Kalispell welcomes new officer; apartment projects OK'd

Kalispell City Council and the Kalispell Police Department officially instated officer Max Battle during the city council meeting Monday night, upon his completion of his one-year probationary period with the department.

Kalispell Police Chief Roger Nasset introduced his newest cop as the “police officer with the perfect name,” as Mayor Mark Johnson made a point not to stick Battle as he presented him with his KPD badge.

Nasset addressed council stating, “I am proud to report that officer Battle’s experiences have been an asset to our staff. He has demonstrated maturity, positive decision making and leadership in his year with the Kalispell Police Department.”

ALSO MONDAY, council gave the final go ahead for the construction of the Stillwater Bend, a 56-acre subdivision of apartments, offices and businesses bordered by the Stillwater River. The request from Spartan Holdings called for a Growth Policy Amendment to allow for a change of zoning on the property, dubbing it urban mixed-use, the annexation of the property into the city limits and the official re-zoning of the property.

The project will create a subdivision of apartments, offices and businesses that will join the Kalispell North Town Center, which recently broke ground, with a planned extension of Rose Crossing connecting the two.

Council also awarded a conditional use permit to Owl View Estates for the construction of multi-family apartments in the Westview Estates Subdivision off Taelor Road.

The project will take up three 4-acre lots within the Owl View Condominium Subdivision and will include five buildings with eight units each for a total of 40 units located near the intersection Taelor Road and Sawyer Lane.

One neighboring resident spoke out against the construction of the multi-family apartments, saying it would create a “disjointed neighborhood.”

Council approved the request unanimously after concluding the resident’s complaints were unfounded.

Funding for the Fourth Avenue East water main replacement project through the use of a water revolving loan fund was approved unanimously by council.

A public hearing to discuss the Kalispell Growth Policy Plan-It 2035 was scheduled for June 19.

For more information on the city council agenda and minutes, visit http://kalispell.com/mayor_and_city_council.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.