Page 13 - Flathead Beacon // 12.3.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS DECEMBER 3, 2014 | 13 Potential Venue Change for Dragon Boat Festival
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Lakeside group interested in hosting the two-day event
By MOLLY PRIDDY of the Beacon
The Montana Dragon Boat Festival may not keep its anchor in Bigfork, with a change of location possible for future boating events.
For the past three summers, dozens of teams of 22 people have taken to Flat- head Lake’s waters to paddle their drag- on boats, which are 46 feet long, and race the other competitors.
It’s been an immensely popular ven- ture from the Kalispell Convention and Visitors Bureau, which organizes and puts on the event each year. In Septem- ber, 74 teams participated, with about one-third of them coming from out of market during the two-day festival.
KCVB director Diane Medler said the event continues to garner the inter- est of out-of-market teams and bring people to the Flathead Valley – which is the ultimate goal – but the costs of put- ting on the festival are prohibitive.
The festival has been at the Flathead Lake Lodge in Bigfork since it started in 2011, but Medler said the lack of park- ing there means the KCVB has to pay for buses to shuttle people back and forth to the event, and the cost of renting the venue is high.
“We love having it at Bigfork, the lodge is obviously an incredible ven- ue,” she said. “We just need to look at
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DREAM BUSINESS
The Montana Dragon Boat Festival at Flathead Lake Lodge. BEACON FILE PHOTO
the long-term economic viability of the event. We need to break even.”
Medler said a group from Lakeside has approached the KCVB about host- ing the festival on the west shore of Flat- head Lake, and the KCVB will consider the proposal before making any deci- sions.
“They approached us and they are presenting a proposal to us,” Medler said. “We’re going to be making a deci- sion by the first of the year.”
The festival has yet to break even, de- spite its popularity. Thousands of people flock to the shores to watch the boats or to participate each year. The KCVB has decided that roughly 70 teams is the
right number for participants, Medler said.
Medler also said the festival created a $1.5 million economic boon for the val- ley with so many people visiting, stay- ing in hotels, eating at restaurants, and shopping at local businesses.
Dragon boats naturally attract curi- osity and spectators, and the valley has embraced the festival in the past three years. Medler said she hopes to keep it here for the long term, because it has done its job by bringing people to the area.
“It’s a great event,” she said. “But it does need to break even.”
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Municipal Matters
A recap of recent city council and county commission meetings
KALISPELL
• At a meeting Dec. 1 after the Bea- con went to print, city councilors decided whether to award a con- tract to CTA Architects Engineers for the new South Kalispell Urban Renewal District Plan Update. The contract amount is $125,000 and would extend for 10 months, start- ing Jan. 1. The council previously recommended city staff enter into contract negotiations with the local firm. If approved, CTA will estab- lish a project team that surveys the strengths, weaknesses, opportuni- ties and threats facing south Ka- lispell. The group will gather public input in the coming months about the future of the area and poten- tial changes to infrastructure, such as roads and the city airport. After public scoping, the project group will develop a series of goals and strategies for redevelopment and
long-term development in south Kalispell.
•The city council decided whether to approve a request for a planned unit development by Captain’s Ma- rine for a facility expansion at 3215 Highway 93 South. The develop- ment is intended to occur in three phases, beginning with the creation of a 14,900-square-foot building.
• The Kalispell Police Department is reminding residents to make sure vehicles are locked, particularly during the holiday season when thefts typically increase. Officers encourage people to not store valu- able items in vehicles for a lengthy duration, but if that can’t be avoid- ed, then the items should be hid- den in the vehicle, the KPD said in a news release.
• The City of Kalispell is being award- ed a grant from the state’s Urban Forestry program for $14,000 to
help remove dying Elm trees and the next insect of concern, the Em- erald Ash Borer, that is projected to arrive in the next 10 years. Roughly 160 elms are still remaining on city boulevards with 95 percent of them dying from Dutch Elm disease, ac- cording to the city. Staff plan to re- move around 65 trees this winter.
FLATHEAD COUNTY
• Environmental remediation work will commence at the historic Flat- head County jail in early January. The work will be completed in two phases, and the first phase is esti- mated to take two months. The en- vironmental remediation is being funded primarily through a sub- grant from the City of Kalispell’s EPA Brownfields program. The jail will be fully renovated starting next spring.
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