Business groups urge Kalispell to prioritize downtown parking, wayfinding and grant-backed improvements

Bill Mosley, chairman of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Forward Coalition, told the Kalispell City Council that downtown business leaders have formed four working groups to address infrastructure, business advocacy, activation and engagement and have collected 36 survey responses from downtown businesses. “Parking is by far what people perceive to be the biggest challenge,” Mosley said, noting only 17 percent of respondents said they would definitely expand downtown.

Why it matters: Business and community leaders said the downtown economy feels stagnant, with empty storefronts and property-tax increases hurting small landlords and tenants. Keesa Davidson, chair of the Kalispell Business Improvement District, told the council the BID will provide monthly reports and is trimming its operating budget to both cover immediate costs and serve as matching funds for grant proposals. “We intend to use the savings not just to pay the bills, but as matching funds for grants,” Davidson said.

Details: Mosley urged councilors to consider modest, targeted spending such as wayfinding and signage, which he estimated could cost “$20 to $30,000” and help people find existing parking. Davidson said commercial property tax bills have risen in some cases between 30 and 80 percent, citing one Glacier Building tax bill that doubled to $45,000 and another property that rose from about $8,000 to nearly $12,000. The BID plans to pursue grants for streetscape, benches, trash receptacles and other infrastructure and to press for better coordination with the county and Montana Department of Transportation on corridor decisions.

What’s next: The BID will bring monthly updates to the council and meet with the city, county and MDOT to align on a downtown vision. Council budget planning for the next fiscal year could consider modest investments in wayfinding and small-scale improvements that the business coalition highlighted.

Provenance: Topic introduced in public comment by Bill Mosley (SEG 086–SEG 191) and expanded by Keesa Davidson (SEG 193–SEG 266).