Housing and giving dominated the news in Whitefish in 2024

The news highlights of the past year in Whitefish focused on housing and philanthropy.  

Continued progress was made regarding affordable housing projects, while a housing assistance program began assisting renters. While the city continues to look at housing options into the future as it crafts a growth policy update.  

Generous donations were made to area nonprofits and the Whitefish Community Foundation’s Great Fish Challenge raised over $6.5 million.  

Whitefish School District in the new year will begin work toward expansion projects at Whitefish High School. Voters passed two bonds, totaling $32.6 million, to expand the high school building and its athletic complex. 

HOUSING 

The Whitefish Workforce Assistance Program launched in January 2024 with the intent of sustaining the community by providing essential housing assistance to the local workforce.  

By October, 45 applicants, representing 94 individuals, nearly half of whom are children, were approved for assistance. Twenty of the approved applicants lead single parent households. The average monthly assistance payment is $316. 

Daniel Sidder, executive director of Housing Whitefish, said these numbers represent more than just statistics; they reflect the lives of hardworking individuals who are integral to the community.  

He said many of the recipients of the assistance are long-time residents, many of whom, without support, would face displacement from the community, their home. Seventy-four percent of those helped were at risk of having to leave the valley due to housing costs. The applicants’ average household income is about $46,523 and the average rent is $1,657. 

Snow lot 

Changes occurred surrounding the Depot Park Townhomes project, located on what has been known as the snow lot downtown. The project is located on the corner of Railway Street and Columbia Avenue, and comprises 22 two-bedroom townhouse units that were originally 100% deed-restricted for affordable community housing. 

The original plan was to make the homes available to households earning 80% to 150% area median income. 

In January, Whitefish City Council heard from the Whitefish Housing Authority and the city’s Housing Planner, Luke Sponable, about potential changes to the Depot Park Townhomes project.  

In April, Marissa Getts, of the Whitefish Housing Authority, met with the Whitefish City Council to discuss changes to the Depot Park Townhomes project that would affect the target area median income. 

The city donated the land to the Whitefish Housing Authority in June 2020, specifically to develop affordable housing. The city has given close to $1 million to the project and has committed to giving another $2 million. 

Alpenglow 

The Whitefish City Council voted to approve Phase 2 of the Alpenglow Apartments development. The development is located at 530 Edgewood Place, and will include studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments. 

In 2021, the Whitefish City Council approved the first phase of the project. 

Phase 2 is a single, L-shaped, three-story building on a little over half an acre on the northeast corner of the lot with parking to the north. All 18 units are proposed to be deed restricted. Two of the units will serve households with an area median income of 60 to 80% and the remaining 16 units will serve up to 120% of area median income. 

In February, Housing Whitefish executive director Daniel Sidder said the plan is to offer six of the units to households at 60% area median income, six for households at 80% and six at 95%. 

Short-term rental officer 

In November 2023, the Whitefish City Council voted unanimously to authorize the hiring of a code enforcement officer to address short-term rentals operating illegally in city limits. In March, Codi Evenson became Whitefish’s first short-term rental specialist and began reining in the proliferation of illegal vacation properties. 

The city purchased software that runs through all the listings and produces a list of every short-term rental listed within the city. The company says that users of the software can expect to get 90-99% compliance. 

In August, Evenson said there were 380 short-term rental units operating in Whitefish, 313 of which were actively advertising online.   

She added that 51 of the short-term rentals in Whitefish are unpermitted and 19 of those are in zoning districts that do not allow vacation rentals. Evenson reported that 22 units that had been operating outside of allowed zones had been removed from the market or changed into monthly rentals. 

SCHOOLS 

Voters passed two bonds, totaling $32.6 million, to expand Whitefish High School and its athletic complex. It was the second time the school tried to pass bonds for the expansion. 

The $26.5 million academic expansion bond passed by 56.5% with 2,876 votes for and 2,200 votes against. The $6.1 million athletic expansion bond passed by a closer margin of 51.8% with 2,635 votes for and 2,437 votes against. 

The academic expansion will add classrooms and lab spaces and new multi-purpose facilities for core classes, science, technology, arts and math programs.   

The athletic complex expansion will allow for a new 10-lane track and football field with 1,500-seat grandstands with improved accessibility, admission and concession facilities, restrooms and parking spaces.  

Whitefish voters previously rejected a combined $33.7 million bond that would have funded the high school expansion and a more robust athletic facility project. That bond failed by a margin of 152 votes. 

