Kalispell staff say central garage is too small for growing fleet; propose $6M shop, request additional mechanic

Kalispell public works staff told the City Council at an April 14 work session that the city’s central garage lacks the space and staffing needed to maintain an expanding municipal fleet and recommended preliminary engineering for a new shop and a budget request for another mechanic.

Director of Public Works Susie Turner said the existing central garage has three service bays, two lifts, roughly 16-foot ceilings and a parts/mezzanine layout that forces mechanics to work in cramped conditions. "Our current building height really does restrict the number and the type of work that we can perform on our fleet," Turner said. She told council the team currently maintains more than 325 pieces of equipment across city departments and is staffed by one supervisor and two full-time mechanics in the central garage.

Turner and fleet staff described operational impacts, staffing needs and short-term costs. Using a nationwide fleet-management matrix, Turner said the city’s inventory translates to about 478 maintenance-repair units, which would equate to roughly six technicians by the national benchmark; Turner said Kalispell can operate more efficiently than the national average and plans to request an additional mechanic in the fiscal 2026 budget to bring shop staffing to four. "We are gonna be requesting an additional mechanic in the central garage budget," Turner said.

Why this matters

Staff warned that continued growth in police and fire apparatus and other municipal equipment will increase downtime,…