Kalispell City Council gives recovery home the green light

Kalispell City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a transitional home operated by Absolute Ministries, a faith-based organization aimed at helping men recover from drug and alcohol addiction.

Up for a conditional use permit, the project was approved to provide housing for up to eight men at 730 First Ave. W. Aaron McPherson of Absolute Ministries expected the house to accommodate five graduates of the organization’s Whitefish program, the first step for participants after they depart in-patient addiction treatment.

When the project came before the Kalispell Planning Board last month, where it met with neighbor opposition, much of the discussion centered on the city’s limited ability to block the effort, lest it violate federal housing law. At that meeting, board president Chad Graham, who is also a city councilor, said that the city’s “hands were tied” when it came to approving the undertaking.

On Jan. 3, though, Graham spoke in support of the home. Several fellow city councilors concurred, voicing their support for the project as part of the solution to the Flathead Valley’s addiction crisis.

Mayor Mark Johnson spoke about the need for such housing in the city.

“We have people in our community who are crying for help,” Johnson said before calling for a vote.

“As a society we need to find a way to solve this [addiction] problem, and that’s not by saying, ‘This has to hide somewhere else,’ or ‘Not in my backyard,’” he added.

Johnson also addressed Jeff Hawkins, a Kalispell resident who had offered public comment in support of the recovery home. During his statement, Hawkins shared his own history with alcohol and drug addiction and his volunteer efforts at the Flathead Warming Center since getting sober.

“Mr. Hawkins, you proved it to me tonight: There is hope, and that’s what these people need,” Johnson said.

After the meeting, Johnson pledged to visit the recovery home and meet with the program’s participants.

McPherson said he was glad that the permit was approved. He also noted the support it received.

“I’m super encouraged,” McPherson said. “It sounds like the mayor gets it, there’s problems that need to be solved.”

He said he would be extending an invitation to visit the home to the mayor and City Council.

ALSO DISCUSSED by Council was the decision to join with the Montana League of Cities and Towns in lobbying against several bills in the statehouse that city staff worried will preempt local government’s decision-making authority.

Johnson slammed what described as hypocrisy from the Republican supermajority in the state Legislature, and criticized proposals stripping municipal governments of a say on issues such as taxes and housing policy.

Johnson accused the current crop of Republicans in Helena as having “big government” ideas.

“Last time I checked, a Republican principle was ‘government should be small and unobtrusive,’” he said.

Johnson said after the meeting that he was particularly concerned about a proposed bill that would take percentage of impact fees away from municipalities and divert them to Helena.

Council also approved conditional use permits for a multi-family residential development as part of a mixed-use property at 428 First Ave. W. and an expansion of the Westside Neighborhood Parking Management Zone to include Fifth Street West between Fifth Avenue West and Sixth Avenue West.

Council unanimously approved the staff recommendation to award engineering firm MMI the contract to repair a bridge at the Buffalo Hills Golf Course.

Reporter Adrian Knowler can be reached at 758-4407 or aknowler@dailyinterlake.com.