Council renews lease on building; makes donation to playground

Whitefish City Council, on Aug. 6:

- Approved a resolution adopting the final environmental assessment for the city’s planned new wastewater treatment plant improvements project.

- Approved a recommendation from the Park Board renewing the city’s lease of the Saddle Club in Mountain Trails Park to the Flathead Ski Education Foundation. It also approved adding an auto-renewal clause that allows the agreement to renew every five years. The city first signed an agreement with FVSEF in 2013 allowing it to develop its Ski Heritage Center Museum of Skiing in the building.

- Approved recommendations from the Park Board and the resort tax monitoring committee to allocate resort tax funds as a one-time donation in the amount of $20,000 to Project Whitefish Kids for developing a new playground at Smith Fields. The city has held a lease agreement with Project Whitefish Kids for the property since 1999.

- Approved a contract with Robert Peccia a& Associates for engineering services for the State Park Road reconstruction project. The contact is for $153,200. The reconstruction of State Park Road is the next project on the resort tax priority list and is expected to include reconstruction of all existing roadway surfacing, and pedestrian path one side and possibly sidewalks on the other side. The project also includes the installation of decorative street lights and a new storm drainage system. The project is next on the city’s resort tax priority list.