Kalispell council to consider BID work plan, budget

The new board for the Downtown Kalispell Business Improvement District (BID) has submitted a work plan and budget proposal for discussion in Monday’s Kalispell City Council work session.

The estimated cost of expenses for the 2017-2018 BID fiscal year calls for a budget of $117,000. That amount will be collected through assessments paid by property and business owners within the BID boundaries.

The BID has been at work with a purpose of bettering the downtown Kalispell area through community events, beautification projects and marketing campaigns meant to attract more business and raise property values through self-taxation of its members.

Council approved an extension of the original BID boundaries in April to include more businesses and properties. Mayor Mark Johnson appointed the new board for the new BID in May.

COUNCIL ON Monday will also discuss potential funding options for the Urban Forestry and Stormwater Utility programs.

The Urban Forestry Program is responsible for the maintenance and care of the city’s trees, including pruning, removing dead or dying trees and planting new ones. The work is paid for in part by a forestry assessment imposed on the taxpayers of Kalispell.

The removal of one tree costs between $200 and $800, depending on its size. The cost of pruning a tree is between $100 and $500. The city is also responsible for replacing and replanting trees.

City staff has estimated the cost of currently needed forest maintenance at around $201,000 per year for two years.

The cost of “deferred maintenance,” or the cost of upkeep and pruning over the next several years, will cost approximately $482,000 each year for the next seven years.

A rise in the number of major storm-water management capital improvement projects this year has created a need for the city to raise the rate of the annual storm-water assessment for Kalispell residents.

City Manager Doug Russell has submitted four different assessment plans with differing rates of increase for the council to review.

For more information on the city council agenda and minutes, visit Kalispell.com.

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