Are “We the People” being represented by our local government? The council and mayor were elected to their position but they have forgotten who they are representing. I agree the current City Hall building is no longer acceptable, but at what cost? The council needs to go back to the drawing board and come up with something more fiscally responsible.
We are just coming out of a recession and many of us are barely holding onto our homes. Our council should be supporting all our citizens by finding ways to keep our property taxes low. To be a successful tourist town you need year-round citizens. It is partially because of the services we provide that tourist come here.
When I ask other people in the community how they feel about the new City Hall, I have heard an unanimous response. Tone down the current building plans and, most importantly, the cost to build it. People have agreed it needs to be moved from its current location and near the police and fire department.
As to the land where our current City Hall is, make it a parking lot! The council keeps saying it is trying to revamp downtown to make it more tourist friendly, but it is almost impossible to park. We have more and more quality entertainment coming to downtown, but the struggle to find parking is preventing people from coming. Give the property a more park like feel with a “Welcome to Downtown Whitefish” sign, American and Canadian flags, and how about one area set up for local mobile food concessionaires? The concessionaires could rotate weekly so tourist could quickly sample local food.
Has our current council and mayor been talking and listening to the people they are supposed to be representing or are they being led by a report written by an out-of-state company? “We the People” are saying clearly we are not happy with the current plan. It is not too late to correct the mistake.
Elizabeth Askew
Whitefish