During its final meeting of the year on Monday, the Kalispell City Council remotely discussed requirements for a new apartment complex, updating the city’s water system and a few personnel changes.

The first item on the agenda was an appeal from Paul Bardos for the Woodland Apartments development going in near Woodland Park.

Bardos received a conditional-use permit for the nine-unit apartment complex in 2019, but the permit included a requirement that Bardos cede land along the right-of-way to build sidewalks to accommodate the new development.

Bardos appealed the finding, arguing that the requirement unfairly expected his small development to meet the same standards as larger apartment complexes. He also said the condition to cede property was an unanticipated burden that discourages infill development and hampers efforts to bring in affordable housing.

“I’m trying to raise awareness of these standards and how they’re impacting these small projects,” Bardos said during public comment.

“The public’s ability to have affordable housing is being heavily impacted by these kind of standards,” he added.

Despite Bardos’ testimony, the council upheld the prevailing sentiment that emerged during a hearing on the appeal a week earlier and unanimously denied Bardos’ request.

Councilman Ryan Hunter attempted to make two motions to amend some specific language in the resolution denying Bardos’ appeal, but both motions were ultimately rejected by other councilmembers.

THE COUNCIL then moved on to a bid award to update the city’s water systems. The council unanimously agreed to award $141,237 to Neely Electric, Inc. to improve water facilities in Kalispell.

Susie Turner, Director of Public Works, explained the updates will affect 10 well sites and four storage facilities. The project encompasses upgrades to the Kalispell Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system, which broadly refers to the “instrumentation, tools and software we use to monitor the water system,” Turner said.

Neely Electric, Inc. will also work on the city’s outdated radio telemetry system, which is no longer supported by the industry.

The budget for Fiscal Year 2021 included funds for this update, but Turner explained there are unanticipated costs of installing a new antenna and upgrading certain software. The contractor bids also came in higher than the Public Works Department initially predicted.

The project line item in the 2021 budget is $26,000 short of the current total cost of the project, but extra funds leftover from an internal water project that reportedly came in under budget will make the bid award feasible, according to Turner.

FINALLY, THE council approved two personnel changes. The council agreed with Mayor Mark Johnson’s recommendation that Robert Hall, general manager of the Holiday Inn and Suites, fill a recently vacated position for a large property representative on the Kalispell Tourism Business Improvement District Board.

The council also agreed to recommend Kalispell Police Department Chief Doug Overman, or a designee of his choice, to the newly formed Operations Board of the Flathead Emergency Communications Center (FECC) Special Tax District.

“The operations board is going to be our voice from the city, from the police force on the operations of the 911 center,” Johnson said.

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