Kalispell mayor agrees with Flathead County commissioners' decision to reject state housing program

Kalispell Mayor Mark Johnson said Monday that Flathead County Commissioners were correct in rejecting a multimillion-dollar state-funded housing program.  

Approved by the state Legislature in 2023, House Bill 819 set aside $50 million to address workforce housing through housing nonprofits across Montana. The bill made $4.5 million available to Flathead County and would have provided homebuyers with a loan to assist in lowering the purchase price of a deed-restricted home.  

Johnson said during Monday’s Kalispell City Council meeting that the bill should have been openly discussed by commissioners months earlier, but that they ultimately made the right decision in rejecting the program on Tuesday, Dec. 31 in a split vote. 

Johnson said that residents interested in the program would be better off taking their down payment and investing it. Per the program, homebuyers must agree to an equity cap of 1% per year.  

If someone invested, for example, $20,000 versus using it as a down payment, Johnson said, they are coming out ahead even as a tenant. That’s “because your equity in that home is capped,” he said.  

Johnson criticized language in the bill stating that the community organization would be encouraged, not required, to put the equity cap back into the program for future loans.  

“When we pass legislation in a crisis for the short term without really looking at the long-term impacts of that legislation, we make mistakes,” Johnson said.  

He decribed those who would have enrolled in the program as indentured servants.  

“You can’t afford to get out because you don’t get enough equity out of it to make a down payment on the next house,” he said.   

“When you run the numbers, I’m not convinced it's a good deal,” Johnson added.  

Local nonprofits and advocates for affordable housing argued at the commissioners’ meeting that the program would provide another option for creating workforce housing.  

Housing prices in the Flathead Valley have remained at an all-time high since 2022, with median home sale prices holding at about $587,000, according to the Northwest Montana Association of Realtors.   

ALSO DURING Monday’s meeting, Councilor Chad Graham said that this year would be his last as councilor for Ward 2. 

“It’s been great,” he said of his time on Council.  

Graham’s first term began in January 2014. He was re-elected in 2018 and most recently in 2022, with the current four-year term ending in December 2025.  

KALISPELL IS moving forward with upgrades to two miles of the U.S. 93 Bypass between U.S. 93 and Airport Road. 

Council approved applying for a $25 million grant to fund the project in cooperation with the Montana Department of Transportation.  

Development Services Director Jarod Nygren estimated the total cost to be between $31 and $33 million. Additional cash needed to fund the project would be provided by the state agency, according to city documents.  

Council also OK’d development at both the Kalispell North Town Center and Bloomstone subdivision. 

Phases six and seven of development at the Kalispell North Town Center that were approved by Council entail construction south of Lincoln Street and make up around 73 acres. Development plans indicated land will be transformed into 23 commercial lots, two common areas and streets. 

Councilor Ryan Hunter was the lone dissenting vote, reiterating his opposition to the development. He opposed it when the preliminary plat was brought before Council in November 2023.  

“It’s not something I believe is the right development pattern for our community,” Hunter said. He expressed concern over low density sprawl in the area.  

The final plat for phases five and six of the Bloomstone development approved by Council consists of building six multi-family lots on 13.9 acres.  

The 90-acre property is situated south of Glacier High School and north of Four Mile Drive. 

REFERENCING A recent article published by the Daily Inter Lake, Hunter said he was interested in resuming efforts to address homelessness that the city had left gathering dust.  

He expressed interest in spearheading collaboration with Whitefish and Columbia Falls leadership to address homelessness in the valley.  

The idea for organizing a summit for Flathead County’s three municipalities arose in October 2023. The following month, Johnson agreed to speak with his counterparts in the other cities, but the effort quietly fizzled.  

Hunter also offered to make recommendations for members of a homeless advisory committee, “and propose a mission and focus for that committee as well, to try to move that along,” he said.  

He would be reigniting an idea originally proposed by Flathead Warming Center Director Tonya Horn last year. 

Johnson gave Hunter the thumbs up to pursue both plans.  

“Go ahead and knock your socks off,” he said. “I would love to see Whitefish just change their zoning to allow for shelters.” 

MONDAY’S MEETING opened with dozens of Camas Rinehart’s friends, family and coworkers in attendance to support his confirmation as a firefighter and paramedic for the Kalispell Fire Department.  

“It’s nice to see you grow up and give back to your community, so thank you,” said Johnson as he pinned the Kalispell native’s badge.   

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and junderhill@dailyinterlake.com.