Public asked to help limit casinos in north Kalispell

I am one of a small group of citizens who were unable to prevent Town Pump from getting the City Council’s approval on April 6, 2015, to build a casino in north Kalispell. 

It will be blasphemously built in conjunction with a gas station and convenience store at the site of the old River Church adjacent to Eisinger’s on West Reserve Street. 

There had been an unwritten policy not to allow casinos north of Idaho Street. The opposition we concerned citizens were able to muster was evidenced by a vote of 5-4, with Mayor Mark Johnson casting the deciding vote in favor of the casino. Because of the degree of opposition, the City Council held a work session to consider future casino development restrictions and referred possible options back to the City Planning Board for review and recommendations. Because there is a large B-2 General Business zoning district north of West Reserve Street between I-93 N. and Whitefish Stage Road potentially available for casino use in the future, it is important for concerned citizens to express to the City Council and Planning Board that we do not want the U.S. 93 N. corridor between Kalispell and Whitefish littered with casino trash. 

Options being considered can be viewed online at www.kalispell.com/planning. See “Casino Ordinance Update — Possible Scenarios,” “Planning Board’s Casino Packet,” and also “Contact Us” a short way down on the right. 

There was just a late night stabbing outside a local casino (May 29 Inter Lake), and we have 27 casinos within the Kalispell city limits. Vice attracts vice. Tell the City Council and Planning Board that we have passed our casino saturation point as a city, and we don’t want another casino in north Kalispell, where schools, medical and athletic facilities, and shopping predominate. Tell them before it’s too late. —Jenny La Sorte, Kalispell