Council discusses annexation fee, infrastructure funding

The council chambers were mostly empty for the first Whitefish City Council meeting of 2024. No one from the public was in attendance for the two public hearings regarding an annexation fee and a state-funded initiative on the agenda.

The council voted unanimously to establish an annexation surcharge for property owners wishing to annex into the city. The charge is not a new idea, as it was identified in 2021 in the updated Extension of Services Plan.

Whitefish Public Works Director Craig Workman explained the city has been dealing with property owners who petition for annexation to receive city sewer and water service only after they have begun construction. Increasingly in Whitefish, people are doing this in an attempt to avoid paying building permit fees and getting inspections.

“We do feel this creates a safety issue for the city by accepting new structures into our city limits with no knowledge of how they were built,” Workman said. 

The annexation surcharge was based on the current method the city uses to assess building permit fees. There is a base surcharge of $5,000 for projects worth less than $500,000. An additional $2,500 is assessed for each $500,000 increment above the base level.

Councilor Steve Qunell was concerned if the amount was enough to dissuade the behavior.

“It could potentially be higher … but I think this is going to go a long way to solving the problem,” Workman responded.

Whitefish City Attorney Angela Jacobs added that the council can always choose not to annex a property.

“I think that people need to be cognizant that if they are trying to skirt our code by building without a permit and no inspections, … you folks can always say, ‘No, we’re not going to annex you,’” Jacobs said. “ I do think this will go a long way towards dissuading people taking that route.”

The second hearing involved funding for the city under House Bill 355, a bill that established the State-Local Infrastructure Partnership Program. The state-funded initiative has allocated a total of $20 million in grants to be used for the maintenance and repair of local government facilities.

“Eligible projects for this funding include water and wastewater improvements, roadway repair and maintenance, landfills, airports and the maintenance and repair of public grounds and buildings,” said Workman. 

Whitefish city staff submitted a list of eligible projects by the end of last year. The list was in compliance with the state requirement, so Whitefish is eligible for the funding. 

“We’ve identified this grant opportunity to assist with our cast iron water main replacement program, where we currently have money budgeted in fiscal year 24,” Workman said. “We have many areas in the city that are served by cast iron water mains. They have lead joints. They are old, they pose significant maintenance issues and they are a threat to human health and safety with the lead joints.”

Funding amounts were determined based on population. Whitefish will likely be awarded a grant for about $586,000. If the grant is awarded, the city must contribute 25% of the total project cost, which, as Workman said, has already been budgeted for this year.

The next step toward applying for the grant was for the city council to hold a hearing to consider the list of projects. There was no public comment about the eligible projects. The council voted unanimously in favor of proceeding with the application for funding under House Bill 355.

THE WHITEFISH City Council also voted unanimously to proceed with the final engineering design and submittal of a Stream Permitting Act 124 permit for the section of the Whitefish River Trail that includes part of the Riverbend project and the Miles Avenue path. 

It also authorized staff to negotiate a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Casey Malmquist to reimburse the city for the costs associated with the trail on his property.

This part of the Whitefish River Trail is a combination of the Riverbend section and the Miles Avenue path project that extends from the north edge of the MDT‐built underpass to the BNSF

Loop Trail. 

As Mayor John Muhlfeld said prior to Workman’s presentation, this issue has been before the council  “numerous times” in public hearings and in work sessions.

The elevated path design for the Riverbend Trail was well-received by the council in September, and the project was to move forward, however, when the plans were presented to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) staff for a pre-application review, the city learned that FWP considered these two sections of trail to be one project and would not discuss it unless representatives from everyone involved were present.

A meeting was held in mid-November and, according to the staff report, the meeting included representatives from the city, TD&H Engineering/Water and Environmental Technologies (WET), FWP, Riverbend HOA, Malmquist, and the Flathead Conservation District.

“We intended to get together with Fish, Wildlife and Parks to determine whether or not they would be willing to provide a preliminary review of the conceptual raised path design that we have,” Workman said. “Having heard since then that they are not willing to do that, I think that our only option, in order to move this project forward, is to proceed with the 124 permit by combining both the Riverbend project with the Miles Avenue path.”

The engineering and design firm hired by the city for this project, TD&H, estimated the cost to finalize the design between $36,500 and $43,500, so the city can apply for the 124 permit.

The council voted unanimously to authorize staff to proceed with the final engineering design and submittal for a 124 permit. They also authorized the formation of an MOU with Malmquist to reimburse the city for the cost of the trail built on his property.

A question from Councilor Rebecca Norton clarified that the city would build the path and Malmquist would reimburse the city for the section on his property. 

While the overall construction costs cannot be estimated at this time, the cost to complete the

work on the Malmquist property is $205,000, based on bid prices received, the city stated.