Parking permit plan not fair to residents

I just received a notice from the Kalispell City Planning Board about an upcoming workshop and public hearing regarding a Flathead High School Residential Parking Permit Program. The proposed meeting will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

It seems a group of residents living in the vicinity of Flathead High School and Elrod School requested the creation of the residential parking permit program. So, the Planning Board has gone along. The cost to residents for the permits would be between $20 and $30 per vehicle annually.

I believe this is being handled all wrong. Before scheduling a meeting like this, I believe a simple ballot should have been sent to each person residing in the area asking if they support a parking district with the costs spelled out. It would not have cost any more than the planning board’s’s special meeting notice mailing and would have gauged the public’s support (or lack of) more accurately than a meeting.

Having to pay for the privilege to park in front of my own house is ridiculous. Having to pay $20 to $30 per vehicle is outrageous. When the high schools divided, we were promised that they were going to be equal. Apparently, that does not include parking. Additional parking for Flathead should have been planned and available lots surrounding the high school purchased for accommodation of the parking needs.

Saddling residents with additional taxes disguised at parking permits is unfair and needs to be sent back to the Planning Board for other consideration. —Rick Funk, Kalispell