Ellington

Hello and welcome to News Now. I'm your host, Taylor Inman. We're going over this week's biggest headlines and what's coming up for the Flathead Valley. Voters in Kalispell gave the city the green light on Tuesday to levy 60.9 mills annually to help bolster its emergency services, according to unofficial results released by the Flathead County Election Department, 3367 voters cast ballots in favor of the public safety levy, while 2485 opposed the measure.

The levy is expected to raise about $4.6 million in its first year for the city's police and fire departments, and add roughly $369 to the yearly tax bill of a home valued at $450,000. Council began moving toward the levy request last year after reviewing the results of an independent audit of the municipality's emergency responder agencies. There were the reviews undertaken by Washington, D.C. based center for Public Safety Management found both departments provided quality service but highlighted troubled areas, including response times, which lagged behind national averages to address deficiencies highlighted in the audit.

City staff drafted three levy request variance. After some debate, council opted to go with the costliest option in the fall. The top of the line request is expected to add two detectives, a crime analysis, and 1 to 2 additional officers on each shift for the police department. On the fire department's side, the tax revenue generated by the levy is expected to cover the cost of staffing an additional ambulance and fire engine, as well as erecting and manning a new fire station on the city's west side.

City Manager Doug Russell said the levy would go into effect in this fiscal year 2025, which begins July 1st. He said municipal officials are putting together a hiring and onboarding strategy in the wake of the levy's passage. City staff last year recommended council go with the middle of the road request, which would have paid for the hiring of additional personnel for both fire and police departments, partially and not in a nod to voters perceived resistance to tax increases and other economic factors like inflation.

Mayor Mark Johnson said the top of the line levy request is, quote, what they need in black and white during a discussion about the levy last October. Fire Chief Dan Pierce did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But in an emailed statement on Wednesday, Police Chief Jordan Venizelos thanked residents for their support. He said the police department has begun discussions on how to implement the changes funded by the levy.

The Columbia Falls City Council decided to go ahead with an affordable housing project on Railroad Street, on what is now a baseball field. City Manager Susan Nicosia presented options for a replacement ball field in cooperation with the school district. Land is available by the bus outlet at Columbia Falls Junior High School on Veterans Drive. Previously used for a gym which already has a backstop.

Other potential sites include fields between the junior high and Ruiter Elementary, or at the high school by the softball field or football concession stand. Parking would be available at all locations. The backstop on Railroad Street could be moved to avoid extra expenses. The council, in turn unanimously decided to move forward with amendments to their growth policy map. The ballpark was zoned as parkland and was changed to housing this summer.

The Railroad Street fields would still be available for use as the proposed changes go through the Planning Board and back to council, with opportunity for public comment at each hearing. Housing plans would be developed in partnership with Northwest Montana Community Land Trust and Habitat for humanity. In the latest presented drafts were for an eight unit development with its own alleyway, so that garages and parking do not outlet to the street.

Developers would be required to install sidewalks along fourth Avenue East North and see street, sewer and water access are already available on site. The council initially held off on the project until alternative fields could be found to play. Baseball on. The housing project will still have an open space for kids to play in. It will just be smaller than the current baseball fields.

Flathead County is handing over the construction and future operation of a regional septic treatment facility to Lakeside County Water and Sewer District. County commissioners on March 19th approved an interlocal agreement that provides payment of up to about $23.5 million to Lakeside to build the facility and set terms of its operations for the next 20 years. Commissioners lauded the move, which is a departure from the county's original plan to construct the facility itself and use the district for wastewater disposal to watchdog groups, citizens for Better Flathead and North Shore Water Alliance have raised concerns about the plan.

Both say the county should wait to enter into an agreement until Lakeside has received approval from the state Department of Environmental Quality for the facility. Mary Flowers, executive director of citizens for a Better Flathead, questioned whether Lakeside has the legal authority to enter the contract. She asked commissioners to pause a decision and get a roadmap from the Dec on the project.

Commissioner Pam Home Quest dismissed the idea that the county is rushing the decision. She said the county is not overseeing the project as they do not have the authority or ability to do so. The deck is the oversight agency and has stringent regulations that Lakeside will have to follow. The Lakeside Board on March 19th also approve the agreement with the county.

District general Manager Rodney Olson said the district wants to protect the environment. The district in the past has had conversations with private businesses about constructing a septic treatment plant, but it was deemed cost prohibitive. So when the county brought forward its proposal, the district was interested in being involved. Lakeside plans to construct a new wastewater treatment facility that will be able to accommodate septic waste, along with improving its ability to treat wastewater and increase overall capacity.

Olson said the district has applied with the Dec for a groundwater discharge permit as part of its planned upgrades, and once engineering for the new facility is ready, will submit plans to the state to obtain permits. EQT spokesperson Maura Davin said in an email to the Interlake that the agency is aware of potential upgrades to Lakeside facility, and that any application would follow its review process to ensure it meets all state requirements.

The county's agreement with Lakeside specifies that the district must obtain the necessary project permits from the Dec by December 31st and has until December 31st, 2026 to construct the facility. It also requires quarterly progress reports to be sent to the county. Read this full report and others at daily Inter lake.com. Let's see what events are coming up. Remember you can find art classes, live music or anything community related by going to daily Inter lake.com/events and checking out our events calendar.

Come join the Friends of Smith Valley Fire District and members of Smith Valley Fire for a breakfast fundraiser on Saturday, March 23rd. Funds will go toward the replacement of their outdated wildland fire engine. Take a tour of the fire house and eat some good breakfast starting at 7 a.m.. Glacier National Park interpretive ranger Steve Lados is sharing the history of grizzlies at the Northwest Montana History Museum on March 25th.

He'll discuss grizzlies from when they were low on the food chain to where they will be in the future. The event is free to attend and begins at 7 p.m.. Thanks for joining us. News now is a podcast from the Daily Interlake. We're proud to be the largest independent newsroom in Montana and the oldest paper in the Valley.

Consider becoming a subscriber to support our work. Call circulation at (406) 755-7018, or go to the subscribe tab in the top right corner of our website. And if you haven't already, subscribe to our YouTube channel to never miss an episode of The Pod. Everybody stay safe and have a great week!

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