City parking proposal still under fire

The Kalispell City Council made little headway on Tuesday toward parking restrictions around Flathead High School, and comments from residents showed that stark disagreements still surround the proposal.

The discussion at a council workshop opened with an offer by council member Rod Kuntz, whose ward would host the proposed parking district. He’s also a resident of the area and volunteered to step out of his council role — including a final vote — to mediate small neighborhood groups.

Kuntz said that he would meet with residents to try and foster a solution to a parking situation that has pitted the school against residents for years.

“There is a problem,” Kuntz said. “And it’s taken quite some time to get on the same page.”

Whether or not everyone was on the same page might depend on who’s asked, but the council gave Kuntz two weeks to try and rally neighborhood support. Some worried that this was a step back from the current proposal, which has been before the council since January.

City staff drafted a proposal that limits five avenue blocks to resident-only permit parking. It would be along Third Avenue West from Fifth to Ninth Street as well as one block of Fourth Avenue West immediately south of the high school. The parking restriction wouldn’t include streets.

As part of the plan, the school district has committed to adding parking spaces at the high school and at Elrod Elementary. In April, the school board approved 21 additional spaces at Flathead High.

The overall parking district covers 25 blocks, which allows for the five-block effective zone to be altered if necessary.

But residents lined up Tuesday in opposition to the proposal, which officials have touted as a hard-fought compromise between the neighborhood and the school.

Devin Kuntz said that with a growing renter population and elderly folks on tight budgets, many residents are opposed to purchasing permits.

“The dissent that you’re seeing from the residents as far as the solution that comes before you is because of money,” he said. “It’s largely because of the cost.”

Under the proposal, residents would be able to purchase permits to park in the restricted zone. The annual permits could run from $14 up to $70, according to the city, in order to cover the cost. Signs alone for the area have been estimated at $4,000.

Other grievances ranged from overcrowded streets to vandalism and to students smoking.

Some wanted the whole 25-block area, with the school at the center, to be made resident-only parking. In the past, council members have mused that simply pushing the student drivers out could bring other issues.

One resident, Donna Smith, said the school should promote alternative forms of transportation to mitigate the problem. She suggested campaigns for carpooling, walking, bicycling and park-and-ride bus systems.

“I think that the school can do more and I’m hoping that Flathead will make some changes,” Smith said.

Others felt that a more sinister plot was working to thwart a larger parking restriction zone.

“I told you that that was not the original proposal,” said resident and Kalispell Planning Board member Karlene Osorio-Kohr. “And I told you that the project had been hijacked.”

She said she felt the school district strong-armed the original 25-block proposal into its current form.

The Planning Board recommended approval of the five-block proposal in January. Osorio-Kohr abstained from voting but gave public comments against it.

Kalispell Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Dan Zorn rebutted Osorio’s claim. He said that after residents came up with a 25-block plan, the district came in and worked toward the current draft.

“What you have before you is a compromise,” Zorn said.

The council remains stalled on the parking proposal, which has yet to reach an official vote. Council members indicated that a deal will be reached in time for the next school year.

This wasn’t the only parking issue before the council on Tuesday.

Council members heard an initial report on a plan to convert 10 parking spaces in front of the Museum at Central School into monthly permit spots. The spots currently have parking meters.

Janet Clark, a member of the city’s Parking Advisory Board, said meter revenue has been less than stellar. In 2014, those meters generated $538.

“Obviously, if you look at it from a monetary point, the meters are not being utilized,” Clark said.

Clark said that the change would still leave 13 metered spaces plus one handicap space in front of the museum for public stops.

The proposed permit spots would be by monthly leases and could generate up to $3,300 per year.

Gil Jordan, executive director of the Museum at Central School, said he got a little “hot” listening to that discussion. He said  the museum was not consulted at all for this proposal.

“We’re stunned that there’s a proposal to take away 10 spots that are half of our convenient parking,” Jordan said.

He said that this would cut access for elderly visitors and discourage tourists who don’t immediately find spots to park.

He handed out a letter signed by 18 museum board members and area business people that outlined several alternative sites for permit parking.

“You have a lot of other alternatives,” Jordan said. “There are hundreds, hundreds of parking spaces in the immediate area.”

It’s unclear when the museum parking proposal would reach a council vote.

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