The Kalispell City Council will meet remotely on Tuesday evening via Zoom videoconference to discuss a few budget amendments, development proposals and a street connection for the downtown Core trail.

Public comments can be submitted to the council via email at publiccomment@kalispell.com, and the meeting can be viewed live at https://www.kalispell.com/480/Meeting-Videos.

On Aug. 19, the council approved an approximately $87 million budget for fiscal year 2020-2021, but two budget items now need to be amended because of oversight.

The Bridge and Road Safety and Accountability fund was $202,386 over the correct amount because the new budget didn’t include the appropriate carryover amount from the previous fiscal year.

The Community Development Miscellaneous Special Revenue Fund was also $31,958 too high because the closing cost of a lot sale at Old School Station was not included in the budget.

The council is proposing a public hearing on Sept. 21 to go over both budget amendments.

There will also be two development proposals before the council on Tuesday.

One is a preliminary plat request for Glenwood West Phase 2. Husky Partners, LLC, is requesting preliminary plat approval for a three-lot, 3.6-acre subdivision project at 70 Glenwood Drive.

The Kalispell Planning Board held a public hearing on Aug. 11 to consider the preliminary plat request. There were no public comments at the hearing, but the council received two earlier public comments voicing concerns over traffic flow in the area as a result of the proposed project.

The Planning Board recommended the council approve the request, subject to 19 conditions.

The other development item on the meeting agenda is a request for a final plat and Subdivision Improvement Agreement for Cottage Gardens, a subdivision on Three Mile Drive. Unique Realty Developer Inc., is requesting final-plat approval for an 11.8-acre, 37-lot single-family residential lot major subdivision at 575 and 645 Three Mile Drive.

The council originally approved the preliminary plat for Cottage Gardens with 20 conditions in 2019. Now the developer is submitting a Subdivision Improvement Agreement with bonding for $35,312.50, which is 125% of the estimated remaining costs for unfinished improvements.

Finally, the council will decide whether to designate First Avenue WN as the north-south street connector for the downtown Core trail.

The city received a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2015 to build a 1.6-mile multi-use trail along the BNSF Railway right-of-way through downtown Kalispell. As part of the initial plan, the city looked at four possible new street connections for traffic going north-south. Since that time, however, the public outreach process has revealed growing support for a street connector on First Avenue W-N, north of the Kalispell Center Mall.

By selecting a street connector option at Tuesday’s meeting, the council could pave the way for the long-awaited project to move into the 60% and then 90% design phases in the upcoming months. This progress would likely allow construction to start on the trail in spring 2021.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Zoom videoconference and can be viewed at: https://www.kalispell.com/480/Meeting-Videos.

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