The Kalispell City Council on Monday accepted a $75,000 National Park Service grant for promotion of the city’s historic downtown district.

The grant would look to capitalize on the connection with Glacier National Park with creation of a website and social media marketing campaign. A number of signs also will be installed downtown.

Some $78,500 in matching funds are required under the grant.

The funding will come from the private Downtown Kalispell Business Improvement District and the Flathead Rotary Community Foundation, plus in-kind services and volunteers’ time from three local museums.

The city will donate $15,000 of Community Development Manager Katharine Thompson’s time, which is “very common in the grant world,” she said. 

The Hockaday Museum of Art will take the lead on the project, Thompson said, incorporating youths into the activities.

Pam Carbonari, coordinator of the Downtown Kalispell Business Improvement District, called the grant a “phenomenal” opportunity.

“We want to make sure our locals remain interested in the downtown,” she said, noting tourists already visit.

The Park Service grant is the first of its kind awarded in Montana, Thompson said.

Council member Jim Atkinson said he recently found out that a place’s history is the fourth-biggest reason tourists visit an area.

Walking-tour brochures of the downtown area are “going like hotcakes,” Carbonari said.

Reporter Caleb Soptelean may be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at csoptelean@dailyinterlake.com.