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KALISPELL CITY COUNCIL Core area measures approved By JIM MANN The Daily Inter Lake Measures to advance cre ation of an industrial park on the east side of Kalispeil and to jump start the city’s core area plan were unanimously passed by the Kalispell City Council Mon day night. The two related changes are considered vital to the economic future of central Kalispell The council voted to annex the 40-acre area east of Whitefish Stage Road that used to be occupied by the McElroy & Wlken gravel pit. The land is owned by the Flathead County Economic Develop ment Authority, which is pursuing plans to turn it into a rail-served industrial park. Creating the park and investing in its infrastruc ture are prerequisites to relocating two businesses currently served by rail that are in the core area, Northwest Drywall and Cenex Harvest States. The park would also be promot ed as a location for other business ventures, with a heavy industrial zoning that was also approved by the council Monday. The park is a key compo nent of implementing the Kalispefi Core Area Plan, which would open up cen tral Kalispell to the possi bility of new development. City Planner Torn Jentz outlined highlights in the plan for the council, say ing that the first priority is removing the BNSF rail road tracks between Merid ian Road and the Woodland Park area. That would clear the way for an east-west trail system and “green park” area at the city’s center, allow for more parking and sidewalks. And it would See CORE on Page AS ---PAGE BREAK--- CORE Continued from Al allow north-south street extensions,’ where they are needed, to complete streets that are cur rently blocked by the rail tracks. The council also voted to recognize the core area trail project as being eligible for West Side Tax Increment District funding. Jentz said it’s estimated that about $4 million would be used, and those funds would serve as a “match” for the city to qualify for fed eral transportation grant funds. An overall goal is to make the core a more attractive area for busi nesses to locate. “This is the equivalent of putting up a sign that says, ‘open for business,” said council member Phil Guithida. “The wind is at our back right now so we have to go as hard as we can to make this a real ity.” Council member Jim Atkinson noted that although there was no public comment in sup port or in opposition to the measures, there is substantial support for the core area plan from property owners within the area. In a subsequent inter view. City Manager Doug Russell said the council’s actions, and a city delegation’s recent visit to Washington, D.C.. will combine to greatly strengthen an application the city will be submit ting in the next week for a federal Transportation Investment Generat ing Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant. The grant would be used for design and infra structure development of the industrial park, while the related TIF matching funds would be used for the core area trail project. One way or another, the city will continue pursuing those goals, Rus sell said, -‘but the TIGER grant will speed it up by Years.” Russell said he under stands that only 4 percent of applications for the grants are successful. Last year, the city of Kalispell made it through the first cut but did not receive the grant in the end. “It’s a very competitive program.” he said. A delegation of nine people, including six council members, two city staff members including Russell, and one represen tative from the Flathead County Economic Devel opment Authority were in Washington April 9-12. They met with Montana’s congressional delegation and multiple agencies, including the federal Department of Transpor tation, which administers the grant program. The general pitch was to show there is strong local support not neces sarily for a singular proj ect, but a phased project that the city is backing with matching funds. That will greatly strengthen the com petitiveness of Kalispell’s application, Russell said. The trip cost about $2.000 per person, but the face-to-face interactions and information gLeaned about TIGER and other grant opportunities dur ing the visit were well worth it, he said. “it was very valuable in my book,” he said. “Just to build these relation ships at the federal level pays off,”