Sustainable tourism topic of discussion for Whitefish

As visitors continue to pack Whitefish even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Whitefish City Council tonight will get a first look at a new Sustainable Tourism Management Plan for the city.

The plan is the culmination of more than two years of work by a volunteer committee, several consultants and advisers to the committee, and will be reviewed during a council work session that begins at 6 p.m. at Whitefish City Hall.

The council had planned to review the management plan on March 16, but the work session was canceled due to COVID-19.

“Since that initially scheduled work session, our world has fundamentally changed,” committee chair Lauren Oscilowski wrote in a letter to the council. But after reviewing the plan again in mid-July, the committee believes the document, with some minor modifications, “provides a solid framework in which to tackle” sustainable tourism management.

“Our biggest takeaway from this experience has been that a strong and sustainable tourism economy touches all facets of our community and various economic sectors,” Oscilowski said. “There is not one single answer to addressing sustainable tourism.”

The management plan was driven by the “concern that too much visitation will diminish the quality of life that the community values and that visitors find so attractive,” the plan’s executive summary points out.

It looks at the areas of tourism, economic diversification, housing and development, environment and transportation, providing recommended goals and actions to address concerns that emerged from public input and data analysis.

The Sustainable Tourism Management Plan committee is recommending a standing committee be formed to work on the identified action items in the plan, and to address the long-term impacts COVID-19 may have on the tourism economy.

During the regular council meeting that begins at 7:10 p.m., the council will consider appointing selection and interview panel for the Edgewood Place and Texas Avenue reconstruction project that’s next in line for resort tax funding. The city’s capital improvement program has budgeted $2 million for the reconstruction that will include upgrades to the roads and utility lines, along with pedestrian improvements. It includes 2,530 feet of Edgewood from Wisconsin Avenue to the county line, as well as 3,500 feet of Texas Avenue, from Edgewood to the north end of Texas.