Staking a claim

Depending upon who you are, these could be the worst of times or the best of times.

Regardless of whether you enjoy the benefits of rapid growth in the Whitefish area or hate change, every resident has a stake in what will happen here in the next few years.

This week's newspaper is chock-full of important growth-related stories that everyone should be paying attention to — the downtown master plan, affordable housing, the neighborhood plan for nearby school trust lands, rising sewer costs and conflicts between landowners and bike path projects.

Sometimes it seems overwhelming. City council packets come to the Pilot three inches thick at a time. Reading them leaves us cross-eyed. Phone calls and e-mails bombard the office all week long, but particularly on Mondays, a bad time.

There are residents out there who have staked out a niche in this marketplace of change — lake shore protection, affordable housing, downtown planning, transportation issues. That brings a little focus to what could otherwise be a blur of activity.

What are average residents to do? How will they know who to vote for in this year's council and city judge elections? Which U.S. 93 plan should they support? And what about that thing called the Whitefish Landing?

All we can say is hang on and don't let go. It's going to be a long and bumpy ride.