Kalispell to enter into agreement with Bibler Family Trust on new park
Ashley Creek Park concept plan, courtesy of Berger Partnership
The season of giving is in full swing, and Kalispell is poised to receive a hefty gift in the form of a new public park on its west side.
At its Monday night meeting, Kalispell City Council is expected to authorize an agreement between the city and the Bibler Legacy Foundation, which is looking to develop the park.
Council meets at 7 p.m., Dec. 16 inside City Hall, 201 First Ave. E.
The roughly 20 acres of property that will be named Ashley Creek Park is owned by the Bibler Family Trust and sits at the intersection of the Parkline Trail and Great Northern Historical Trail. U.S. 93 Bypass runs along the west side of the land with Ashley Creek running through its southern end.
According to the project proposal, the park is intended as a gift to the city and no tax dollars will be used for its design and construction.
Plans for the proposed park feature a playground, a gathering place and a trail network that provides access to the creek with parking off Fenn Way.
Also in the project proposal are plans for a garden reminiscent of the Bibler Gardens, a private display in Kalispell featuring thousands of flowers and fruit-bearing trees that overlook the Flathead Valley.
The Bibler Trust is collaborating with Berger Partnership, landscape and architectural firm based in Seattle that has developed several parks in Washington, on the project. Ashley Creek Park is the company’s first undertaking in Montana.
The park is expected to open in 2026.
The idea was brought before Council in May and proposed incorporating an additional plot of land at the west end of the Parkline trail currently owned by BNSF Railway. The city is working on buying out the land by February 2025, according to city documents.
The drafted agreement stipulates that the Bibler Foundation will provide for the development of the park while the city develops a trail system within the BNSF property.
The Bibler Family Trust intends to hand the park over to the city after it is completed, according to city documents. The agreement stipulates that the trust can continue paying maintenance costs after the land is handed over.
ON THE consent agenda for Monday night, Council will authorize the purchase of a used 28-yard front load solid waste truck from Toms Truck Sales for $205,000, which was in the budget for fiscal year 2025.
The city will also pay Standard Drain Cleaning to rehabilitate almost 8,000 feet of sanitary sewer main and 207 feet of manhole lining in the city. There are several areas in the city's sewer collection system that have root intrusion and infiltration issues, according to city documents.
The city will pay Standard Drain Cleaning around $430,000. The project goes toward the city’s 2025 Inflow and Infiltration Project.
Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and junderhill@dailyinterlake.com.