In the wake of the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Mayor Mark Johnson on Monday condemned political violence and urged local candidates to speak their minds ahead of the upcoming election.  

“As a country we need to settle the frick down,” said Johnson at the end of Kalispell City Council’s Sept. 15 meeting. “Because when we have someone speaking their mind lose their life because someone doesn’t like what they’re saying, it is too reminiscent of the 1960s."  

Johnson’s remarks came days after Kirk was shot and killed at a Utah college campus. Kirk was struck in the neck by a single bullet while answering audience questions Sept. 10 about mass shooters during his “The American Comeback Tour.”  

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said 22-year-old suspect Tyler Robinson held a “leftist ideology” and may have been radicalized online before being arrested in the assassination of Kirk. 

“The whole point of a representative Republic is for us to hear from the public, the public to hear from us without risk or the threat of anybody losing their life for expressing their free thoughts,” Johnson said.  

Johnson encouraged council candidates to continue expressing their opinions to constituents ahead of the upcoming municipal election on Nov. 4.  

“I want urge the candidates, don’t hold back, tell us what you think,” he said.  

COUNCIL HIRED a contractor to start replacing lead service lines throughout the city.  

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.  

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

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

Council also hired Sandry Construction and Neumann Construction 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 2024.  

The hired contractors will build a transmission main from the new well source being drilled in Lawrence Park to two storage tanks. A water main will also be upsized between the two storage tanks.  

A transmission main along Woodland Avenue will also be replaced in preparation for another new well being drilled in Dry Bridge Park.  

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 ALSO voted to issue bonds financing dewatering equipment for the city’s wastewater treatment facility.  

The equipment is needed for the city to transition from sending the majority of its biosolids to Glacier Gold Composting to sending them exclusively Flathead County Landfill.  

The bonds consist of $5.22 million in loans, $850,000 of which would be forgiven by the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. The remaining roughly $4.4 million would be on a 2.5% 20-year fixed rate, said interim City Manager Jarod Nygren.  

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