With half the councilors in attendance, the Whitefish City Council adopted the Safe Streets for All plan and approved an amendment to an agreement with the Housing Authority. 

A Safe Streets for All grant was awarded to Whitefish in 2023 to help draft a comprehensive safety action plan to identify the most significant roadway safety concerns in the city. 

Sarah Nicolai and Kerry Lynch with Robert, Peccia and Associates, the firm hired to draft the plan, presented the draft. 

“This is a really important step to set the city up and position the city for eligibility for future grants, including demonstration and implementation grants,” said Nicolai. 

The overall goal is to eliminate fatalities and suspected serious injuries by 2030.  

"Non-motorist involved crashes, intersection crashes, speed related crashes and inattentive drivers are the four focus areas that the community selected and [they are] also based on review of crash data that we identified for the plan,” Nicolai said. 

Whitefish Public Works Director Craig Workman said there was robust public involvement in the plan including the formation of a task force made up of key partners. It met four times. A dedicated website was made to facilitate ongoing public engagement and the city held two public open houses, a council work session and the Walk and Roll event to garner more public comments. 

Workman’s report says the current budget for the Safe Streets for All Plan is $200,000 which has been funded by a $160,000 grant and $40,000 in city cash. 

There was no public comment at the meeting and the council adopted the plan unanimously. 

THE COUNCIL ALSO voted unanimously to approve a change to the city’s agreement with the Housing Authority regarding bonding for the Depot Park Townhomes project. 

The city has an agreement with the Housing Authority to develop the Depot Park Townhomes on the site of the old snow lot.  

“This has to do with the construction variances that were approved by the council in the first amendment, the bonding requirement,” Whitefish City Manager Dana Smith said. 

Smith explained the project is unique in that it uses city funds. The amendment states, in part, that the city will accept as a form of bonding restricting the use and disbursement of roughly $439,000 of the total funds, or $2 million, the city agreed to provide for the project. 

“It would give them the ability to apply for a final plat and move forward,” Smith said. 

DAKOTA WHITMAN, chair of the Climate Action Plan Committee and vice-chair, Nathan Dugan asked the Council to consider metered parking in downtown Whitefish. 

“We're not recommending that [metered parking] gets installed, we’re just recommending it gets investigated further,” Whitman said. “There is much more technology available now to implement a local’s exemption because the committee does not believe local taxpayers should pay for parking downtown.” 

He said metered parking would raise funds to expand public transportation options, make parking near downtown businesses easier and reduce vehicle emissions. 

Free parking downtown actively encourages residents and visitors alike to drive rather than walk, cycle or utilize public transportation options, such as the SNOW bus, he added.  

Councilors Giuseppe Caltabiano, Frank Sweeney and Andy Feury were absent from the meeting.