Streetscaping will be positive

I am writing in response to the recent negative feedback that has been focused on the Whitefish City Council with regard to the Downtown Master Plan implementation.

My perspective on the issues and opportunities is influenced by my background as a homeowner, business owner, citizen and parent of two pre-kindergarten children. I am personally vested in the future of Whitefish.

It is a positive sign that community members beyond the advisory and steering committees feel passionate about the future of their city and have come forward to engage the process that will result in changes to our downtown. It is inevitable that there will be differing opinions about the details and the broader concepts of any project in the public realm.

It is imperative to the success of any project to gather all the opinions and public input that is available, then provide a forum for discussion and document the results in a transparent fashion. The results of these public sessions shape the project in a fashion that reflects all the available input from the community when combined with the goals and budgets set by the city.

All these steps have been taken. The Downtown Master Plan has been created in a transparent and inclusive fashion over an extended period of time, and now it is time to put that plan to work for the future of Whitefish.

It is a considerable responsibility to guide a public project from concept through to implementation, and the city staff has wisely not set out to do it alone. They have sought and received the support of volunteers from the community throughout the project.

The city of Whitefish has a process in place for including the public in the projects that affect their city. The individuals who have voiced negative feedback to the city council previously ignored their opportunity and responsibility to participate in a positive manner.

The city councilors know that projects of this type require years of planning and a strong set of guidelines and supporting documentation in order to succeed. To the best of my understanding, each one of these important steps has been taken along the path to accomplishing the project. The public opinion aspect received a great deal of time and energy from the beginning, and formed the direction of the master plan documents that have been adopted.

The recent surge of negative feedback from concerned community members about the direction of the downtown did not take into consideration the amount of work and compromise that was required by all parties in order to reach a workable plan. All sides involved in the process made sacrifices and the city stands to benefit from the outcome.

The vote by the city council to endorse the infrastructure work in our downtown demonstrates a resolve to the larger good of the community and respect for the public process that makes a city project possible.

The results of this project will have a positive impact on the economic and social well-being of Whitefish for future generations.

I would like to thank our city councilors for their personal commitment of time and energy to the city of Whitefish and for considering the importance of the history as well as the future of Whitefish.

Chance Cooke is a resident of Whitefish.