Kalispell City Council on Monday passed ownership of the Central School building to the Northwest Montana History Museum.  

Council unanimously authorized the transfer subject to eight conditions developed during work sessions held over the summer with museum leadership.  

Under the terms of the sale, the city sold the property for $1. The green space to the south of the building was transferred to the museum with the understanding that it must remain open for public use, according to the resolution.  

All of the parking lots will remain under city ownership, including the alleyway in front of the entrance.  

Any loans taken out on the property and any future expansion to the building's footprint will require Council approval.  

As a contingency, the property will return to the city if used for any purpose other than the historic museum. 

The municipality has leased the brick building at 125 Second Ave. E. to the nonprofit since 1997, but the arrangement made it difficult to raise money from private donors and apply to funding programs, according to museum leadership.  

Owning the property will help the nonprofit tap into funding for upgrades and improvements to the roughly 130-year-old building that was Kalispell’s first permanent school. 

Museum board member A.J. King said that his family roots are intertwined with the building. His great-grandfather, Eugene Steere, was the school’s first principal.  

“We’re not going anywhere in this community. And I can say that I’ve got people that when I'm long gone, that are my relatives, that are going to help out this museum,” he said during the meeting.  

“We want to preserve that museum as much as we can. So we just really appreciate the opportunity of you handing it over to us as true ownership and letting us do what we need to do to it to preserve it as a historical site,” he added. 

Jim Atkinson, a museum volunteer and one of Kalispell’s longest serving city councilors, told Council he enjoys cataloguing documents and artifacts brought to the museum for preservation.  

“I love it, and I love it because of the staff,” he said. “A dedicated staff that we’re all in sync in saving and in enlightening folks about the history of the Flathead Valley in Northwest Montana.”  

Councilor Sandy Carlson said her kids loved the museum when they were in grade school.  

“This is a really good thing,” she said.  

COUNCIL ALSO adopted the regional hazard mitigation plan, ensuring the municipality remains eligible for federal disaster aid.  

The 2024 Wester Montana Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan is meant to reduce long-term risks from natural disasters and serve as a “blueprint for coordinating and implementing hazard mitigation policies, programs and projects,” according to the document.  

The body also authorized a loan for a new front load garbage truck.  

The $416,900 loan is over five years with a 5% interest rate through the Montana Board of Investments Intercap Loan Program.  

The vote passed, but Councilor Sid Daoud noted that since 2019, the price of the truck doubled.  

“I don’t like that piece of it, but there is nothing we can do about it,” he said.  

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and [email protected].