Time to address City Hall, parking structure

I’m writing in response to some of the negative chatter associated with the proposed Whitefish City Hall/parking structure construction.

I encourage anyone who is concerned to please remember the facts about this project before reaching conclusions.

Both of these projects combined (not just City Hall) are estimated to cost just over $13 million, with the majority of the funding coming from tax-increment financing from local businesses. Through hundreds of hours of public input from a wide range of citizenry, workshops, and thorough research, the most optimal location has been chosen.

Whitefish has had a serious parking problem for several years now, and the 100-year-old City Hall is not worth trying to rehab, and needs to be rebuilt.

The bottom line is that we are at a critical point in Whitefish and we need to address this problem head on, as we should have 10 years ago.

As uncomfortable as it is, infrastructure improvement is a necessary evil, but sweeping it under the rug will only result in a greater burden in the long term.

It would be a shame to see the exhaustive hours put into getting this right be dismissed at the 11th hour because of a minority that continues to bring up issues that have already been diligently explored and discussed.

— Pat Carloss, Whitefish