City, Valley Bank work on land swap

By JOHN STANG

The Daily Inter Lake

A proposed land swap that could lead to a new Valley Bank building appeals to Kalispell City Council members.

But some details of the proposed swap still have to be negotiated between the city and bank.

City Attorney Charlie Harball and Valley Bank President Ron Rosenberg briefed the council Monday on the negotiations.

Valley Bank - at 41 W. Third St. - wants to swap 28,000 square feet of parking area it owns at the corner of Third Street and First Avenue West for 17,500 square feet of parking area owned by the city at the corner of Third and Main streets.

Valley Bank wants to build a new $2.5 million to $3 million bank building at the corner of Main and Third streets, then demolish its present building to create another parking lot.

This plan - in one form or another - has been around for at least 10 years.

The bank hopes to put the construction project out for bids within six months after this proposed deal is completed. The bank hopes to begin construction next spring, with the project finished about a year later, Rosenberg said.

The current bank building is roughly 8,000 square feet.

The new building likely would be 10,000 to 15,000 square feet. The final size would depend on whether the bank ends up with a basement and one story or a basement and two stories, Rosenberg said.

Council members liked the idea of Valley Bank at the high-profile corner of Main and Third.

"Let's get something that produces, and Valley Bank is producing," council member Bob Hafferman said.

However, council members were cautious about the proposed swap being equal in land values, wanting either assessed- or market-value figures to compare the city-owned and bank-owned parking areas.

The bank also wants a permanent easement for 15 parking spaces on the future city-owned lot, while some council members thought that might be too many.

Rosenberg said if the bank received 15 permanent parking spaces, it still would have fewer parking spaces than it has now.

Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com