Sewer plant upgrade dominates capital plan

Nearly half of a projected $42.5 million spending plan for capital improvements in Whitefish over the next five years will be spent on state-mandated upgrades to the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

The Whitefish City Council on Monday will consider approving the plan, a flexible planning tool government entities use to address facility and infrastructure needs over time. It is not an appropriation or approval of a specific project.

Whitefish updates its capital improvement plan every two years. The latest plan was compiled using a different format that more closely outlines the proposed sources for funding each project, Whitefish Finance Director Dana Smith said.

“We looked at each project much more carefully,” she said.

The big-ticket items coming down the pike for Whitefish are the wastewater and water system upgrades. Wastewater improvements are pegged at $20.8 million, while nearly $7 million is estimated for the municipal water system. Revenue bonds, impact fees, cash reserves, grants, tax-increment revenue and special improvement districts are potential funding sources for those improvements, according to the plan.

In the wake of several violations of the city’s wastewater discharge permit, the state Department of Environmental Quality in 2012 issued an administrative order requiring the city to bring the treatment plant up to required standards by November 2021.

The line-item explanation of the wastewater plant improvements estimates the design of the plant upgrade at $1 million, with $16.5 million for the actual upgrade. Related costs such as $250,000 for manhole and pipe rehabilitation, and $250,000 for a Vactor truck replacement bring the total to $20.8 million.

The biggest expense of the water system upgrade is $3.5 million for a new reservoir south of Montana 40. Whitefish expects to spend $1 million on the Karrow Avenue Loop project that will install a new water main to improve distribution in the south and southwest areas of the city. Another $1 million is penciled in for upgrading the distribution system in connection with the reconstruction of U.S. 93 between Second and 13th streets.

Whitefish expects to spend $7.7 million on resort-tax funded projects, largely for street improvements that include the reconstruction of Somers Avenue from East Second to East Eighth Street, State Park Road from U.S. 93 to the railroad tracks, and East Edgewood Drive from Wisconsin Avenue to the city limits.

Resort tax revenue also allows for funding park improvement projects, and the city plans to spend $635,000 of that revenue for park and bike path improvements.

Separate from resort tax revenue, the city plans to spend $3.4 million on streets and $2.3 million on parks and recreation projects. The lion’s share of the parks and recreation earmark — $1.7 million — includes improvements to Depot Park that were deferred by the construction of the new City Hall and parking garage. Building and landscaping a new parking lot at 55 Woodland Place near City Beach is projected to cost $210,000.

All totaled there are 153 projects outlined in the latest Whitefish plan that runs through 2022.

By comparison, the city of Columbia Falls is in the process of updating its five-year plan and preliminary engineering reports for water and sewer. Columbia Falls expects to spend about $6 million for capital improvements, City Manager Susan Nicosia said. That estimate does not include any planned street reconstruction.

The city of Kalispell’s capital improvement plan that runs through fiscal year 2021 calls for $70.4 million in capital improvements. The plan lists 214 projects and equipment needs, according to Kalispell Finance Director Rick Wills. The two most costly projects, Wills said, are the Westside Interceptor project in the sewer department at about $8.5 million and an upgrade to the wastewater treatment plant estimated at $6.5 million.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.