Early responses to a possible hotel replacing the city’s surface parking lot at the corner of Third Street and Central Avenue have been mixed.

During public comment at the Whitefish City Council meeting Feb. 19 one business owner spoke against losing the parking lot, while another showed support for the project. The council directed its real estate committee to negotiate with Averill Hospitality on the possible boutique hotel.

Rick Nelson, owner of Nelson’s Ace Hardware, said he opposes the loss of the parking lot, but not the hotel. Downtown businesses seem to be thriving because they have a good location, but what’s missing is access to those stores because of a lack of parking spaces, he noted.

“The biggest stumbling block to success is access,” he said. “If shoppers can’t conveniently get to your business you may as well put up a closed sign on the door. Even with our existing parking we have a deficit. How do I know? Because my customers tell me every day.”

Toni Idol with Dick Idol Signature Gallery lobbied the council asking them to find a way to bring the hotel to the corner lot.

“I know parking is an issue,” she said. “The positiveness of developing a hotel at that corner will actually enhance downtown businesses and bring in more customers. We depend heavily on tourism. When we can bring more people into downtown that’s a plus for everyone. I think there’s ways of finding alternatives for the parking situation.”

Averill Hospitality, the owners of The Lodge at Whitefish Lake, wants to build the boutique hotel. Brian Averill in a recent letter to the city expressed his family’s interest in the site and asked to open negotiations with the city.

“We’ve heard the discussion both ways about whether to talk to them,” councilor Phil Mitchell said. “I think we need to have an open mind and see what they have to offer, and yet be cognizant of the parking issue. Not speaking to them is closing the door to business here.”

The council voted to have its real estate committee meet with the Averills to see if a preliminary proposal could be reached about the sale of the lot before presenting more information to the whole council and public.

“The idea is that those meetings of negotiations will be closed, but ultimately any decision will come before the council and for a public meeting,” City Manager Chuck Stearns said.

Stearns asked the council if it would be interested in going out for request for proposal to discuss the property with other interested parties.

Councilor Bill Kahle said he didn’t want to exclude anyone from the discussion, but he feels it’s important to talk with the Averills.

“There’s a reason why we’re considering the sale of the parking lot to Averill Hospitality and that is they have other interests locally,” Kahle said. “The sale of the lot, along with other certain properties under their control, would be suitable for a hotel — not everybody has that. I certainly don’t want to shut anybody out, but there are reasons why we would negotiate with them.”

Councilor Frank Sweeney said a discussion with the Averills is necessary to determine if the city would even be interested in moving forward.

Stearns noted that under the current zoning of the lot, if a hotel were developed there it would not be required to provide off-street parking.

To help with creating more parking if the parking lot is lost to a hotel, Stearns noted, that money from the sale of the lot could be used to purchase land. He gave the lot across from the Post Office on Baker Avenue as an example of possible new parking lot.

“Replacement parking for that area is very important to people,” Stearns said.