Forum looks at south Kalispell future

What does the future hold for south Kalispell?

After nearly a year of compiling public input and city data, CTA Architects and Engineers will host a public meeting Wednesday on the South Kalispell Urban Renewal Plan released last week.

The south Kalispell area is bounded by Airport Road on the west, Cemetery Road on the south, Willow Glen Road to the east and 12th Street on the north.

The 70-page draft plan primarily revolves around future options for the Kalispell City Airport, a point of contention for the city and its residents since a 2013 referendum left the future of the airport in question without a certain funding mechanism.

The plan offers five alternatives for the airport: 1) Keeping the airport as is, using city funding to maintain the facility; 2) Close the airport and use the land for potential revenue-generating operations; 3) Request Federal Aviation Administration funding that would require bringing the airport into compliance with federal codes; 4) Incorporating the airport into an airport authority; or 5) Privatizing the airport.

CTA and Mead & Hunt, who collaborated for the final plan, suggest the first three alternatives as the most viable. In the three options for the airport offered in an online survey by CTA, 42 percent of respondents wanted to keep the airport as is, 32 percent said bring the airport into FAA compliance to qualify for funding and 26 percent wanted to phase the airport out of operations.

“The public seems to support continued operation of the airport if two goals are met: The airport is not expanded to take additional commercial aircraft and the airport does not become a tax burden on the community,” the study said.

“If the city wishes to keep the airport an active and viable community asset, there will need to be a concerted political decision and financial commitment from the city. Revenue options include increased business opportunities, taxation and FAA funding.”

To a certain point, alternatives would be to able to draw money from the south side tax- increment financing district to help pay for development. The funding is not available for operations or maintenance.

If the city were to keep the facility as is and continue to fund the airport with the general fund, the city would need to pay for overdue maintenance projects, primarily the runways and taxiways. According to the study, the airport would need to develop aviation-related space to lease to businesses that could offset the cost of annual maintenance.

In the study, Mead & Hunt does not recommend closing the airport due to the high cost of lease buyouts and negative aviation implications. Some of these aviation implications would include losing an access point for emergency medical transportation, search-and-rescue operations, law enforcement operations and other emergency services.

In the third alternative — making the airport an FAA-compliant facility to become eligible for the Airport Improvement Program funds— the agency would provide 90 percent of the funding while the city would be required to come up with 10 percent.

The general public voted against this approach in 2013, essentially voting against expanding the airport. To retake this approach, the city would have to provide more information that could potentially turn the tide of public opposition.

Alternatives 4 and 5 contain too many unknowns and political uncertainties to expand on the financial impacts, according to the document. Alternative 4 would require the city to open negotiations with the Flathead Municipal Airport Authority just to explore the option further. Alternative 5, privatizing the airport, would require time for development and land sales.

“Within the contents of this study the airport is shown to lose money in all of the primary three financial alternatives. If the city of Kalispell keeps the airport as is, it continues to lose money. If the city takes FAA funding, keeping the runway orientation in place, it continues to lose money. Based on the findings of this study, the city also loses money if the airport is closed in the near future and is sold for alternative uses.”

The plan outlines several other facets such as land development in south Kalispell.

When asked what kind of things residents would like to see, the trending themes included trails, parks and bike paths, mixed-use housing, commercial development areas, a defined entrance into the city, worries that development will increase traffic in South Kalispell, quality neighborhood schools, a convention center and an effort to preserve agriculture.

The Kalispell City Council also will hold meetings on the plan.

The entire plan is available online at www.southkalispellurbanrenewal.com.

The open house will run from 5 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday in the Kalispell City Council Chambers. At 7 p.m., CTA will give a presentation summarizing the overall plan findings.

For more information, contact CTA Senior Planner Stephanie Ray at 222-0103, extension 1606, or Kalispell Planning and Building Director Tom Jentz at 758-7940.

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.