Sidewalk widening OK'd again

On a tie vote broken by Mayor Mike Jenson, the Whitefish City Council on Tuesday voted to move ahead with streetscaping plans for Central Avenue this spring.

The idea of widening the sidewalks has been a contentious issue for more than a year.

Thirty people addressed the council Tuesday, with 23 speaking in support of the current plan, which includes widening the sidewalks.

The vote was 3-3, with Ryan Friel, John Muhlfeld and Bill Kahle in support and Turner Askew, Phil Mitchell and Chris Hyatt (on speaker phone) in opposition.

Saying he had to “vote with his conscience,” Jenson broke the tie vote in favor of leaving the streetscaping design as it was.

Kahle, Mitchell and Hyatt are new to the council.

The three new members had said they wanted to take up the sidewalk issue soon after taking their seats on the council, but Kahle said new information changed his mind on whether to keep sidewalks on Central Avenue at their current width.

Kahle conceded that he had opposed widening the sidewalks during his campaign and that he “didn’t like the Third Street design at first,” but after talking to downtown business owners and the engineers, he changed his view.

Work on the 200 block of Central Avenue, from Second Street to the recently completed Third Street, is slated to begin during the spring shoulder season.

In other business Tuesday, the council:

n Continued its public hearing on amending the city’s Impact Fee Ordinance to Feb. 16 because the agenda item wasn’t advertised sufficiently in advance.

n Unanimously approved a first reading of a zoning text amendment that will allow alternative permeable paving materials for driveways, modify driveway widths in front-yard setbacks and allow access ramps and stairs within required setbacks.

n Approved the city’s first citywide transportation plan 5-1, with Muhlfeld opposed. The vote followed some discussion on whether to eliminate a bridge at 13th Street and replace it with a bridge at Greenwood Drive (18th Street).

The Whitefish City-County Planning Board had recommended the change from the plan drafted by Robert Peccia & Associates during a Jan. 7 work session. The consultants, however, opposed the change.

Following a suggestion by Jenson, the council opted to keep both bridges in the plan, generally agreeing they didn’t expect to see either bridge built in the next 20 years.

n Gave Planning Director David Taylor the OK to renew a temporary vendor permit for Dave Sheeran’s 2nd Street Pizza business. The permit would be good for 60 days.

n Ran out of time to discuss a plan proposed by City Manager Chuck Stearns to use tax-increment financing money to stimulate construction in Whitefish.