The Daily Inter Lake

Tonight’s Kalispell City Council meeting largely will be a ceremonial affair to swear in new council members and the mayor.

Mark Johnson will take an oath of office as the new mayor after running unopposed in last year’s election.

Sandy Mundahl Carlson will be sworn in as the council member representing Ward One, and Chad Graham will be sworn in to represent Ward Two.

There will also be outgoing presentations for Tammi Fisher, who served as mayor for the last four years, and for council members Bob Haffermann and Jeff Zauner. 

The council then will consider permitting the Flathead Valley Hockey Association to serve beer at the 2014 Craft Brewers Cup, which is scheduled to be held at the enclosed Woodland Skating Facility on Jan. 24 and 25. The fundraising event is planned to be managed just as it was last year as an adult hockey tournament with a brew fest featuring Montana beers.

The council will also discuss and possibly consider appointments to the City-County Health Board, the Flathead County Solid Waste Board and the 911 board, all of which have one vacancy for people representing the city.

City staff is requesting that the council reject two recent bids received for two dump trucks because they were excessive to prices the city could obtain trucks for through private purchase, without competitive bidding. City policy allows for the purchase of vehicles or equipment valued up to $80,000 without competitive bidding.

In other business, the council will consider notifying property owners in the Willows subdivision about a special assessment that would be levied for a stormwater system improvement project that recently was completed. The council also will call for a public hearing on the assessment.

The council meets at 7 p.m. in City Hall on First Avenue East.