Kalispell looks at updates for construction standards

The Kalispell City Council will take up the topic of updating standards for design and construction at its work session this evening.

The city periodically updates these standards “to aid in the operation and maintenance of public infrastructure, and to ensure the standards reflect the best practices necessary to support a sustainable community,” according to the agenda.

The last update happened Feb. 5, 2018, although the council made additional “administrative amendments” on April 2, 2019.

The Public Works Department is now proposing three main updates to the design and construction standards for the city.

The first is a requirement for builders to complete a post-construction stormwater maintenance permit, per a recently adopted city ordinance. This permit is intended to ensure developers install, operate and maintain all post-construction stormwater controls. It requires a number of checklists and inspection protocols for permitees and is valid for five years.

The city is also proposing a waiver of the right to protest the creation of a stormwater maintenance district for developments where stormwater infrastructure is not maintained in accordance with city ordinance and municipal separate storm sewer system requirements. The city ordinance provides for the formation of a city stormwater maintenance district to take care of stormwater systems in areas where the responsible party fails to perform the required repairs and maintenance.

Finally, the amended standards would require municipal facilities exclusions to expire with the preliminary plat for developments. These requirements are mandated by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality prior to construction on new projects.

This amendment was reportedly added to the standards in 2015 but accidentally was left out of the 2018 update. According to the agenda for the work session, “This provision is needed so that approved MFEs (municipal facilities exclusions) are not held in perpetuity as development stalls.”

This oversight apparently led to a previous mis-allocation of sewer flows which prompted the need for the Westside Sewer Interceptor project.

The standards will also be updated with a few clarifications, updated material specifications and corrections to formatting errors.

Prior to the work session, there will also be an informal meet and greet event with the two finalists for the recently vacated planning director position. The candidates are Jarod Nygren, Kalispell senior planner, and BJ Grieve, planning director for Southern Pines, North Carolina, who previously served as planning director for Flathead County. The meet and greet starts at 6:15 p.m.

The agenda for the work session is available here: https://www.kalispell.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_12092019-363

The work session starts at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 201 First Ave. E.

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at bserbin@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.