Community shares input for 5-year plan
At the last of five input sessions for Montana West Economic Development’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, dozens showed up to share their ideas for the new five-year plan.
Previous projects that have come out of Montana West’s five-year plan include the bypass for U.S. 93, expanded air service to the Flathead via Glacier AERO and work on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The most recent project is the Glacier Core and Rail Redevelopment project, which was first brought up in an input session 10 years ago.
“I remember 10 years ago, we first started talking about moving businesses downtown,” Kate McMahon, founder of Applied Communications, said at the input session Wednesday at the Red Lion in Kalispell. “There were a lot of naysayers who said ‘that’s never going to happen, not for 20 or 30 years down the road even.’ It’s been 10 years and it’s happening.”
McMahon led the discussion, prompting the crowd to consider the needs of the community in areas such as workforce, education and housing. She first asked the crowd what the main assets of the Flathead community were, to which people responded with topics like the scenery and outdoor access, health-care resources, a low crime rate and a strong nonprofit network.
McMahon then asked the crowd what challenges the community might face over the next five years. Affordable housing, a rental shortage and a lack of low-income housing were all discussed as challenges currently facing the valley, as well as a large income disparity.
One woman in the crowd stated “the realities of operating in such a seasonal economy” to be one of the biggest struggles faced by businesses in the Flathead. Another woman stated that a lack of current technology and resources for entrepreneurs was a major hindrance in growth.
Planning and Building Director Tom Jentz stated that the liquor laws and license issues are a huge obstacle for businesses in the food and beverage industry. With a visitation number going up “there’s a push for a retail base, and significant growth in hotels, but liquor laws are holding back restaurants,” Jentz said, adding that in a tourism-based economy “it’s a changing scene out there.”
McMahon then asked what trends the valley should be aware of in planning for the next five years.
Lori Botkin, executive director of the Flathead Food Bank, said that over the years the food bank’s clientele has gone from a traditionally older, and largely homeless population, to young families who are unable to make ends meet.
Also on the note of declining affordability in the valley, Tom Jentz stated, “We’ve always been a single-family community, but we’re not anymore I don’t think. We seem to build a lot of just that, and that young person, coming of age, is looking for a rental market that isn’t there.”
McMahon then asked the crowd to list what projects should be considered for the five-year plan. People listed everything from a live performance venue and a centralized conference and convention facility, to a parking garage or added parking downtown, an indoor sports facility and a light rail for transportation throughout the valley.
Wednesday’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) input session was the last of five sessions. Montana West also has a survey available online for people who were unable to attend an input session. To access the survey go to http://www.dobusinessinmontana.com/ceds-survey/. The survey will be up through the mid-May. The responses will be compiled and posted online for review in June.
For more information, contact Kim Morisaki at 406-257-7711.
Reporter Alyssa Gray may be reached at 758-4433 or agray@dailyinterlake.com.