Candidates see traffic plan, redevelopment as key issues

A three-way race for a Kalispell City Council Ward 3 seat will pit longtime incumbent Jim Atkinson against Kyle Waterman in his first run and Karlene Osorio-Khor, in her second run for the council position.

The municipal election will be held Nov. 7; absentee ballots will be mailed starting Oct. 18.

Atkinson, who has served on the council for 29 years, views his experience as a benefit as the council is seeing key city projects come to fruition.

“I am really excited about the future of Kalispell and still want to be a part of it,” Atkinson said, noting the downtown and core area redevelopment plans.

In addition to those plans, Atkinson said if re-elected he would like to continue working on funding and development of the West Side Sewer Interceptor, a more than 7-mile pipeline to increase capacity to accommodate development in the northwest side of the city.

The fact that Atkinson has served for nearly three decades concerns Osorio-Khor.

“There are good reasons why we have term limits in federal and state government,” she said. “I don’t want to offend, but it’s somebody else’s turn. Everyone needs the opportunity to help out.”

With roots that run deep in Kalispell, Osorio-Khor said it is important to have an understanding of the history of the community and noted she does have experience understanding how City Council works, having served on the city Impact Fee Committee and Planning Board.

Listening and keeping an open mind are traits that Osorio-Khor believes she also brings to the table, noting that city council members shouldn’t come in with agendas, but make rather should make decisions that benefit all residents based on residents’ input.

A fresh perspective is what Waterman wants to add to the council.

“I am running because I have some ideas and visions of what we can do to make sure the downtown is vibrant. I really enjoy the vision statement for the downtown model and as a new council member I want to make sure it’s not a plan that’s put on a shelf, but a plan we take action with,” Waterman said.

Waterman sees his background in forming relationships with businesses and nonprofits to raise money and get projects done as an asset.

“I know how important it is to form those relationships,” Waterman said noting that his experience may lend itself to finding new revenue streams to fund projects that are “not hitting taxpayers’ pockets all the time.”

Waterman said he understands how critical it is to think strategically in working with a limited budget. Osorio-Khor hit a similar note in that she would like to investigate sources or methods of funding other than taxes, namely property taxes. She said her experience having served on the Impact Fee Committee has given her insight into the balancing act of supporting growth without “punishing” developers, and at the same time, not “putting growth on the back of the taxpayer.

“The normal taxpayer is feeling the pinch already,” Osorio-Khor said. “If this growth affects their bottom line, is that fair?”

Osorio-Khor and Waterman cited the $10 million TIGER grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2015 to fund massive economic development in the core area as an example of what could be accomplished in finding sources of funding.

“For a community like this to secure that grant is fantastic,” Osorio-Khor said.

Atkinson said securing the grant was a long process.

“Staff worked on it for years. City Council went to talk with legislators and Burlington Northern — all sorts of people. And the result was a much better application,” Atkinson said. “That rail park is going to look great and bring in new businesses and open up areas downtown we can help develop now.”

Waterman added, “Those types of grants are not common. It’s great and we have to capitalize on that opportunity to help with the growth we’re experiencing.”

Maintaining a vibrant downtown will likely depend on the outcome of just how many lanes of traffic should run through downtown. The current council prefers two lanes and a turn lane, making it more pedestrian-friendly as opposed to the Flathead County commissioners siding with the state’s preference of a four-lane rebuild through Kalispell. The county is part of the conversation because the highway wraps around the historic courthouse as a divided couplet with one lane on each side.

Atkinson sees the council’s position as crucial to the survival of downtown.

“The idea for Main Street is to slow traffic down and bring it back to a walkable, livable type of an area where the shopping and the businesses will have a better opportunity to serve folks,” Atkinson said.

“We’re not excited at all about having a bowling alley in the middle of downtown to move traffic,” he noted about the state’s preferred alternative. “We have the bypass.”

Atkinson expects there will be “some great discussions on that in the future.

“Hopefully we’re able to maintain the integrity of downtown by calming traffic,” Atkinson said.

The conversation needs to begin now, according to Osorio-Khor.

“What we need to be doing is that the City Council needs to sit down with the county commissioners and state representatives and work this out,” Osorio-Khor said. “We need to start the conversation so we can work to resolve this. The city’s position is not unreasonable. We need to convince the commissioners and how is it going to happen if we don’t sit down and really talk?”

Issues such as transportation and development in general shape a community’s identity and reflects its health, she continued.

“How do we want the corridors leading into Kalispell to look? This is a critical issue. Is it just cementing sprawl or does it look welcoming and vibrant and interesting. Is this a town to linger in or drive through,” Osorio-Khor said.

Waterman said he would definitely like to see a more pedestrian-friendly downtown. The concept of a downtown in Waterman’s mind is not solely for commerce, but serves as a gathering place where residents spend time and can enjoy concerts, the farmers market and other activities.

“We have a bypass,” Waterman said. “Downtown should be a slower route, but clearly we have to work through the conversation with the county and the state.”

The candidates were all supportive of the Core Area Redevelopment Plan, which impacts a swath from Meridian Court to Woodland Avenue. The plan includes removing the railroad tracks from downtown, putting a trail system in its place, and creating a rail industrial park on an old gravel pit property off Whitefish Stage Road.

As far as supporting the vision of the plan, Atkinson noted, “Just having been on the council as long as I have been, I’ve nursed it all the way through. I’m very, very pleased with the staff and the homework they did before they went forward with it.”

Moving the railroad tracks makes developing the core possible, according to Atkinson. Mixed uses will help downtown create housing above businesses, with the trail system as a key connector.

“It will create a more tight-knit community that works and lives and shops in the same location,” Atkinson said.

Osorio-Khor said she also supports the core plan, which she said will “change the face of Kalispell in a good way.”

“Wouldn’t it be exciting to have retail areas, apartment buildings and walking areas to get to them? Development can be such a wonderful addition to any community,” she said.

Waterman was also supportive of the core area plan and said he thinks the mixed-use component in the plan is the direction the marketplace is heading.

AT a time when Kalispell is seeing fast-paced growth, there aren’t many options when it comes to affordable housing.

The private sector is the primary driver when it comes to affordable housing availability, according to Atkinson.

“The city is certainly involved in infrastructure with zoning and TIF (tax-increment financing) to help the private sector,” Atkinson said. “I think the market will address the issue of affordable housing.”

Osorio-Khor said there are avenues a city can take to help address the issue.

“You can ask your planning department and you can ask your city manager to instruct the staff to provide a report on affordable housing,” she said, as a starting point. “Is there something we should be looking at as incentives? Can developers be incentivized?”

She said it is also about attracting businesses that have jobs available to place an educated workforce.

Waterman also noted, “We want to make sure that people can still live here and work here — that we’re not pricing ourselves out ... When you look at those options of affordable housing, it’s making sure we have some high-density housing and rental availability because not everyone can buy a house.”

“I think the thing the city can and should do is go out and listen to those people who already live in those situations — what’s working and what’s not in affordable-housing situations,” Waterman said.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.