For a small city, there is a lot happening in Whitefish. Many of you are so busy enjoying the wonderful summer season, it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on at City Hall.

Years ago, the city mailed quarterly newsletters to every doorstep in town, informing the public on current events. When the Great Recession set in, we discontinued the newsletter. I believe that was to the detriment of the city’s ability to effectively communicate all that is going on in our small town. I thought I would take the opportunity over the next several months to update you on current events, starting with of course the hot topic of our new City Hall and parking structure

As I speak with local townspeople, I continue to hear some misinformation about cost, process, city taxes, needs for parking, and other items related to our new City Hall and parking structure project that is scheduled to begin in just a few weeks.

The need for additional parking is never more evident than in our busy summer months, especially with the recent loss of more than 100 public spaces near the train depot and the site of the new hotel at Block 46. The alternative to not developing additional parking in downtown would be to ultimately allow vehicles to overflow into our residential neighborhoods. This, in my opinion, is not an option.

As an alternative to the parking structure that will add 220 new spaces, we did evaluate surface parking lot opportunities, including Block 46 where the new hotel is being constructed, as well as the lot across from City Hall.

Fortunately, both properties are now being redeveloped and will generate income for the city, exactly what we were hoping to accomplish through the downtown master plan process.

Last week, the city council approved a conditional use permit for our new City Hall and parking structure. A permit and public hearing is required because of our laws concerning structures greater than 7,500 square feet in the downtown district.

At the public hearing, there were no comments on this important step forward for this project.

Our townspeople have participated for years in the public process leading up to this point. The evolution of our new City Hall began in 1987 as part of our urban renewal plan, and we began setting aside tax-increments funds for the project in 2003. In 2011, the majority of our residents chose the current location as their top pick for our new civic building.

Total costs of the new City Hall — construction, contingency, temporary space, professional services — are anticipated at $6.6 million. This is in line with the costs of other important landmark buildings in the city like The Wave ($7.3 million), the Emergency Services Building ($5.3 million), Performing Arts Center ($5.2 million), and the new Whitefish High School ($23 million).

Total costs, including contingencies, for the new parking structure are $8.3 million.

With the exception of a possible downtown special improvement district, and using the funds we have been setting aside for the past 12 years, your taxes will not be raised to build, operate, or maintain City Hall and the new parking structure.

We are fortunate that our 2007 City Council voted to retain ownership of the current City Hall property. Considering a new location would only add costs for property acquisition, plus the loss of close to a million dollars in contracted work for engineering and other services for the current property. Building costs remain the same in a different location.

The next steps in this process are demolition of the current structure and initial site preparation. We are in the process of approving a lease agreement for interim city offices and anticipate that city staff will relocate at the end of August. Prior to demolition, we will sell any surplus items that won’t be integrated into our new building.

Martel Construction will be recycling and re-using up to 90 percent of the existing building in our efforts to meet the intent of design, construction, operation, and maintenance of an environmentally responsible building. You may recall we chose not to pursue the actual LEED certification in order to lower costs.

The citizens of Whitefish have always worked hard to do things the right way, looking far into the future to plan for the governmental and public services needed for our unique community.

I applaud the hard work of our city staff and volunteer citizens who have made this latest project come to fruition.

As always, your elected officials welcome feedback and suggestions. I will continue to communicate periodically about major projects or stories I feel will be of interest to our citizenry. As always, please feel free to email me your thoughts at jmuhlfeld@cityofwhitefish.org.

— John Muhlfeld is mayor of Whitefish