Development continues to dominate discussion with the Kalispell City Council, half of tonight’s agenda dedicated to the topic.

The council will consider an offer to purchase Lot 8 of Old School Station. If the sale goes through, half of the available lots in the city-owned property in back of Fun Beverage will be off the market.

Lot 3A and Lot 9 both got scooped up at the council’s most recent meeting on March 1.

Now, Kurt Simonson has offered to purchase Lot 8 for $242,500, although the buy-sell agreement stipulates that amount would be reduced to $206,852 if Simonson completes capital improvements within 18 months of closing on the property.

The sudden interest in Old School Station comes after most of the area sat untouched for years, following the transfer of the property from Flathead County to the city of Kalispell in 2015.

Old School Station isn’t the only Kalispell property where developers are looking to make changes.

The council also will consider a final plat request from Sands Surveying on behalf of Siderius Construction, LLP, for final plat approval of the Jaxon Ridge subdivision on South Woodland Drive.

The 24-lot residential subdivision, situated on 3.9 acres in Southwest Kalispell, has been in the works since 2019.

Another subdivision request on tonight’s agenda comes from PTA Development LLC, asking the council to provide a two-year extension on the preliminary plat for the Village Heights Professional Center on Whitefish Stage Road.

The applicant has asked for an extension on Lot 1 of the subdivision — first approved in 2018 — because of delays associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and approvals from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

Village Heights Professional Center is located in mixed municipalities, which apparently created added difficulties for development: the city of Kalispell provides sewer service, while the Evergreen Water District is responsible for water.

Proposals separate from, though not unrelated to, city development also appear on the agenda, including two code updates. The city will consider adopting 2018 international standards for its fire and energy codes.

City officials expected the state of Montana would accept the 2018 International Fire Code in 2020. However, the state has yet to adopt the code or give reason to believe it is moving in that direction, so the Kalispell council has proposed the code’s approval independently.

The energy code, meanwhile, was approved by the state in February, and the city is required to follow suit within 90 days, according to the agenda.

The final agenda item slated for discussion Monday is the collective bargaining agreement between the city and the union that represents most of Kalispell’s public employees. The current agreement with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Local 256 ends on June 30, 2021.

If approved, the new three-year term will provide slight increases in salary and comp time for employees in the following city departments: Public Works, Police, Building/Planning, Parks And Recreation, Municipal Court, and Finance.

Full details of the collective bargaining agreement, as well as other agenda items, are available at:

https://www.kalispell.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03152021-592

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 15. Public comments will be accepted via email at publiccomment@kalispell.com, or register to join the video conference at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vf2Z4BdeQCmYzl6apislAA.

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