Kalispell council reviews regional hazard mitigation plan, delays adoption pending corrections and coordination

Kalispell city councilors reviewed the Western Montana regional hazard mitigation plan at a recent work session and agreed not to adopt it immediately while staff and Flathead County collect corrections and coordinate with neighboring jurisdictions.

The plan matters because, as Flathead County facilitator Juanita Nelson explained, if Kalispell does not adopt the plan before the state’s November review the city would need to rejoin a revised annex later and would be ineligible for federal hazard-mitigation grant funding tied to the current plan. "If we do not adopt the plan before November, then the whole annex will have to go through a revision," Nelson said.

Council discussion focused on accuracy and attribution in the annexes, local responsibility for specific road segments, and the regional process used to prepare the document. Council members identified multiple typographical errors and data gaps and questioned specific site references. Council member Jared asked about the immediate consequence of delaying adoption; Nelson said the state Division of Emergency Services (DES) had warned of the November…