Last week Whitefish City Council established a new fee schedule for public records requests in response to a new state law that limits the fees charged for that service to $25 per hour. 

Cities are still permitted to charge for costs like copying, scanning and postage. Whitefish City Attorney Angela Jacobs noted the first hour is free. 

The council also voted unanimously to make amendments to the city code regarding impact fees assessed by the city because of decisions by the Legislature this year. 

Senate Bill 133 amended state laws for impact fees. An administrative fee of 5% is no longer permitted and the definition of public facilities was narrowed. 

The state’s new definition only includes water, wastewater, transportation, stormwater, law enforcement, emergency medical rescue, emergency management and fire protection facilities.  

The Whitefish city code was amended to align with the new law. All other existing impact fees will remain in place at the rate set in 2023. 

“We’ve made the change in the code which eliminates our parks impact fee, our paved trails impact fee and our city hall impact fee,” Whitefish City Manager Dana Smith said. “All three of which now have projects that have been identified will be funded with a property tax revenue and potential increase in the future.” 

Councilor Ben Davis amended the code regarding the process for removal of a member of the Whitefish Planning Commission, which involved a public hearing and a list of reasons for termination. 

“The planning board should work like all other boards," Davis said, adding that, in the event a member needs to be removed, “It should be by a simple majority of the council.” 

The change was approved unanimously by the council. 

The Council granted a request from Kim Morisaki with the Northwest Montana Community Land Trust to release the deed restriction on 410 Trailview Way and for $40,000. 

Morisaki confirmed that she was able to secure a $40,000 match from the Beverly and Bob Braig Family Foundation. She also announced the receipt of a $5,000 grant from the Montana Women’s Foundation. 

The trust was able to lower the purchase price of the home in Trailview from $407,000 to $322,000.