City, county combine efforts to pave roadway

Flathead County and the city of Kalispell are teaming up to chip seal about a mile of Stillwater Road between Three Mile Drive and West Reserve Drive.

Both the county and city have ownership of some parts of Stillwater Road in that stretch, county Public Works Director Dave Prunty said. As the city has annexed property, most of the road has fallen under city ownership, he said. The city owns about seven-eighths of the road and the county owns the remainder.

The two entities agreed that the county will sell asphalt mix to the city and the city will pave the small stretch of road that is owned and maintained by the county at the same time it paves the city sections of the road.

The city already had planned to repair the road this summer and offered to do the county’s stretch, Prunty said.

Cooperating on projects like this one results in savings to taxpayers, County Administrative Officer Mike Pence told county commissioners.