Group continues push for vote on City Hall
<p>An artist rendering created by Mosaic Architecture showing the new City Hall building from the corner of Baker Avenue and Second Street.</p>
Whitefish’s rejection of a petition to put the City Hall project up to a public vote hasn’t stopped a group from pushing forward with its effort to cap spending on the $14.95 million city facility and attached parking structure.
A group calling itself Let Us Vote Whitefish plans to collect signatures in support of the public vote, then present the list to city council following the November election.
Whitefish philanthropist Richard Atkinson is the force behind the group. He first proposed the petition this summer that aimed to create a ballot initiative amending city law to require a public vote on City Hall projects costing more than $3 million.
City attorney Angela Jacobs Persicke rejected the petition last week, saying it failed to meet compliance standards.
Yet, Atkinson says he’s not deterred and that he will continue to press the issue.
“By refusing to approve our petition, the mayor and city council have effectively blocked a formal public vote on the new City Hall,” Atkinson said in a statement to the Pilot. “But I don’t back down easily and based on the phone calls we have received, I don’t think my fellow Whitefish residents are ready to back down either.”
Atkinson is confident the city would lose any legal challenge to its decision to quash the petition, but he says he’s not interested in a lengthy court battle. Instead, he wants voters to consider the City Hall project when casting their ballots in the upcoming council election.
“Is it worth spending $300,000 to $400,000 to get a [legal] victory? No, it’s not,” he told the Pilot. “But let’s see if keeping [the City Hall project] in the minds of people has an effect on the elections.”
Atkinson plans to launch a website www.LetUsVoteWhitefish.com by the end of August. He aims to get more than 752 signatures — the same amount required for an initiative to get on the ballot.
“We will present these signatures to the newly elected city councilors following the election and ask them to respect the views of the constituents who’ve signed,” Atkinson said.
Earlier this month, Whitefish City Council approved a permit to construct a new City Hall and parking structure at the corner of Baker Avenue and Second Street. Work is expected to begin as early as this fall.
The new City Hall is set to cost $6.6 million, while the parking structure is set at $8.3 million. The city is planning to spend $14.95 million on the entire project, including lease of temporary office space. Tax-increment funds are being used to finance the project.
The city plans to vacate City Hall on Aug. 27 in preperation for demolishion of the structure.