WEEKLY ROUNDUP

Whitefish plans Armory Park upgrades

A new playground is the latest improvement to Armory Park in Whitefish, but it’s just one of several future improvements planned for the park on the east edge of town.

Armory Park is the city’s largest park including the 5-acre Hugh Rogers WAG Dog Park, two softball fields, a lacrosse field, the Dave Olseth Skate Park and the Roy Duff Memorial Armory, a facility used for a variety of purposes.

In 2012 the Armory Park master plan was created.

“We’re looking to move forward with phases of that master plan,” Parks and Recreation Director Maria Butts said.

Future plans include constructing a bike path to travel the perimeter of the park, a paved parking lot on the southern edge of the park, a well for irrigation, an adult fitness area, a pavilion and a picnic area.

Funds from the resort tax, paved trail impact fees, parkland acquisition and development funds, and stormwater funds have been allocated to the project, along with Land and Water Conservation Fund grant funds.

— Whitefish Pilot

Mineral County deals with graffiti

Graffiti has shown up at a few places in Mineral County and has some residents talking.

The anarchy symbol and an open teardrop are two such examples.

The “circle-A,” is a common anarchist symbol and has been used since the 19th century. The teardrop is commonly used by gangs, but it has many meanings.

Speculation can lead to all types of rumors as local law enforcement is aware of this vandalism, but not concerned.

“Where it’s been painted is just off of I-90 and places we’ve noticed people pull off and use as a ‘natural restroom’ especially at night,” said Mineral County Sheriff Mike Toth. “That’s not to say that incidents like this should be ignored. We always encourage people to keep an eye out for suspicious people or activities and let us know.”

Sgt. Shawn Smalley with the Montana Highway Patrol agrees and believes it’s not serious.

“I am not aware of antifa setting up in our area at this time. DOT (Department of Transportation) would be in charge of painting over it,” when asked which department should remove or cover it.

The affected area at the Tarkio exit has already been handled.

— Mineral Independent

Whitefish council rejects parking lot plan

After hearing several comments that adding a parking lot on Kalispell Avenue would erode the neighborhood, the Whitefish City Council last week shot down a proposal to construct the lot on the alley side of the street.

The plan called for using four lots to construct a commercial parking lot to provide parking for an adjacent office building on the corner of Spokane Avenue and East Third Street. The front of the lots facing Kalispell Avenue would have contained two new townhomes.

Councilor Rebecca Norton said the project was just too much for the street.

“I don’t want to set a precedent that would take away one of the most charming streets in town,” she said. “We need to preserve our historic neighborhoods in town.”

The city received about 25 letters against the proposal, while it got less than half that number from those supporting the project.

Jake Carter, who applied for the conditional-use permit for the parking lot, said the goal was to create a compromise by constructing the townhomes along with the parking lot.

A similar permit request to develop a parking lot on the lots was denied by the council in 2012. That proposal used the entire four lots for parking that went right up to Kalispell Avenue.

— Whitefish Pilot

Hot Springs water and sewer rates going up

The Hot Springs Town Council last week approved increases to water and sewer rates following a public hearing where no opponents or proponents showed up.

“We haven’t had an increase in water or sewer rates since 2008,” said Mayor Randal Woods. “Everything involved is getting more expensive and we have to stay on top of keeping the system operational and updated.”

The council met the night after the hearing and approved the increase in base rates, along with authorizing a 2% increase per year over the next five years.

Woods said the Montana Rural Water agency came to Hot Springs earlier this year and went through expenses, operations and other factors and came up with recommendations to keep the water and sewer systems operating up to state standards.

Woods cited such things as the town’s sewage lagoons, which have outlived their expected effectiveness, fire hydrants that are wearing out and other pieces of the systems infrastructure that have begun failing due to prolonged wear and tear.

He noted that many other towns in the region have experienced similar challenges and expense increases.

— Clark Fork Valley Press