Owners of the Whitefish-based Hurraw! lip balm company have asked the city of Whitefish for property tax incentives and financial help with utility lines and impact fees as they plan to build a new manufacturing center in the Baker Commons business park.

The City Council will discuss the proposal tonight and give city staff direction about how to proceed.

Neil Stuber and Corrie Colbert of Hurraw!, a line of vegan lip balms sold internationally, contacted City Manager Chuck Stearns a couple of years ago as they began a search for a light manufacturing building to accommodate an expansion of the home-based business. 

They couldn’t find a viable building at that point, Stearns said, but he noted in his council report that he advised them the city may be able to assist with infrastructure-related costs if they chose to build a new building.

Colbert started the lip-balm business as a hobby and grew it into a rapidly expanding endeavor as she discovered a huge niche for the vegan product. Hurraw! balms have been reviewed in numerous major publications such as The Washington Post, The New York Times and Teen Vogue.

Now Stuber and Colbert plan to build a new facility in Baker Commons north of the Emergency Services Center. They’re looking for two kinds of assistance from the city, Stearns said.

The first type would be a reimbursement of $19,461 for infrastructure development, namely water and sewer connections, as allowed under state law.

The second type of incentive is property tax assistance allowed under state law for new and expanding industries. It would reduce property taxes on the new building by 50 percent the first five years, 40 percent the sixth year, 30 percent in year seven and so on until full taxes are paid in the 10th year after construction, Stearns said. 

That would amount to about $13,230 in tax savings over 10 years.

IN OTHER BUSINESS, the council will hold a public hearing on the proposed budget for the coming fiscal year that begins July 1. The $36.5 million preliminary budget is $358,330 lower than last year, and includes a 3.7 percent pay raise for city workers, plus staff additions in the planning and parks departments.

The meeting begins at 7:10 p.m. at Whitefish City Hall.