Looking Back: Affordable housing condition called “social agenda”
Shouting instructions ad pointing to a hot spot, Whitefish Fire Chief Dick Maddux directs firefighting action, as a fireman leaves a smoky garage when he had used up his air supply. Maddux said the fire apparently started from a wood stove chimney that did not have adequate clearance in the roof. (Bart Smith photo, 1985)
A look back at past Pilot articles by Julie Engler
50 Years Ago
April 10, 1975
A covered dish handcrafted out of clay by Bob Markel of Whitefish was selected to be on display in the Renwick Gallery, the Department for American Crafts and Design of the Smithsonian Institution's National Collection of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C. Bob’s dish, colored red, orange and green, was one of 120 exhibits selected from the close to 5,000 entries. The goal of the exhibit was to show the works of “contemporary craftsmen with high creative and technical standards, producing multiple copies of well-designed and well executed handcrafted objects intended for use and enjoyment in everyday life.”
40 Years Ago
April 11, 1985
Skiing came to a close Sunday afternoon when the lifts of the big mountain were turned off, marking the end of the 1984-85 ski season. Unlike a year ago, when foul weather forced the mountain to close before the Easter holiday, skiers found ideal spring conditions on the slopes during the final days of the season. The snow depth at the summit of the mountain was about 110 inches, while the base area had about 30 inches. The mountain enjoyed one of its best snow years in recent memory, with plentiful amounts of the white stuff throughout the winter.
30 Years Ago
April 6, 1995
Kinnikinnik moved another step closer to reality when the City Council unanimously passed a revised plan for the project after more than four hours of public testimony and discussion. The development would be spread over more than 400 acres north of Whitefish and east of Big Mountain Road. Once completed, Kinnikinnik would include 413 homes and multifamily units and 275 lodging units, including motel rooms and condominiums. No one spoke out against the plan, which had been in the works for more than four years, but several members of the audience urged councilors to support a condition that would include affordable housing. Others railed against the request that developers come up with a plan for affordable housing, calling the condition part of a “social agenda.”
20 Years Ago
April 7, 2005
The Whitefish School Trust Lands Plan at its first setback when the Montana House Natural Resources Committee voted not to send a bill that would have allowed conservation easements to be sold on public lands to the House floor. Having the law in place would have allowed the Department of Natural Resources to sell the right to restrict development on a piece of land while retaining ownership of the land itself. It also allows money to be made off the land for public schools. Something they are mandated by the state to do.
10 Years Ago
April 8, 2015
Having purposely stepped away from local politics after his final term ended in 2011, Mike Jensen reentered the fray to get involved with the campaign backing the purchase of conservation easement in the Haskill Basin. He was chairman of the Vote Yes for Water, Protect Haskill Basin campaign. The city needed to raise $8 million by the end of the year to finish off the 3,000-acre easement purchase from F.H. Stoltz Land and Lumber Company. The project was aimed at protecting the watershed, which feeds the municipal water system.