Siren to sound again in Whitefish
History is being restored in Whitefish in the form of the familiar wail of the 10 o’clock nighttime siren.
The Whitefish City Council on Monday agreed to bring back the daily curfew siren, which had been silenced last year when the Fire Department went to round-the-clock fire and ambulance service and firefighters began bunking right next to the siren in the fire hall.
The siren will sound once again when the Fire Department moves into new quarters in the Emergency Services Center at Baker Commons in late May.
Love it or hate it, the curfew siren has a long history in Whitefish, dating back to 1919 when it originally rang at 9 p.m.
The 10 o’clock siren was instituted with a new ordinance in October 1944, local historian Walt Sayre said.
But even before the curfew siren, Whitefish had a fire whistle to alert volunteers, he said, noting early documentation that officials tested the city’s first siren at 2 a.m. to see how far the sound could carry.
In other action Monday, the council:
-- Postponed a proposed resolution making the alley behind Markus Foods a fire lane with no parking allowed. Council members Phil Mitchell and Turner Askew said a change like that should be applied to all alleys. The council agreed to notify businesses in the downtown area and take a second look at the resolution.
-- Voted 4-1 to adopt a procedure for council members to put an item on the regular meeting agenda. Items will require the backing of three council members along with either the mayor or city manager, or the backing of four council members. Phil Mitchell voted in opposition.
-- By a unanimous vote, turned down a request by Warren Schweitzer and Ingela Schnittger to have their property on Houston Point “de-annexed” from the city.
The couple requested annexation in 2005 to hook up their new home to city water and sewer, but they installed a well and septic system. They claimed it would cost them $100,000 to extend services to their home and about $2,800 more per year in taxes to be in the city.