Fresh Life Church, the religious organization that bought the Montana Building in downtown Kalispell on April 12, announced last week through its building manager that it would not renew tenants’ leases.

That news came exactly three weeks after Fresh Life delivered a letter to tenants assuring them that the church’s “plans are to keep operations running as they have been.” The letter delivered on April 26 also offered tenants the chance to negotiate lease extensions.

Some tenants who were concerned about the intentions of the new owner already have relocated, including Tom Gutschenritter’s family therapy practice. And now, 15 weeks after negotiations between Fresh Life Church and the former owners began, the first tenant will be displaced from the Montana Building by the end of next month.

Paul Travis, executive director for the Flathead Land Trust, said the nonprofit’s lease is set to expire at the end of June. Last week, he and each of the Montana Building tenants received a call from building management explaining that Fresh Life Church will not renew leases after they expire.

“What happens when I haven’t found anything? Are they going to kick us out on the street or go month-to-month [with the lease]?” Travis asked.

The lack of communication has been the most frustrating aspect of the ownership transfer for many tenants.

The April 26 letter had asked tenants to relay any wishes to extend leases to the Fresh Life’s property manager, Brenda Profitt. Most tenants said they never have participated in any communication with the church other than messages passed on by Profitt, who is not in a position to actually answer questions.

“The letter made it seem that we should be fine,” Travis said. “But it didn’t alleviate anyone’s fears. It almost made you more fearful.”

After the letter’s arrival, Travis said he attended a tenant meeting to discuss their options. He and several other tenants who spoke to the Daily Inter Lake about the issue have said the same thing: They were led to believe that their space in the Montana Building was secure, and now the change in operations feels like a betrayal.

When there was no communication from the church for several weeks after the April 26 letter, speculation continued to echo down the Montana Building hallways, and many of its 16 tenants dismissed the letter’s promise.

Fresh Life Church has not returned numerous calls made by the Daily Inter Lake seeking comment on its acquisition of the building or the current lease situation. No further information has been released by the church outlining future plans for the building.

Alan Quint, a therapist currently located on the second floor, said he was blindsided by the news delivered May 17.

“The idea was that they were not going to make any changes. That may have been wishful thinking on my part,” Quint said.

The lease on Quint’s suite ends on July 1. He has been a tenant in the building for 12 years and has practiced anxiety and depression therapy in Kalispell for 42 years.

“I felt disappointed, frustrated for myself. I felt frightened and very bad for my patients,” Quint said. “I also feel bad for the younger tenants who don’t have the option to retire like I do. This is our livelihood.”

Quint said he cares about his patients so much that he has opted to find a new space in Kalispell rather than closing down his practice. But if he’s not able to find a new space by July 1, his practice will have to go on hiatus until he has found a new location to serve his patients.

Aside from the letter, Quint said he tried directly contacting Fresh Life Church in early May after the building’s heating system failed, but never heard back.

Cheryl Amundson, Quint’s office administrator, has worked in the building before. Nearly 40 years ago, she worked for the Greg Ellingson Agency, a firm that dealt in insurance and real estate. The agency was on the first floor along with shops and restaurants, while the second floor provided short-term housing.

Kalispell businessmen owned the building at that time, she said. “It’s a sensitive spot. The sense of loss is powerful,” Amundson said.

On the first level, Calvin Hill of Allied Computing said he initially found some comfort in the April 26 letter.

“We were excited,” Hill said. Hill provides services to Fresh Life Church, repairing and maintaining the church’s computer systems. He said he had discussed the Montana Building situation with staff working on day-to-day operations with the church and noted that they didn’t seem aware of the plans to renew the lease.

Nonetheless, “we weren’t worried,” he said.

The April 26 letter began with goodwill toward the tenants, offering a future relationship and the intent to be good stewards.

The first line reads: “Fresh Life Church is pleased to be the new owner of the Montana Building. We are excited about continuing to work with you and every one of the wonderful tenants in this building.”

Toward the end of the letter, the author offers something else: “If you feel uncomfortable staying in your lease space with the change in ownership, even though your lease does not expire for some time, we extend the opportunity to you to terminate your lease with no penalty.”

Allied Computing’s lease is set to expire in more than a year, July 2017, but Hill and his three employees have initiated a search anyway. Before he leaves, though, Hill said he wants to see a document in writing still allowing him early termination without penalty, since other assurances in the letter have been rescinded.

“If they don’t want me here, why would I keep paying them rent?” Hill said.

Hill acknowledged that the church has the freedom to purchase a building and terminate the building’s function as a multi-business office space. He said the issue at hand is that the letter led people to believe they wouldn’t have to begin searching for new locations.

“There’s no law that says the landlord has to extend the lease. I think the real reason the tenants are upset is if the letter had initially said this, we would have accepted that,” Hill said. “But to change it after the fact … it’s frustrating.”

Hill and each of the other tenants who spoke with the Daily Inter Lake did not hold Profitt, the property manager, responsible for the turbulence caused by the church’s shift in plans.

In December, the lease on Cathy Brenneman’s child and family therapy practice will run out. Two other practices operate under the same lease, meaning three firms will be out the door once the agreement concludes on Dec. 31.

Brenneman, like Travis, said she didn’t feel relieved by the April 26 letter.

“They’re doing exactly what we knew they were going to do,” she said. “And it just breaks my heart. It’s so stunningly sad because it’s really disrupting a whole community of people and bouncing them out of there for whatever it is they do.”

Brenneman said she leads an active church life in Kalispell. She said this strife with the new building owners isn’t about church officials’ chance to express their religious views in a new location, but it’s what their actions represent to their community.

“What are you representing about faith and Jesus’ teachings when you do the things you’ve done?” she asked. “The deed is done and we have nothing we can do. My hope is that they will respect the building, its history and the culture of downtown.”

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.