Whitefish to acquire park for $3.8 million
In a move to preserve valuable open space in downtown Whitefish, the City Council on Tuesday agreed to buy the scenic Credit Union Park near the train depot for $3.8 million.
The council authorized City Manager Gary Marks to sign the proposed buy-sell agreement with Park Side Federal Credit Union, the owner of the 1.8-acre park property.
It's a complex transaction, Marks said, that includes a land swap of 2.5 acres of undeveloped city property at the southwest corner of 13th Street and Baker Avenue, across from The Wave fitness center.
Park Side Credit Union plans to build a new facility at the Baker location within the next three to four years to accommodate "tremendous growth over the last couple of years," said Jeremy Presta, president and chief executive officer of Park Side.
The credit union board has approved moving forward with a buy-sell agreement.
The city land to be swapped is valued at $1.7 million, leaving the city with a balance of $2.1 million to pay the credit union within the next 3 1/2 years, Marks explained.
To raise the $2.1 million, the city would sell about 8.5 acres of additional undeveloped land in the Baker business park. The sale of the 8.5 acres should generate $1.6 million and would be combined with $500,000 in tax-increment revenue. If the city is unable to immediately sell the 8.5 acres, tax-increment money could pay the balance.
"We've had significant growth in the tax-increment fund," Marks said. "We could
use all TIF money, but I don't want to do that."
Council member Doug Adams wondered what the public will think about the city spending that much money for 1.8 acres.
"Will they think it's a wise use of money?" he asked.
Marks said the city's primary motivation in acquiring the park now is to save the last remaining open space in downtown from commercial development.
Consultants working with the city and the Heart of Whitefish nonprofit group on a downtown master plan suggested early in their review that it behooves the city to own that vital tract of open space. Whether or not the existing building and adjacent drive-through facility would eventually be torn down remain to be seen.
Credit Union Park, with its pond, fountain and shade trees, has become a favorite spot for arts and crafts fairs in Whitefish and is the backdrop for the popular Tuesday evening farmers market.
The credit union, initially called Whitefish Great Northern Federal Credit Union, moved to the location in 1973 and changed its name to Whitefish BN Federal Credit Union.
While the railroad owned the property through the years, longtime Whitefish residents don't recall any railroad activity per se on the site. Vivian Hull remembers it as "an awful weed patch," and a place where transients routinely camped out.
The north end of Whitefish was rundown and largely undeveloped until the historic Whitefish train depot was renovated in the late 1980s. After that, a performing arts center and new library were built on each side of Credit Union Park. Considerable commercial development followed.
City Attorney John Phelps told the council the buy-sell agreement will move forward in stages and that "not all the details are worked out."
An environmental assessment of the park property must be done to determine any chemical contamination. At the Baker site, the city will have to rezone the property from industrial to business park to accommodate the construction of a new credit union building. The city also must subdivide the property to enable the land swap to move forward.
"We've acknowledged that industrial zoning is not appropriate for the Baker property," Marks said.
The city owns 16.5 acres in the Baker business park, valued at $4.4 million, but would retain a large tract of the property for the potential relocation of city emergency services operations, Marks said. Land for more parking at The Wave also would be set aside.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com