Whitefish considers river site for cemetery
The search for land to create a new Whitefish city cemetery may be over.
A committee formed in 2011 to find a site for a second city cemetery has proposed a site of 5 to 7.5 wooded acres at the southwest corner of the city’s sewage treatment plant off JP and Monegan roads near the Whitefish River.
The Whitefish City Council will hold a public hearing tonight on the proposal, and also will consider earmarking $20,000 in the fiscal year 2017 budget to develop that site or an alternative site if needed.
The cemetery committee has researched both city and privately owned properties for a second cemetery. A high water table in the Whitefish area has complicated the search. The existing city cemetery established in 1918 just east of the Whitefish Golf Course is full.
After an exhaustive process that included a survey of city utility customers and lots of publicity about the project, the committee identified two possibilities: The City Shop site off West 18th Street and the site south of the treatment plant that’s now being reconsidered.
Initial soil testing at both sites showed potential problems with groundwater at both locations. Subsequent testing on the proposed site, however, indicated the water table may not be a problem after all.
Privately owned properties that were studied also had high water tables, “and the sale price was probably going to be too high,” City Manager Chuck Stearns said in his council report.
“The city property south of the wastewater treatment plant is the one city property that tested favorably for water table, and is a large enough piece of property that would lend itself to be used for a cemetery,” Stearns said.
If the council approves the site, the city would preserve as many of the native trees as possible, he added.
The cemetery committee has been extended for another six months and will continue to investigate potential sites, according to City Clerk Necile Lorang, who serves on the committee.
The proposed cemetery site already has drawn criticism from several neighbors across the river who have emailed the city with their concerns, ranging from the smell of the treatment plant to the potential pollution of the Whitefish River.
A 40-vault columbarium (cremain niche wall) was completed last year at the existing cemetery. Thirteen of the vaults have been sold and there is room to add additional niche walls as needed, Stearns said.
A Memorial Wall also was installed by the city with space for 104 nameplaces. The wall was privately donated.
IN OTHER business tonight, the council will hold a public hearing on the proposed budget for the 2016 fiscal year that begins July 1. The overall budget of $65.9 million — up $25.4 million over last year — is so much higher largely because the forthcoming $14.4 million City Hall and parking structure complex is included.
The proposed budget also adds revenues of $8.5 million tied to a state revolving fund loan to provide funding of about $8 million for the Haskill Basin conservation easement purchase from F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co.
A final budget hearing is expected to be scheduled for Aug. 17.
The council will hold a public hearing before it delves into more discussion and decisions over the design and cost issues for the City Hall and parking structure project.
Because the council on March 2 voted to set the cost limit for the City Hall/parking structure project at $13 million, the council must decide whether to make cuts to the building project — estimated at $14.7 million — or raise the tax-increment bond to cover the higher cost figure.
The meeting begins at 7:10 p.m. at Whitefish City Hall.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.