Flathead County is tapping into federal cleanup money to remove lead paint and asbestos and from the historic old jail building that is scheduled for restoration.

The remediation work began in January and will continue through March, county Administrator Mike Pence said.

The county is using a $300,000 subgrant from a $1 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Program revolving fund cleanup grant awarded to the city of Kalispell in 2011.

The county is required to pay a 22 percent match of $66,000.

Pence estimated two-thirds of the grant money will be used to remove the lead paint, including some exterior paint, found throughout the 1903 building. Abatement Contractors of Montana, based in Missoula, is completing the work.

Kalispell Community Development Manager Katharine Thompson, who administers the city’s Brownfields grant, said the city has an environmental consultant under contract for oversight to make sure the cleanup complies with the grant terms.

“We’re very pleased to have the opportunity to support this exciting project at the footstep of downtown,” Thompson said.

The intent of all Brownfields grants is to create a higher and better use for underused properties. That improves the city’s tax base and the economic vitality of the area, she said.

The $2.85 million renovation will enable the county to relocate the County Attorney offices to the historic building. The old jail hasn’t housed prisoners for decades but has been used for storage of janitorial supplies and miscellaneous equipment.

A metal maintenance shop and a garage — both added to the building decades ago — will be demolished. Architectural improvements will be done to the building’s exterior to conceal a fire escape and make the facility aesthetically pleasing since it’s the southern entrance to Kalispell’s historic downtown district, Pence said.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at [email protected].