Alcohol ordinance, board appointments on agenda for Kalispell

During its meeting tonight, the Kalispell City Council will consider an ordinance that loosens restrictions for alcohol use at city parks.

The proposed ordinance would amend a city code to allow some wiggle room for where alcohol can be consumed, as well as when permits can be submitted.

Council members expressed a wish to revisit the ordinance after this year’s Pond Hockey Classic, in which alcohol use was banned due to technicalities in the code language.

As organizers scrambled for a last-minute venue change from Foy’s Lake to Woodland Park, the council said it was bound by specific boundary and deadline rules. For one, alcohol use is currently limited to the enclosed hockey rink at Woodland.

City Manager Doug Russell said the proposed changes would give the council a bit more discretion if similar circumstances arise in the future, but it’s not meant to allow widespread drinking.

“The general idea is trying to keep it over by the ice rink area,” he said.

One part of the ordinance change would do just that with a small addition. Alcohol use would be limited to the hockey rink and the surrounding grounds, as the draft ordinance reads.

It also would require organizers to create a “detailed” map that shows where drinking would occur.

Another problem that arose in the Pond Hockey Classic decision was the short notice. Event organizers had to make a quick change just days before the event, but city code required three weeks’ notice.

The proposed ordinance change would allow a permit application to be submitted up to the time of public notice for a council session, usually the Wednesday prior to the Monday meeting.

This ordinance will help Diane Medler, director of the Kalispell Convention and Visitors Bureau, as the bureau considers making Woodland Park the primary venue for the hockey classic.

She said the ordinance addresses some of the issues she had with this year’s event and could bring other attractions to the area.

“Making the proposed location for the distribution and consumption of alcohol will make for maybe other winter events brought into Woodland Park,” Medler said.

THE COUNCIL also will appoint residents to board and commission positions to fill vacancies and expired terms. Twelve such groups had openings this year.

In most cases, enough people applied to fill the open slots, either as new applicants or incumbents. In the case of the Board of Adjustment, the roster will be thin for now.

The board had one term that expired in April and three other vacancies among the maximum five spots. Nobody has applied so far, leaving Bob Vine as the sole Board of Adjustment member.

City Attorney Charlie Harball said that if the board needed to meet, the meeting would have to be postponed with just one member available.

“The good news is we rarely have Board of Adjustment meetings,” he said.

The board hears appeals during planning and zoning processes. Its members meet whenever an applicant, such as a developer, has an issue with a planning decision by city staff or other officials.

Harball said the city can still take applicants for the board. At least three people must be on the board to conduct business.

A full list of the vacancies and applicant can be viewed at www.kalispell.com/mayor_and_city_council/agenda.php.

Mayor Mark Johnson, as well as council members, have made recommendations for appointments and will vote them tonight. Two groups, the Police Commission and the Street Tree Commission, have more applicants than open slots.

FINALLY, A public hearing is scheduled for remarks about the Old School Station plan. The council could finalize plans to acquire six indebted lots in the industrial and technology district on the U.S. 93 South corridor.

The council meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 201 1st St. E.

Reporter Matt Hudson may be reached at 758-4459 or by email at mhudson@dailyinterlake.com.