The design phase of the Parkline Trail planned through Kalispell’s core is nearing 100% completion, and by this time next year the trail on the old railroad bed is expected to be completed, the Kalispell City Council learned Monday during a work session.

The project to remove the downtown train tracks and install a multi-use trail has been talked about for about a decade. The council’s latest update on its progress was in February.

Since then, “a lot’s happened, even though we don’t see anything out there in the trail,” Planning Director Jarod Nygren told the council.

Nygren reported the city finally secured the right of way along the railroad, received a finding of no significant impact and got approval from the Montana Department of Transportation for the U.S. 93 road crossing.

The goal is to seek bids for the project in late February 2021 and start construction in the spring or summer of the upcoming year.

“We’re hoping at this time next year we’re on the trail, running, walking, biking,” Nygren said.

IN OTHER business, Planner Rachel Ezell gave a presentation on the process to establish design standards for Kalispell’s historic downtown district.

The Kalispell Downtown Business Improvement District earlier this year secured a $15,000 grant through the Montana Department of Commerce’s Montana Main Street program to hire a consultant to establish these standards. A & E Architects has been brought on as the consultant for the project.

The standards would set regulations for the exterior of commercial buildings in the historic downtown corridor. The standards could apply to architectural elements including building materials, colors and features such as cornices.

Ezell reported back to the council with results from a survey that went out to property owners in the downtown historic district this fall. The survey garnered 58 responses, and Ezell said the Planning Department was impressed with the thoroughness of the comments.

The responses indicated the vast majority of property owners in the area believe Kalispell’s historic buildings are a special asset that need to be preserved. However, they also highlighted concerns about overregulation.

Ezell said this feedback emphasizes the need to keep in mind “that fine line of making sure that we can identify and protect those key elements that make the character of the historic district.”

At the same time, she said, it’s important to be “sensitive to not being overly restrictive with these standards as well.”

Going forward, Ezell said the Planning Board expects the consultant to submit a draft of the standards by the end of the month. In January the board will go over the draft with the Business Improvement District and the Architectural Review Committee.

A work session and public hearing with the Planning Board is expected to take place in March, followed by another work session and public hearing with the city council in April or early May.

The standards would likely be considered for adoption as a city ordinance by spring 2021.

NYGREN GAVE a presentation on the process to put out a Request for Proposals to redevelop the parking lot at the corner of Third Street and Main Street in downtown Kalispell. The goal is to solicit plans to bring new development into the downtown area at that location.

“We’re trying to move the needle on downtown,” Nygren said. “The development downtown’s been pretty much at status quo.”

The council most recently discussed the RFP for this parking lot in September, at which time it was suggested to get an appraisal to determine an approximate cost of selling the lot. Nygren said the appraisal determined the price to be approximately $270,000.

Nygren also reported a change in the process of selecting a potential developer for the lot: the requirement for an open house component in the selection process was taken out because developers were concerned their ideas could be stolen by other developers at an open house.

Two other main concerns with developing the parking lot were parking and affordable housing. Members of the council and public previously said they are wary about reducing parking options in the downtown area, so Nygren said proposals with a public parking component would be scored higher than proposals that don’t include public parking.

Additionally, council member Ryan Hunter suggested stipulating that the development include provisions for affordable housing, but Mayor Mark Johnson and a few other council members said they would prefer to leave the uses open at this stage in the process.

Nygren said the current schedule is to give the award to a developer by fall 2021 and start construction in 2022.

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at (406)-758-4459 or bserbin@dailyinterlake.com.