Partnering to make a difference

In Kalispell’s department of community and economic development, Katharine Thompson has a full plate — but she wouldn’t want it any other way or want to be in any other place.

As staffing in the grant-funded city department has dwindled from five in years past to one, a strong community stands ready to work together, lend a hand and help get things done, Thompson said.

Nearly a lifelong resident of Flathead Valley, Thompson grew up on the family farm her great-grandparents homesteaded.

She graduated from Whitefish High School and enrolled at the University of Montana, earning degrees in philosophy and economics and a master’s in public administration.

Thompson made it back to the Flathead in no time. “I was very fortunate. The Flathead Food Bank was searching for a director and they took a leap of faith on me,” she said.

She spent seven years with the food bank and then worked for six years as director of Flathead CARE before taking a position as executive assistant to the Kalispell city manager, a job she held for about a year.

“I just felt like it was a really nice opportunity to work on a broad scope of projects that hopefully make a difference,” Thompson said of her decision to start working for the city in 2007.

Thompson was promoted to her current job in February 2008.

The department has a two-fold mission: To do what it can to help businesses succeed and locate here and to pursue quality of life improvements for Kalispell’s nearly 20,000 residents.

On the business end of things, the department offers site selection assistance and runs a Brownfields program that can leverage private funds to study, assess and, if needed, clean up contaminated properties.

It also has a revolving loan fund program to provide “gap financing” and help local businesses reach the equity levels needed to complete a traditional loan with a local bank.

A strong community has been willing to come together, find common ground and get things done, Thompson said.

“The positive outcome of that is an increased effort at partnering in the community and finding other ways to accomplish the work this community and the city council has identified as priorities,” she said.

Most of the work being undertaken today is grant-focused.

During the last few years, the department worked with Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana to acquire federal funds and launch a new nonprofit community land trust. That effort saw the purchase and renovation of 16 bank-owned foreclosed houses now available for sale as affordable workforce housing. As many as eight more houses are in the works.

The department continues to work on a wayfinding project, partnering with local museums, the Kalispell Business Improvement District and Kalispell Convention and Visitors Bureau. The grant-funded project aims to design and install new city gateway markers and road signs that will better welcome visitors and direct them to local attractions.

That effort may soon include Eagle Scouts who could help design gateway markers, work through the process of getting them approved, or gather resources to build and install them.

“What that might look like is yet to be determined, but I think there’s lots of opportunities there for the partnership,” Thompson said.

Thompson will spend much of this year working on a core area revitalization plan for Kalispell’s railroad corridor, another grant-funded initiative.

Through one-on-one interviews and public open houses, Kalispell has spoken with about 120 residents and property and business owners about what they think that railroad corridor should look like 10 to 20 years from now.

A volunteer steering committee is also working to help guide the revitalization planning.

“As we reach the end of this year we will have a plan for that historically industrial area. Then we get to move on to the very exciting part, which is implementation of its priorities and goals,” Thompson said.

While Kalispell’s economy continues to languish by many measures, developers are showing interest in its revitalization planning.

“They’re seeing the kind of work we’re doing to revitalize this area and they are very specifically looking at this area for investment,” Thompson said, adding that she sees positive signs for Kalispell’s future.

“It may not always happen at the pace we like, but overall I think we are seeing lots of positives, just in terms of new business, new interest in accessing capital and finding ways to promote this community — perhaps in new ways, recognizing the world does continue to change,” she said.

“I feel greatly encouraged by the cooperation and collaboration we’re seeing at every turn. I think that bodes well for us, recognizing the need to pull together. That builds on our strengths.”

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.