Kalispell City Council is expected to hire a contractor to start replacing lead service lines throughout the city.  

Council meets on Monday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. in City Hall, 201 First Ave. E. 

The project will require excavation and surface restoration on city and private property, according to a memo from Public Works Engineer Patrick Jentz.  

The city will obtain a temporary construction easement for completing work on private property, according to the memo. 

Council will consider hiring Utilities One Inc. for the task, which comes with an expected price tag of about $658,000.  

Service lines are underground pipes that connect the city’s main water supply to a house’s internal plumbing. Galvanized service lines will also be replaced as they can absorb the toxin — if downstream from lead pipes —  and contaminate drinking water. 

The Environmental Protection Agency in October issued a rule requiring drinking water systems nationwide to identify and replace lead pipes by 2037.  

Lead is a neurotoxin, and there is no safe level of lead exposure, particularly for children, according to the EPA. 

Councilors last fall debated putting the cost and responsibility of replacement onto homeowners but ultimately tapped into $2.5 million from the State Revolving Fund to cover the undertaking. The city would receive 60% loan forgiveness but take on the remaining 40% of the debt with interest.  

COUNCIL WILL also consider hiring contractors for three projects going toward replacing two city wells contaminated with PFAS. 

Kalispell’s Grandview Wells site and Armory Well have consistently detected levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, otherwise known as PFAS.  

The move to replace the wells comes after the EPA rolled out regulatory limits on the chemicals in April. While the Armory Well has tested at levels below the federal limit of four parts per trillion, the Grandview Wells consistently tests at levels around double the limit. 

A filtration system was installed at the Grandview Wells in October that has been effectively filtering out the chemicals but it is only considered a temporary measure.   

The Grandview Wells eventually will be replaced with four new smaller wells drilled in Lawrence Park. 

Council on Monday will consider hiring Sandry Construction for roughly $1.4 million to build a transmission main from the new well source to two storage tanks in the city’s lower pressure zone, which is roughly south of Buffalo Hill Golf Course.  

The city is also expected to hire Neumann Construction for $420,550 to upsize a water main between the two storage ranks at the golf course.  

Sandry Construction is also expected to be hired to replace a transmission main along Woodland Avenue, between East Center Street and Albina Street, in preparation for another new well being drilled in Dry Bridge Park. 

Sandry Construction’s bid for that project was roughly $3.9 million.  

The construction will be funded through the Emerging Contaminate Response Grant and Forgiveness Bond, according to a memo from Deputy Public Works Director Keith Haskins. 

COUNCIL WILL decide whether to hire Precision Builders to remodel the Kalispell Police Department’s public safety building.  

The need for a revamp comes from the department’s increased staffing as a result of the public safety levy passed last year.   

The price tag comes in at $379,000, which will be paid for with police impact fees and downtown tax increment financing funds.  

Council is expected to buy two new Ford Police Interceptors from Florda dealership Duval Ford for $134,748.  

The Police Department already budgeted to replace two of its older patrol vehicles, according to a memo from Chief Jordan Venezio. 

As for the Kalispell Fire Department, Council will also consider hiring Pintler Billing Services to manage ambulance billing. 

The need for an outside vendor comes as the city sees a 10% to 15% increase in calls every year. Billing is currently performed by one full-time employee.  

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