The Whitefish City Council will hold a public hearing Tuesday night to consider a committee recommendation to eliminate some of the city’s impact fees.

The Impact Fee Advisory Committee met last month to revisit an earlier recommendation to eliminate several impact fees and voted instead to recommend discontinuing the City Hall, Emergency Service Center and parks maintenance building fees.

The committee’s rationale for tossing out those impact fees centered around three factors: Fewer fees would make the city more competitive with Kalispell and Columbia Falls; there’s a perception that new construction in Whitefish is too expensive; and there’s a perception there are too many small impact fees in Whitefish.

The committee, which is required by law to annually review how much money has been collected from impact fees and what it’s being used for, recommends Whitefish retain its water, wastewater, stormwater and paved trail fees.

Last year the committee also had recommended axing the water impact fee, but the council took no action pending a five-year review of the fee structure that was completed in September 2012.

Impact fees for new construction took effect in late 2007 but didn’t amount to much during the economic downturn.

In 2012 the city charged $6,443 in impact fees per single family residence. That includes $2,314 for water, $1,864 for wastewater, $210 for stormwater, $813 for Emergency Services center, $771 for City Hall and $29 for the park maintenance building.

Whitefish’s total $6,443 in impact fees per home compares with $6,357 in Kalispell and $4,731 in Columbia Falls.

As of Sept. 30, 2012, the city had a cash balance of $1.2 million from impact fee revenue and had spent $154,762 for stormwater, $150,957 for the Emergency Services Center and $3,805 for the parks maintenance building, along with close to $41,000 for administrative fees.

IN OTHER business tonight, the council will weigh its options for proceeding with a corridor study for U.S. 93 North, west of Whitefish.

The recent microbrewery and bed-and-breakfast projects proposed by Ryan Zinke “put the spotlight on the need for a corridor plan for that area,” Whitefish Planning Director David Taylor said in his staff report. The lack of a corridor study and neighborhood opposition were among the reasons why Zinke withdrew the project application.

The city’s 2012-13 budget set aside $25,000 to pursue a corridor study for U.S. 93 South, but since that area — within the two-mile planning “doughnut” — is still bogged down with jurisdictional issues, Taylor said perhaps the money could be diverted to U.S. 93 North.

Taylor outlined three options for the council to consider:

• Hire an independent planning consultant to do the corridor study for an estimated $50,000, using the $25,000 in the budget and another $25,000 in tax-increment revenue or other funds.

• Do the study in-house after hiring an additional planner. It would cost the city $60,000 to $80,000 including benefits to hire a planner. Taylor said the new planner would assume other duties such as lakeshore and flood-plain permits, freeing him to focus more on long-range planning.

• Do the study in-house but contract for lakeshore and flood-plain issues and permits.

Taylor outlined lists of pros and cons for each option, available in the council packet online at www.whitefish.govoffice.com. The planning staff prefers hiring another planner and doing the corridor study in-house.

The council will consider a resolution that would amend city utility laws to exempt base-rate billing for water or sewer services when properties have no foreseeable intent or capacity to use utilities.

A contract for the wayfinding sign project will be considered. 

The city is collaborating with the Heart of Whitefish downtown support group on the project. City Manager Chuck Stearns recommends awarding a contract that doesn’t include sign installation to Billings-based Epcon Sign Co. for $110,946, the low bid, and negotiating the installation of the signs with Mild Fence Co. of Kalispell.

The wayfinding project, aimed at placing more signs around town to help visitors locate various amenities, is being funded with tax increment revenue. Stearns said the total project cost wouldn’t exceed $150,000.

Whitefish Finance Director Rich Knapp will give a midyear financial report. The general fund cash balance was just over $1 million on Dec. 31, 2012, which is up 865 percent from the city’s low year-end general-fund balance of $105,630 two years ago.

The council will hold a work session from 5:30 to 7 p.m. with the Ad-hoc Cemetery Committee to discuss how to proceed with creating a new city cemetery.

The regular meeting begins at 7:10 p.m.; both meetings are at Whitefish City Hall.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.