Kalispell Council set to vote on garbage rate increase

Kalispell City Council on Monday is set to decide whether to increase garbage collection rates.

Residences now pay $111 annually for garbage collection. Council will consider increasing that rate by up to $37 per year.

The last time city solid waste rates, which are collected through property tax assessments, were increased was in 2011 and that was by $3 per year.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the City Hall, 201 First Avenue East.

The city serves nearly 6,000 customers for garbage collection. About 20 comments were received on the rate increase with roughly half of those being opposed, while a few were in favor and the rest were neutral.

Some of those that objected to the increase said they would be OK with paying more because of inflationary increases, but objected to paying more because of the increased growth in the community.

The proposed rate increase comes after city staff began reviewing the solid waste service fund in preparation for the city’s fiscal year 2023 budget. Staff found that revenue generated from the current assessment rates will not sustain the current level of service beyond the next fiscal year. Additionally, service capacities are nearing the point where staffing and equipment can no longer support additional residential and commercial accounts. For commercial and residential containers the city has the capacity to service about 6,000 units now and would like to increase that to 8,400.

Council will consider a rate structure that would spread out an increase over four years.

For residential customers, the rate would increase by $17 in the first year, $6 in the second and $7 in the third and fourth years, for a total increase of $37 per year.

Commercial service includes two different levels of service and corresponding rates. The rate for those paying $338 per year now would increase to $449. For those paying $411 now, the cost would increase to $548.

If a higher residential rate is approved, Kalispell at $148 per year would still be less than the other two municipalities in the county — Whitefish’s rate is $200 and Columbia Falls’ is $220.

ON THE agenda, Council is set to consider authorizing a contract for the sale and lease of the property that lies underneath and adjacent to the Hilton Garden Inn building.

When the Montana National Guard moved off its property on U.S. 93 South that now houses the Hilton, ownership of the property reverted to the city.

After seeking proposals for the development of the property, the city sold a piece of the land to Gateway Hospitality Group and leased the remaining property to Gateway. The company then constructed the hotel.

Kalispell Lodging, LLC in early 2022 assumed the lease and purchased the hotel from Gateway. Now Kalispell Lodging is requesting to purchase the area under the hotel and has submitted an agreement to the city that would transfer ownership of the land. Additionally, Kalispell Lodging has presented an updated 99-year lease of the city property.

The sale proceeds and future lease proceeds go to the Airport Users Association, which is in charge of the management and maintenance of the city airport.

The city is expected to realize a purchase price for about 10,800 square feet of property in the amount of nearly $60,000.

The city will continue to collect lease payments on the other portion of the property at 52,341 square feet in the amount of a beginning rate of 25 cents per square foot. That lease rate would increase at a rate of 3% annually and adjust every third year for the term of the lease.

Council is also set to vote on an ordinance to repeal requirements initiated in 1981 that city firefighters during their employment reside within three air miles of the city or within 15 minutes of a fire call.

Council determined that it would be prudent to reconsider the residency requirement to broaden housing options for employees in the fire department, and thus placed the matter on the ballot. In June, voters approved removing the requirement and thus Council is set to vote on the ordinance that repeals the requirements.

Council will also vote on three ordinances related to updating its building codes to meet changes in state, federal and international building code standards.

For more information, visit the city’s website at https://www.kalispell.com/

Features Editor Heidi Desch may be reached at 758-4421 or hdesch@dailyinterlake.com.