Whitefish sets rates for parking garage

Leases for parking spaces inside Whitefish’s downtown parking structure have been set at $30 and $40 per month.

The lower rate is for uncovered parking spaces and the higher for covered or enclosed parking spaces. Whitefish City Council approved the rates at its meeting earlier this month.

The parking structure, which is attached to the new City Hall, is under construction currently and expected to open in spring of 2017.

Once opened, there will be 211 parking spaces inside the parking garage. Roughly half of those spaces could be used for leased spaces.

Plans are for leased parking to be located on the second and third decks. Retail parking would primarily be on the first floor and some short-term parking spaces would also be included.

The city contends that providing leased spaces will move employee cars off the street, freeing up those spaces closer to the retail shops and restaurants downtown.

City Council decided that depending upon public response to the lease rate, it will determine the final number of leased parking spaces and those for retail and quick-stop parking, according to City Manager Chuck Stearns.

Council narrowed its choices to two options. One would set the number of leased parking spots, both covered and uncovered, at 125 and leave the retail at 86 spaces. The second option would set the lease spots at 107 and the retail at 104 spaces.

The city will offer a 5 percent discount to lessees that commit to a one-year parking agreement. There will also be a bulk purchase discount — any one person or business that purchases three to five spaces will get a discount of 2 percent, and a purchase of more than five parking spaces would get a 5 percent discount.

The city is planning to use a license plate recognition system for the leased spaces. The cameras scan the license plates as the vehicle enters the garage and determines whether it is authorized to park there. If it’s not allowed or if the plate can’t be read because of snow, the system then notifies a technician.

The plan is for leased parking spaces to be reserved for 12 hours a day, either from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. or 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. At night and on weekends the entire parking structure would be free and unlimited parking.

Right now, the parking structure is scheduled for completion around April 7. Stearns proposed allowing for free and unlimited use of the parking structure from opening through April 30, 2017.

“I think this free period would be a nice gesture to the city’s residents and businesses who have supported or tolerated the construction and it also would get people to use and experience the parking structure,” Stearns said.