Dangerous dogs, $2.35M street rebuild top Whitefish agenda

The Whitefish City Council on Tuesday will consider authorizing the reconstruction design of a stretch of Edgewood Place, the first of two phases in a $5 million road improvement project funded by the city's resort tax.

Under preliminary plans presented to the council by Public Works Director Craig Workman, crews would rebuild Edgewood Place between Colorado Avenue and the eastern edge of the city between July and October at a cost of about $2.35 million. In 2022, crews would rebuild Texas Avenue from Edgewood to its northern end, bringing the total cost to $5 million.

"These two collector streets serve a vital role in the city's transportation network," Workman wrote in a memo to the council. "Edgewood Place is the only roadway providing ingress/egress to and from Whitefish on the north side of the viaduct, while Texas Avenue is the primary access to dozens of homes on the north side of town."

The council awarded an engineering contract for the project to Robert Peccia and Associates in September. Workman said they have conducted an extensive public comment process, and he's asked the council for permission to proceed with design work; later, he will ask the council for permission to solicit bids from construction contractors.

Under the proposal before the council, the reconstruction of Edgewood Place would involve replacing a 50-year-old water main, adding a sidewalk on the north side of the road, installing street lights and reducing the width of the road from 32 feet to 28 feet.

"We feel the reduction in recommended roadway width will help to calm traffic, while still providing the necessary space for bicyclists on the roadway," Workman wrote. "The reduced width will also help to maintain additional distance between the proposed improvements and the existing homes on the north side of the road."

Workman said the city gathered feedback from residents in the project area through public meetings and a questionnaire. He wrote that some raised concerns that a square-shaped curb would diminish the "rural feel" of the roadway, but he and the engineers believe that kind of curbing would offer better drainage, snow removal and safety for drivers.

"Therefore, staff is recommending the continuation of a vertical-face concrete curb and gutter from the intersection of Colorado Avenue to approximately 250 feet west of Texas Avenue," he wrote.

IN OTHER business, the council is expected to finalize an agreement with the owner of the Town Pump gas station and convenience store under construction at the corner of U.S. 93 and Montana 40. Town Pump representatives apologized in December after a contractor on the site cut down eight mature trees and damaged three others; they said the contractor removed the trees despite clear instructions that they should be preserved.

Frustrated by the error, council members in December agreed Town Pump should be required to plant two trees for each one that was damaged or removed, and each new tree should be mature and at least 20 feet tall. Town Pump hired an arborist from Bigfork who reached out to four nurseries; in a letter to the council, he wrote that none of the nurseries had trees that large.

Town Pump's arborist also opined that smaller trees would be easier to plant and have a bigger chance of survival. And the city's arborist agreed, writing, "Larger trees will be harder to establish because more of the roots will be cut when the tree is pulled from the nursery, and they will be harder to plant simply because of their size. Though it is possible to plant larger trees, research suggests that larger trees take longer to establish. A better long-term strategy is planting smaller trees that are more viable and achieve the same eventual goal."

The council on Tuesday will consider a memorandum of understanding with Town Pump requiring 22 smaller trees to be planted with input from the city's arborist. Town Pump also will be required to submit a landscaping plan that will protect the trees during construction of the gas station and the convenience store.

DANGEROUS DOGS are also on the council's agenda.

According to a memo from City Attorney Angie Jacobs, the council in 2018 passed an ordinance requiring residents to register any dogs deemed dangerous, meaning they bite or attack without provocation. But the council never set a fee for that registration, as other cities require.

Jacobs wrote that "the time is ripe" to establish the amount of the registration fee because the city has a pending criminal case involving a dangerous dog. She suggested setting the fee at $75 annually; dog owners would be required to pay that when submitting a form that includes the dog's age, breed, certificate of a rabies vaccination and microchip number, among other information.

Jacobs wrote that other Montana cities require owners of dangerous dogs to maintain insurance policies.

"Helena requires a surety bond of at least $50,000 payable to any person injured by a dangerous dog," she wrote. "Missoula does not charge a fee for registering a dangerous dog but does require the owner possess at least $25,000 in liability insurance, covering any injury the dog may cause while within the city, and that the city be named as an additional insured. Great Falls does not require a registration fee, but it includes maintaining a $100,000 insurance policy as a potential sentencing condition for a dangerous dog violation."

The council meeting will begin at 7:10 p.m. and be held remotely via Webex video conferencing. Instructions for tuning in and participating can be found on the city's website.

Reporter Chad Sokol can be reached at 758-4434 or csokol@dailyinterlake.com