Transportation 

Whitefish School District held brainstorming session in December to find ways to improve student transportation after a Rocky Mountain Transportation activities bus caught fire Nov. 23 at a speech and debate tournament in Ronan. 

No students were nearby when the fire occurred but the bus driver was treated for smoke inhalation. Parents and students expressed concerns regarding the lack of information following the bus fire and said dissatisfaction with school transportation has been mounting for decades. 

NONPROFITS 

DREAM Adaptive Recreation kicked off the initial phase of a capital campaign for a new building to house the nonprofit that will be located midway up Chair 9, on land donated by Whitefish Mountain Resort. 

David and Sherry Lesar, longtime local philanthropists, heard of the mountain's donation of land and came forward with a lead gift to launch the capital campaign for a building.  

The donation was one of the largest single lead gifts ever made to a Flathead Valley nonprofit, according to the Whitefish Community Foundation. The new building will be named the Lesar Family Mountain Center for DREAM Adaptive Recreation. 

The new building was designed by Cushing Terrell and Dick Anderson Construction to be accessible and inclusive to all users. It includes sensory rooms, a family changing room and bathroom with a lift. There is also enough circulation space for many users of mobility devices to move without barriers. 

Lesar said the new building will help DREAM be better able to meet the evolving needs of the community. DREAM provided over 1,500 winter and summer lessons and recreational opportunities for 329 unique participants last year, in addition to 256 lessons for military veterans and active-duty service members. 

North Valley Music School  

The North Valley Music School broke ground on its new building at Smith Fields on April 19.  

"We are so excited to see this 17-year dream finally come to fruition,” Deidre Corson, executive director of the school, said. “The project is a result of thoughtful and strategic planning, mindful action and a deep love for music education. It has taken a village, a committed, philanthropic, and passionate community.” 

On Dec. 20, Jim and Lisa Stack donated $500,000 to finish the fundraising campaign for the new music school facility. With $100,000 donated by Joe Guerra, the school had the final $600,000 it needed. 

The new music school building, 8,100 square feet of flexible, multi-use space, is being constructed on an approximately 2-acre parcel of land that was donated by Project Whitefish Kids and the city of Whitefish. 

The building will comprise 15 studios, two practice rooms, a 100-seat multipurpose performance space and a large group classroom. The facility will feature safe drop-off zones, ample parking, a waiting area and acoustical treatments for improved sound quality. 

CITY

Whitefish hosted its first community visioning sessions in February for the growth policy update, called Vision Whitefish 2045. Work on the plan is expected to take several years. The city last did a comprehensive update of its growth policy in 2007.  

According to the city, visioning forms the foundation of the growth policy and is the process by which the community visualizes a mental picture of the city and how it should look in the future. The visioning process includes working together to recognize shared values and define what makes Whitefish special and how to protect its valuable assets.  

Councilor compensation 

Fifty-three percent of Whitefish voters on Election Day approved an amendment to the city charter to allow City Council members to be paid. 

During a May meeting, Whitefish City Attorney Angela Jacobs said if the public voted in favor of the charter change, the Council would likely have a work session to discuss the benefits, then consider a resolution to set the benefits, which would require at least one public hearing. 

Currently, the mayor and councilors do have some benefits, including reimbursement of up to $500 for an electronic device, $150 per quarter toward the use of a cellphone, a membership to the WAVE and the ability to opt into the city’s health insurance plan and pay the full premium. 

“Ninety percent of the people who live here, who are working class and struggling to make ends meet,” Mayor John Muhlfeld said in February. “The lack of compensation is a very real deterrent, in my opinion, to generating younger people to run for office.” 

The Council has scheduled a work session on Jan. 6 to discuss the matter.    

Airport hangar

In one of the most surprising City Council votes of the year, a 5,400 square-foot hangar at the Whitefish airport was granted a conditional use permit despite robust public opposition. 

Bill McKinney, on behalf of the Montana Department of Transportation, requested the permit to build the 23-foot-high hangar to house four aircraft with a 400-square-foot e-bike rental area for hangar users. 

Only three of the 17 citizens who commented at the council meeting in June were in favor of the building project on the grass landing strip east of town. The opposition pointed to the loss of the viewshed, increased noise and the possibility of more development at the airport.  

Other comments echoed concerns for the view and that the hangar serves a small sector of the community. The Whitefish Community Development Board recommended denial of the project. 

The council approved the permit by a vote of 4-1, with Councilor Rebecca Norton in opposition and after Councilor Giuseppe Caltabiano recused himself from the vote.