Chamber lobbies to save park building

The Whitefish Chamber of Commerce is making an 11th-hour plea to save the former city parks and planning building in Depot Park so the Chamber can lease it for a visitor center.

The Chamber board of directors published a full-page “open letter to the taxpayers of Whitefish” in this week’s Whitefish Pilot, imploring the City Council to save the building that is headed for the wrecking ball. Chamber Board Chairman Dan Graves also wrote a letter to the city, asking that the building be spared.

In July 2016 the council decided on a split vote to demolish the building as recommended by the Depot Park master plan. Mayor John Muhlfeld broke a tie vote in favor of the demolition.

The city currently is advertising for bids on Phase 1 of the Depot Park plan, which will include demolishing and removing the building and adjoining parking lot, relocating existing underground utilities, site grading, landscaping, new lawn irrigation and new street lights.

A prebid conference was held Wednesday at Whitefish City Hall.

In its “last-ditch appeal for fiscal responsibility,” the Chamber board is asking the council to reconsider the demolition and lease the building to the chamber.

The Chamber proposes to lease the 4,000-square-foot building — built as a credit union in the mid-1970s — for 10 years, a move that would generate more than $360,000 in revenue to the city during that time. The board’s letter also points out that when the council approved the demolition the cost was estimated at $20,000, but the cost now is estimated at more than $125,000 to remove the building and plant grass in its place.

In a letter addressing the Chamber’s request, Muhlfeld said the $20,000 estimate to take down the building was limited to building demolition only and did not include asbestos remediation, adaptation of utilities, removal of the parking lot and shed, drainage improvements and reclamation of the building footprint as green space.

“With additional items added to the scope for this project, the estimated cost has reasonably increased as expected,” Muhlfeld wrote.

Muhlfeld further stated the increase in the demolition cost will not place an additional burden on city taxpayers because the building demolition and other park improvements will be paid for with tax-increment funds.

The Chamber contends the Depot Park building would be the best possible location for the city’s Visitor Information Center, given its proximity to the downtown business district, the train depot, O’Shaughnessy Center, the new parking structure and summertime special events. The current visitor center is located on Spokane Avenue, away from the downtown corridor and visitor foot traffic.

The Chamber board maintains the cost savings by leasing the building would give the city close to $500,000, “money that could be used for other pressing city needs.

In his letter to the city, Graves said based on conversations Chamber board members have had with Chamber members and the public, they believe there are more people who want to see the building used rather than torn down.

But Muhlfeld said the Depot Park master plan “reflects a vision that from the city’s perspective benefits the greater community rather than attempting to benefit a single user group.

The Chamber encourages the public to contact City Hall or attend the Feb. 5 council meeting to support its proposal. The council will consider the Chamber’s request, Muhlfeld said.

During council deliberations in 2016, Graves, who is chief executive officer of Whitefish Mountain Resort, argued that Whitefish is surrounded by thousands of acres of forestland and the small amount of green space created by removing the building wouldn’t be worth it.

“A visitor center fits with this building right in the heart of downtown,” Graves said at the time. “We don’t need to take down a building that can function for 365 days per year.”

During that same discussion two years ago, Whitefish business owner Rhonda Fitzgerald contended that visitor centers “are not the wave of the future.” Visitors instead are looking online or using 24-hour kiosks for tourist information, she said.

A year ago North Valley Music School planned to buy the Depot Park building for $20 and wanted to move the structure to the city’s snow lot near the depot, but that plan fell through.

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