Several dozen benches in downtown Kalispell are looking better this year than last after a project to restore them by the Kalispell Business Improvement District.

The benches were installed in the downtown as part of the city’s “streetscape” project.

Their paint started chipping and failing and several years ago the manufacturer agreed to replace the center of the benches but not the arms, blaming the failure of the paint on the arms on salt people were spreading on sidewalks during winter.

“The arms remained as they were and it was an eyesore in the downtown,” said Pam Carbonari, the coordinator of the Kalispell Business Improvement District.

The district decided to partner with the city to get the benches fixed back up.

“We paid to have this done, but the city [parks department] removed the benches, delivered them to the painter and then picked them up and reinstalled them.”

At the paint shop, 43 benches that fall within the business improvement district’s boundary were sandblasted and powder coated at a cost of about $300 each.

The last of those benches was repaired and reinstalled in December.

“This was a significant project for us,” Carbonari said.

The Kalispell Business Improvement District hopes the city will budget some money to fix the last 10 benches that are located outside of the district’s boundary.

“The BID’s dollars come from this district, so we need to spend them in this district,” Carbonari said.

Carbonari compared the bench restoration initiative to some of the district’s other beautification efforts downtown.

That includes putting up flower baskets and planting planters in the spring and summer and hiring a downtown ambassador to pick up trash and weed and help visitors with information.

“To let [the downtown get] run down and deteriorate just sends the wrong message,” Carbonari said. “Part of that value of being in the downtown district is we make sure everything is clean and neat.”

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.