KALISPELL — A new city park is planned for the west side of Kalispell thanks to a generous donation from renowned Flathead Valley philanthropists.
The future home of Ashely Creek Park on the west side of Kalispell sits on 20 acres off Fenn Way along the U.S. 93 bypass.
“The idea of a public space that would have a garden and walking paths and playground and other amenities has been circulating for a while,” said Flathead philanthropist Carol Bibler.
Carol Bibler and the Bibler Family Trust are helping turn this dream into a reality after purchasing the 20-acre site in 2019.
“I’ve been wanting to do a project like this for some time,” added Bibler.
The Bibler Family Trust will cover the cost of the design and construction of the park and present it as a gift to the city of Kalispell once finished.
This includes a maintenance endowment to the city making sure Kalispell residents don’t pay a dime.
“Not even a minority, this is truly a gift and we’re fully ready, willing and able to make it happen,” said Bibler.
The Kalispell City Council is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding for the project this fall. Council member Ryan Hunter said this is a dream scenario for Kalispell.
“It’s a wonderful gift and kind of all those costs are covered and so it’s hard to beat, it’s almost hard to believe in fact it’s such an incredible project coming to the city, so we’re just overjoyed by it,” said Hunter.
Kalispell resident Jim Ponaski originally thought the future site was going to be turned into housing developments. He was thrilled when he found out it would be a new city park.
“And I’m like oh man are we for real? And I still like get goosebumps just thinking about, does it go all the way down there? all the way down to Ashley Creek, way cool,” said Ponaski.
Bibler hopes the park will serve Kalispell families for generations to come. She said it's possible the first phase could be open to the public sometime in 2026.
“We’re looking you know not just in the next 10 years but hopefully the next 100 years, designing really with the future in mind as well,” said Bibler.
