City examines future uses for wastewater plant property

A draft plan for the City of Whitefish’s 88 acres on the south end of town shows the potential for a variety of uses on the site in the future.

The property, sandwiched between the Whitefish River to the west and Monegan Road to the east, is the current location for the wastewater treatment plant and the parks maintenance shop. Plans for the site could include a solar array, a tree nursery and even potentially residential housing.

City Council’s current goal list directed city staff to look at the property creating a master plan, which was presented to Council at a recent work session.

City Manager Adam Hammatt said the master plan would serve as a guide for the site as it relates to other planning in the city as well.

“What we will be doing here has implications for a lot of the things so we want to make sure we’re heading in the right direction,” he said.

The city’s new wastewater treatment plant is expected to occupy just over 3 acres on the west side of the property with an 8 acre sludge drying area to the north.

The parks maintenance shop is set on almost 4 acres in the northeast corner of the property and has room to expand for new uses.

“We have plenty of space here for all the things we want to do and have extra space for the future,” Hammatt added. “We want to make sure the plan hits all the high points.”

The plan calls checking off a couple items included in the city’s Climate Action Plan adopted last year.

The climate plan calls for a strategy to offset energy use and emissions from the new wastewater treatment plant. To do this, the site master plan calls for installing a 1.7 megawatt solar photovoltaic system on the site of the wastewater treatment plant. The plan shows 8 acres set aside for the solar array.

Long Range Planner Hilary Lindh said a feasibility study for the solar array is set to be completed this fall, but preliminary estimates show that the solar array that size would off-set all energy uses of the new wastewater treatment plant.

Also establishing a tree nursery on 7.7 acres of the site is expected to provide tertiary treatment of wastewater and offset carbon emissions by sequestering carbon in biomass.

The climate plan also recommends a strategy to expand community composting, so the master plan shows 2 acres as a potential site directly adjacent to the wastewater treatment plant. The composting site would be anticipated to take yard and plant material from parks activities and residents.

Mayor John Muhlfeld questioned whether the master plan is a catch-all for items listed in the city’s Climate Action Plan, noting that he also isn’t entirely sold on the layout of the site as presented.

“The city has limited public property,” he said. “This can’t be a magic bullet for the climate action plan.”

He also questioned whether enough space was being set aside for future expansions of the wastewater treatment plant in 25 years or 50 years time.

Public Works Director Craig Workman said that the 3 acres in the plan is already setting aside property for “quite a ways out.”

Also included in the master plan for the property is the potential for creating affordable workforce housing on the 10 acres that fronts Monegan Road. This would further the community’s housing goals as described in the 2017 Strategic Housing Plan. The plan shows two entrance areas of Monegan that could provide access to housing.

Lindh noted that any plans for housing would be father out in the five- to 10-year range.

“The new wastewater plant will be operational in 2021,” she said. “We will want the new plant to be operational for a few years so we can get information about any odor before we decide if housing is appropriate there.”

The city’s new wastewater plant is designed to reduce odors compared to the existing system.

In terms of transportation, the plan shows extending Greenwood Drive from the west side of the Whitefish River across the river with a bridge and eventually connecting to Monegan Road.

The 2009 Whitefish Transportation Plan shows limited east-west connectivity across the river as an issue. A new bridge crossing at 13th Street is recommended in that plan, but it also notes that further study of bridge locations is needed including at Greenwood Drive.

The city owns the property on both sides of the river and the location is considered the most feasible for a new bridge at this time, according to Planning Director Dave Taylor.

If the road was developed, it would require moving the Whitefish River trail where it passes by the parks maintenance shop.

A new trailhead with parking is also proposed for the south end of the property and the potential for new trails.

A 3.3-acre area on the north edge of the site is labeled as for future expansion to be used for other needs as identified.

One potential use for the site could be for a city cemetery. The current 7-acre cemetery on Ramsey Avenue is at capacity, and the city has for years been searching for a site for a new cemetery.

Groundwater testing previously completed in the southwest portion of the city property showed high groundwater unsuitable for a cemetery, but the northern portion has not been tested.