Pilot Editorial: Council faces steep hill to start New Year

A thick fog of uncertainty greets Whitefish City Council when they reconvene Monday for the first meeting of the New Year.

Council left the dais in 2015 unsure how to deal with a disconcerting $1.7 million budget shortfall for the new City Hall and parking structure project underway downtown. Most of the overages have been chalked up to rising prices for materials and labor, but a substantial chunk comes from an unfortunate and inexcusable accounting error that deleted a $400,000 line item for furniture.

Despite obvious frustration, council remains hopeful they can right this ship and sail to the finish line with a project that’s close to budget and something Whitefish can be proud of.

They’ll start that process Monday when they reconsider a plan to whittle the shortfall down to $990,000 through value engineering and other creative money management steps. Yet, it remains to be seen how deep they’re willing to go to get the $14.95 million project back on budget.

Will council — which includes a newly elected member in Katie Williams — be inclined to ax amenities like sidewalk canopies, remove key design details, or leave part of the basement unfinished, as suggested in the cost-savings plan? One idea is to use painted block instead of brick on the alley side of the building.

All this and more might be a tough sell. Council already turned down one idea to eliminate a third elevator in the parking garage that was estimated to have saved $90,000.

Council should be wary of making too many nips and tucks that can shift a building’s functionality and aesthetics toward sloppy and silly. This City Hall should last another 100 years, and the parking structure needs to be built in a way that encourages use and isn’t an eyesore to our beautiful downtown.

To reach this goal, value-engineering will likely need to work in concert with an increase to the budget and additional tax-increment funds.

This is where it will get tricky. Dipping too deep into the TIF pot means other long talked-about projects have less chance of happening, such as revamping Depot Park or assisting with redevelopment of blighted areas around town. Remember, the true purpose of TIF funding is to spur economic development.

Council has a tall order to start 2016 and getting this project back on track will take a delicate touch in determining where to cut a little and where to give a little. It’s going to be a balancing act and will require courage from council in making the right decisions for the long term.

As City Manager Chuck Stearns told the Pilot following the last meeting of 2015, “We have a steep hill to climb and it’s not going to be easy.”