How much is too much for City Hall?

As plans for the new Whitefish City Hall and downtown parking structure move closer to final approval and construction, the Board of Directors of the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce is concerned about the ever-increasing cost of the project, and about the wisdom of expending $15-20 million of economic development funds on a government edifice to be built on the most valuable piece of commercial real estate left in downtown Whitefish.

We agree that additional public parking is desperately needed in downtown Whitefish, and we don’t question the need for new, more efficient and professional offices for our city government.

The question for us is one of cost — of living within our means — and of making the wisest possible investment of taxpayer dollars... investing those funds where they’ll give us the biggest bang for the buck.

Oh … and one more question. How much is too much?

Several years back, initial cost estimates for the City Hall/parking structure project were in the neighborhood of $11.3 million, with all of that cost to be paid from the city’s tax increment financing fund. These revenues are derived from the increase in property tax revenues within the TIF district, and are meant to be used to fund programs, projects and partnerships that will continue to further economic development — and property tax growth — within that district.

Currently, the figure we hear being bandied about for this project is $12.1 million, plus an additional $420,000 or so for office furnishings. That bring us to $12.5 million.

But that’s not all. The council currently has three different “options” that they’re thinking about adding to the City Hall portion of the project: a full basement with a $500,000 price tag, a third floor that’s another $950,000, and some street-level commercial/retail space at the corner of Baker and First Street adds $690,000.

They won’t likely add all three. But if they did, that’d bring the cost up to $14.7 million or so.

Then — of course — there are the logistics to consider. None of the estimates we’ve seen include the cost of temporarily relocating City Hall (and its employees) for one or two years while the project is under construction. But it isn’t hard to imagine spending another million dollars leasing space and physically moving the city’s staff, offices, IT infrastructure — in fact, moving it all twice.

Also absent from all the estimates we’ve seen thusfar is cost of financing the project. Granted, interest rates are quite favorable right now, and the debt will be retired within a fairly short timeframe. But interest on $8 million (or so) starts to add up pretty quick, no matter how low your rate may be.

So again we ask … how much is too much?

We need the parking and new city offices, but at what cost? If the council decides to “dip into” the TIF fund for another $2-5 million more than they’ve already budgeted, what other projects will start dropping off the bottom of that TIF project list … or never be considered in the first place?

A couple million bucks could go a long way toward addressing some of the everyday things that impact our community and limit the growth of our economy — the cost of workforce housing and the absence of reliable, year-round public transportation, just for starters.

And still unanswered are questions about how the ongoing operation and maintenance of the new parking structure will be paid for, how much of the structure will be dedicated to “leased” parking vs. open for public use, whether the city should be required to lease space for its own employees, and how much downtown business owners should be assessed to help defray the cost of the project.

Last week, the City Council took a step in the right direction by reconsidering a previous decision to require “LEED” certification for the project … at a cost of about $175,000. Mayor John Muhlfeld asked the Council to reverse that decision, and that’s what they did.

But there are many more decisions to be made … decisions that will dramatically impact our community for years to come.

The Whitefish Chamber of Commerce urges our City Council to exercise fiscal restraint, and to do what’s necessary to keep the City Hall/parking structure on-budget and on-track.

The community needs this project, and we support it. But not at any price.

— Kevin Gartland is executive director of Whitefish Chamber of Commerce