well as a proposed Marriott Hotel, and that the chief building official, Virgil Bench, is on medical leave.
The city of Kalispell would be com- pensated for 50 percent of the total build- ing application fee charged by the city of Whitefish, plus a reimbursement for time, materials and additional services. The workload is not expected to exceed $100,000, the memo states.
The Whitefish City Council was also scheduled to vote on the proposed inter- local agreement with Kalispell at its meeting, which took place after the Bea- con went to print.
LIBBY
Historic Hotel Libby Raising Funds to Restore Front Desk
A group trying to reopen an historic hotel in downtown Libby is looking to raise $1,000 to restore the check-in counter and front desk.
FLATHEAD
Commission Begins Process to Create New County-wide Tax District
The Flathead County Commission has officially started the process to create a special fee district to financially support the county’s emergency call center.
The Flathead Emergency Communi- cation Center, also called the 911 Center, was created via ballot measure in 2009, but a long-term funding mechanism has yet to be put into place.
Instead, each municipality within the county allocates certain amounts from their respective general funds, and the county contributes six mills.
Hotel Libby was opened in 1910 and was a cornerstone of the community for decades. For a time, the hotel was billed as the finest from Spokane to the Dako- tas. The hotel was closed three decades ago but since 2012 a local group has been trying to restore it to its former glory. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places a few years ago. Organiz- ers hope that restoring the old wooden front counter will help “bring history to life” at the hotel.
For more information about the fund- raiser and to learn how you can donate to the cause, visit www.gofundme.com/ historichotellibby.
WHITEFISH
Campaign Against Violence for Youth Conference
A new coalition of schools and Flat- head Valley organizations have come together as part of an initiative called the Campaign Against Violence.
“Our mission is to promote awareness of violence in our community, to facilitate public conversations about the impact of violence, and to offer some field-tested strategies for making our community safer for everyone,” campaign chairman Brian Muldoon said.
Muldoon is a Whitefish mediator and attorney, and the author of “The Heart of Conflict.” Muldoon has been a pioneer in the field of conflict resolution since 1985.
The campaign’s inaugural event for youth will be held at the Whitefish Lake Lodge on Monday, Nov. 2, from 1 p.m – 3 p.m. In addition to discussing the root causes of violence, the focus will be on finding ways to prevent violence and conflict.
Speakers include Dr. Heather Davis
Last November, voters defeated a bal- lot measure that would have created a special fee district encompassing all of Flathead County: $25 for residential units, and $50 for commercial units, with a maximum of 30 commercial units possible.
That measure failed by just 10 votes, with 15,217 people against the referen- dum, and 15,207 for it, despite receiving support from the city government across the valley.
Now, the county commission is mov- ing forward with a different way to create the fee district, voting on Oct. 15 to pub- lish the notice of a public hearing to dis- cuss the potential district.
Schmidt, Superintendent of the White- fish School District, FVCC professor of psychology Dr. Ivan Lorentzen, FVCC sociologist Dr. Ami Megalav, and Dr. Mar- lene Snyder, national authority on bully- ing prevention.
The public is invited to this free event and registration is requested. For more information call 406-862-4942 or go to www.campaignforviolence.com to reg- ister online.
BIGFORK
Bigfork Bridge Added to Historic Register
The old bridge over the Swan River near downtown Bigfork has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. Although the designation does not prevent the one-lane bridge from being changed or even removed, it does make
it less likely that it would be altered with- out community input.
The bridge was built by the A.Y. Bayne & Company in 1911 and 1912 and cost the county $4,400 to construct. Although some alterations have been made, includ- ing the addition of a sidewalk and new railings, the bridge looks much like it did 103 years ago. The local efforts to add the bridge to the historic register, which is administered by the National Park Service, came about last year when the county announced that it was looking to possibly replace the old bridge. In the application to register the bridge, it was noted that the structure is representative of many road bridges built in Montana between 1888 and 1915. In 1915, the Mon- tana State Highway Commission stan- dardized its steel truss bridge designs.
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OCTOBER 21, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
A vehicle crosses the one-lane bridge on the south side of downtown Bigfork. BEACON FILE PHOTO
NEWS
COUNTY BEAT
It would encompass the entire county, and the maximum a residence could be charged would be $25 annually. The maximum a commercial unit could be charged would be $1,000 based on the sliding fee scale.
The district would bring in about $1.9 million, which would go toward the 911 Center’s annual budget of about $3.9 million.
The public hearing to discuss the dis- trict will be on Oct. 28 at 10 a.m., followed immediately by a vote. If the district is approved, a 60-day protest period will begin, and end on Dec. 29 by 5 p.m.
If the district isn’t protested out, the commission would pass a resolution
creating the district within 30 days of the end of the protest period and get the information to the state Department of Revenue by Jan. 1.
The final vote on the matter would take place Dec. 30 at 9 a.m., according to the county.
Written comments submitted prior to the hearing are encouraged and will be reviewed by the commissioners. The boundaries of the proposed district is available on a map at ww.flathead.mt.gov or at the commissioners’ office at 800 S Main St. in Kalispell.
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