Wants to set the story straight
Friends, fellow citizens of Whitefish – this town we all call our home:
There have been several attempts over the past week to do "polling" and one mass-mailing misrepresenting who I am and what I believe, and the work I have done. The pollsters have misrepresented themselves, and their purpose seems to be to divide us rather than to provide useful information. Whitefish folks are better than that.
As you are aware, I am a candidate for the Whitefish City Council. I am currently on the council, having been appointed to fulfill the unexpired term of Shirley Jacobson. I came to this position after serving as a member of the Whitefish City-County Planning Board for two years, part of that time as its chairman.
I have worked on the A Trails Runs Through It planning committee and have 30 years experience as a practicing lawyer. I have been on the boards of the Glacier Institute and Foys to Blacktail Trails. I am a good listener and value the importance of public dialogue.
With all of the misinformation being circulated, I thought it important to share some facts:
Yes, I was the planning board member who was on the citizen committee charged with drafting a Critical Areas Ordinance. We took what was a rigid, inflexible set of emergency regulations, which could otherwise have become the permanent law, and created a Whitefish-specific solution based upon Whitefish-specific geology and hydrology.
The result insures we preserve our property values, insures that no lot becomes unbuildable and at the same time created a tool for us, the citizens of Whitefish, to protect our water quality. This law has allowed for appropriate development in areas that, under the emergency ordinance, would have been unbuildable. As a result, the law is longer and more "complicated" than a sound bite. It has to be, to provide direction and flexibility to preserve our property values and our water quality.
As for our downtown — the current project is foremost an infrastructure project. We have no choice but to replace our aging water and storm waters systems downtown. The project was a model of public participation. The design was based upon the Downtown Master Plan and 2 1/2 years of public meetings and workshops.
A number of designs were considered, and compromises were made on sidewalks, crossings and street widths. The design was approved by the council months before I arrived. I, too, am wary of the narrowing the street width and remain open to new information and data. The "test" that was run for six weeks this summer was, at best, inconclusive.
The new street and storm water design will make a dramatic difference in ease of parking and minimizing, if not eliminating, snow and ice buildup at the curb by funneling the moisture away. We have invested in new equipment, which would be needed in any case, to help with keeping the gutters clear and to make plowing more efficient and effective.
Finally, I am proud to be a part of a community and serving on a council that made some hard choices by reducing our mil levy by 10 percent and increasing our reserves to almost 18 percent. This council has been fiscally responsible.
I urge you to check the facts and not be influenced by misleading statements and propaganda. I am happy to discuss any concerns or issues. Please feel free to contact me at 863-4848 or by e-mail at franksweeney@montanasky.net.
Frank Sweeney, of Whitefish, is the incumbent candidate for Whitefish City Council.