City Hall plans aired by council

By RICHARD HANNERS, Whitefish Pilot

BNSF Railway has expressed interest in selling its parking lot north of the library, city manager Gary Marks told the Whitefish City Council on Feb. 5.

The railroad land is the preferred choice for a new city hall — one of several downtown projects linked by funding constraints.

Once the city hall is relocated north of the library, and police, fire, ambulance and city court are moved to a new facility at Baker Commons — the former gravel pit next to The Wave — then the current city hall site can be sold and turned into additional retail and parking.

"It's all an elaborate dance," Marks said. "Everything is tied together. The knack is to get all the pieces moving in correct sequence."

Grover and Company has been assisting the city with a space-needs analysis, Marks said, with department heads providing input on their requirements.

New to the facility development process is a "green technologies" analysis, which looks at designs that are environmentally friendly and can reduce energy needs.

Cities across the country are promoting green technologies, according to articles posted on the National League of Cities Web site.

Vegetated rooftops, for example, which were developed in Germany in the 1960s, can reduce stormwater runoff and conserve energy. Chicago leads the way in the U.S. for green-roof development, with more than 200 green roofs covering 2.5 million square feet.

Twenty-three cities across the U.S. have adopted Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards that conserve energy, decrease maintenance costs and improve indoor environmental quality.

But green design can cost more to build. Green roofs, for example, typically cost two-to-three times what a conventional roof costs.

Marks said green technologies could add 10-30 percent to the cost of construction.

"Ten percent doesn't seem like much," councilor Nick Palmer said, "and it will pay for itself over time."

Councilor Nancy Woodruff thanked Marks for taking a look at green technologies.

"You know your council well," she said.

Marks said he hoped a new city hall and emergency services facility can be built without going to a voter-approved bond.

Construction costs for a new city hall were pegged at $3.6 million in the city's 2005 Downtown Master Plan. The plan suggested the current city hall site could be sold for about $3 million.

Funding is also available from the tax-increment financing (TIF) district, which recognized the need for a new city hall back when it was created in 1987.

"The only item that no TIF money has been spent on yet is the city hall," Marks said.

Leftover TIF money could also be used to build the emergency services facility.

"It's still too early to rule out a bond for the emergency services building," Marks told the Pilot. "If it's necessary, my goal is to make it as small of a burden as possible."

Last year, the council approved an Emergency Services Plan that called for a 51,467-square-foot facility for police, fire, ambulance, city court and possibly county or federal agencies that could cost $16.2 million.

Marks said he gives little credibility to that figure now. The size of the facility has been significantly reduced and, citing the cost of Kalispell's new fire station behind Costco, Marks suggested the emergency services facility could be built for around $12 million.

Marks said the construction timeline for a new city hall will depend on how fast BNSF Railway moves its parking needs north of the tracks. There will also be citizen input.

"In the best case scenario, we could be moving into a new city hall in 2008," he told councilors.

As for the emergency services facility, "Ideally it would be built at the same time as the city hall," Marks told the Pilot.

But it's possible the city can only afford one project at a time, he told the council. In that case, the current city hall could be leased out and put on the tax rolls until the emergency services facility can be completed.