Grant and casino requests, policy manual, on Kalispell agenda
The Kalispell City Council tackles a busy agenda tonight, starting with requests to sponsor two grant applications — one for Flathead Valley Community College and another for Flathead County Agency on Aging.
City Council will hold a public hearing and vote to give city staffers an OK to apply for a $350,000 economic development grant for the college from the Community Development Block Grant Program.
If awarded, the grant would help the college buy new machinery and expand its heavy equipment operator training and licensing program.
Council members also will vote on a resolution of intent to apply for a $450,000 public facilities grant for Flathead County from the Community Development Block Grant Program.
That grant would help Flathead County build a new Agency on Aging facility. But tonight’s resolution only sets an April 1 public hearing for the proposal, when the council would vote to proceed.
TWO REQUESTS from Brannigan’s Pub to open an upstairs dining area with gaming machine and card rooms goes before the City Council tonight, having cleared the Kalispell Planning Board with its support in February.
Located in the Loading Dock building across from Depot Park, the pub is asking for a conditional use permit to open an accessory-use casino within 300 feet of a church, school, park, residential zone or another casino.
It’s also asking for a zoning ordinance change to increase the percentage of square footage an accessory-use casino can occupy, from 10 percent to 20 percent of the overall structure.
The pub would have a total floor area of about 5,300 square feet with the upstairs expansion and hopes to use about 616 square feet for its gaming machine room and about 480 square feet for its card table room, both of which must be completely shielded from the primary-use area and its patrons.
COUNCIL MEMBERS will vote to adopt a “policies and procedures manual” that was tabled on Feb. 4 and reconsidered at a work session on Feb. 25.
The 10-page document covers everything from city budgeting and powers to the roles of various city leaders, legal and ethical standards, communications and meeting and voting procedures. It’s intended to serve as an orientation manual for newly-elected council members and a guide for those in office.
In other business, the City Council will consider appointing an alternate representative to the Flathead Emergency Communications Center Administrative Board.
With its Wednesday afternoon meetings once a month, the board has had difficulty getting a quorum to conduct business. So it is asking for an additional elected official or staff member to attend when the primary appointee cannot.
Tonight’s meeting starts at 7 p.m. in Kalispell City Hall, 201 First Ave. E. It is open to the public.
Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.