City Beach bond election turned down

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

With three of Wall Street's five largest financial institutions the victims of the nation's subprime mortgage crisis, and city taxpayers eyeing a 27 percent property tax increase to pay for 24/7 emergency services, the city council was in no mood Monday night to look at another bond election to enlarge City Beach.

In a memo to the council, city attorney John Phelps said he had recently been approached by Whitefish developer Rob Pero about an opportunity to purchase part of the same 0.44-acre property west of City Beach that voters turned down last fall by a 3-2 margin.

Voters turned down the $3.2 million bond issue, but Pero told Phelps he had signed an agreement to purchase the same property, which has 100 feet of lakefront adjacent to City Beach, for $2.25 million.

Phelps said real estate prices have softened up since last year. He asked Pero if he was willing to sell just a portion of the property to the city, especially the beach, and they discussed a number of different scenarios.

"Rob was willing to work with the city," Phelps told the council, "although I believe he does not intend to give the city any discount."

After speaking to interim city manager Dennis Taylor and city parks director Karl Cozad about the opportunity, Phelps said it was time to get council direction before pursuing the matter any further.

Councilors Turner Askew and Shirley Jacobson immediately expressed their concern that the city budget was strapped and the voters were clear in their opposition last year, but they weren't dead-set against allowing Phelps to explore the idea.

While councilor Nancy Woodruff was also willing to look into the offer, councilor Nick Palmer was against the idea in no uncertain terms.

"I think the staff have better things to do than chase after a wild goose," Palmer said.

Noting that the city needs to pay for a new emergency services center and a new city hall, and that such a proposal would look bad to the voters, Palmer said "this thing needs to go away."

Askew and Jacobson then joined Palmer in their opposition to exploring the idea.

"I was for it last time but not now," Jacobson said, adding that the county's 911 dispatch bond will be on the ballot in November.

The short-handed council voted 3-1 against pursuing the idea, with Woodruff in opposition, Councilors John Muhlfeld and Ryan Friel and mayor Mike Jenson were absent.