Flathead County commissioners approve petitions to annex 33.5 acres at 225 Snowline Lane into Kalispell

Flathead County commissioners voted Sept. 9 to sign a petition to annex 33.5 acres at 225 Snowline Lane into the city of Kalispell and to file a notice withdrawing that property from the Summers rural fire district.

Whitney Asherald of the Commissioner's Office said the petition would add “33.5 acres at the 225 Snowline Lane address into the city limits, and the purpose of that is to connect to water and sewer services for the new detention facility.” The board approved the document-for-signature by voice vote; the transcript records the chair saying “Aye” and declaring the motion carries. The exact vote tally was not specified in the meeting record.

The items are procedural steps to place the county’s application before Kalispell’s governing board. When asked how the county would coordinate the effective dates with the city and the rural fire district while existing structural protections remain in place, Asherald said the county’s application will be reviewed by the city board at its October meeting and that “nothing would go forward until that approval at that meeting.”

The petition to annex is intended to allow the property to connect to municipal water and sewer to serve a planned detention facility; the withdrawal document would remove the property from the Summers Fire Department’s jurisdiction if it becomes part of Kalispell. The meeting record does not provide further technical details about the detention facility, the timeline for any transfer of emergency services, or the vote counts on the voice votes.

The county chair opened and closed the matter without extended discussion. The county’s application and the attached withdrawal notice will proceed to Kalispell for review in October; additional approvals by the city are required before any change in service jurisdiction or zoning takes effect.