Kalispell City Council: Grant approved for facade renovation

A grant for up to $5,000 will be offered to help a Main Street building owner pay for an architectural study needed to renovate the building’s facade and help test a technical assistance program Kalispell is considering.

The Kalispell City Council voted 5-2 on Monday to approve the grant, which would come from the West Side Tax Increment Finance District.

The technical assistance program would be offered to help people with preliminary phases of site improvement projects, Community and Economic Development Manager Katharine Thompson said.

This grant would be awarded to Chap Godsey and Josh Smith, owners of part of the Kelly-Main Building at 7 Main St. that has been vacant for about a decade.

They may apply later for more tax increment to help pay for a restoration or reconstruction of the building’s facade, another program being considered to spur revitalization efforts within the West Side Tax Increment Finance District.

The grant approved on Monday is a reimbursement grant. That means money is released only if Godsey and Smith pay for the estimated $7,800 architectural study and then renovate the building’s facade.

Council members Bob Hafferman and Tim Kluesner voted against the grant award.

Hafferman argued that the purpose of the tax increment finance district is to build the tax base.

He questioned if facade improvements would actually do that.

“The main thing I’m concerned about is the usage we’re heading down of turning the TIF district into a slush fund. It’s not fair for those other properties along Main Street to not have the same ability to fix up their facade. We’re heading down a wrong slope,” Hafferman said.

Kluesner said he’s “just not ready to do it yet,” adding that no one even knows what the building’s facade would look like. “It sounds like we’re just funding a research project,” he said.  

Others argued that the project falls in line with the goals of the West Side Tax Increment Finance District and the Kalispell Core Area Revitalization Plan adopted nine months ago.

“The overall intent is in keeping with the TIF ordinance, the TIF legislation, and I’ll support this motion,” council member Wayne Saverud said.

Mayor Tammi Fisher said she’s comfortable with the project.

“I would feel a lot less comfortable if it means they would get $5,000 tomorrow from taxpayers, but it appears there’s no reimbursement until a new facade occurs,” Fisher said, adding that the grant request is supported by the Kalispell Urban Renewal Agency that has helped craft the draft technical assistance program.

“I think we’ve found the URA has been very deliberate in the recommendations they put before this council. Certainly they’ve not been afraid to say no, something doesn’t qualify. This seems entirely within the design of this program and because it is a reimbursement based on results, I’ll support this. And I do think revitalization is important in this area,” Fisher said.

Council members previously awarded up to $72,661 of tax increment money to Paul Roybal, the owner of the southern half of Kelly-Main.

That money was to help pay for facade improvements, water-line upgrades and an oversized fire-flow line neighboring businesses can tap for their own fire suppression systems.

It also will be paid out on a reimbursement basis as eligible projects are completed.

The West Side Tax Increment Finance District holds more than $2.7 million and generates about $440,000 a year.

Its life was extended for 25 more years and its boundary was expanded to overlay more of the city to serve as a financial tool to help accomplish revitalization goals in Kalispell’s railroad corridor.

Members of the Urban Renewal Agency have been working to craft various programs and policies to govern how money from the tax increment district is made available for private redevelopment projects to accomplish revitalization goals.

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