Fact checking the City Hall election mailer

Whitefish voters were hit with election propaganda for the first time in nearly four years on Tuesday when they opened their mailboxes to find a mailer taking aim at the City Hall project and two incumbent councilors.

The flyer, funded by Whitefish philanthropist Richard Atkinson, suggests to voters that sitting councilors Richard Hildner and Frank Sweeney should not be re-elected, and claims the two refuse to allow a public vote on the City Hall and parking structure project.

Atkinson has been a public voice of opposition to the $14.95 million City Hall and parking project. He says the project is too expensive and that a new City Hall should be located outside of the downtown business district. He also contends there isn't a need for a parking structure in a town the size of Whitefish.

Earlier this year he proposed a ballot initiative to amend city law to require a public vote on City Hall projects costing more than $3 million.

Whitefish’s city attorney ultimately rejected the petition, saying it failed to meet compliance standards.

Atkinson later launched the Let Us Vote Whitefish campaign and website that continues to push for the public vote.

The Pilot checked the facts in Atkinson’s recent mailer.

Size and cost

The mailer states the City Hall is a 39,000 square foot building that is budgeted for “a whopping $15 million.”

Fact check: The $14.95 million budget includes construction of both City Hall and the parking structure, contingency, and interim/ancillary costs.

The $6.6 million City Hall will be 24,000 square feet in two stories, with the ability to add a third floor later. It also includes a half-floor basement.

The attached $8.3 million parking structure will be 81,000 square feet on three stories with 214 parking spaces.

Displace businesses

The mailer says the new City Hall and parking garage at the current location will “displace businesses.”

Fact check: The City Hall and parking structure project includes 3,000 square feet of retail space in the northwest corner of the parking garage. Currently, no businesses are located on the site. The city purchased the former Coldwell Banker property in 2011.

Public vote

The mailer states councilors Sweeney and Hildner “refuse to let you have a say” on the project.

Fact check: Both Hildner and Sweeney voted in 2012 in favor of building the new City Hall at the current location at the corner of Second Street and Baker Avenue.

At a recent candidate forum, Hildner and Sweeney were asked whether citizens should have the chance to vote on the project. Hildner said the project does not rise to the need of a public vote and that the project has been in the works for a number of years. Sweeney said city council analyzed the alternative locations and all of the economics came out as building City Hall at the current location. He said if citizens wanted a referendum on the project, the time for that was four years ago.