The rising cost of city services

Many people, when they think of what makes great cities, imagine parks and plazas, museums and theaters, grand vistas and historic buildings. They might envision riverside cafes in Paris, drama and dance on Broadway, or gothic cathedrals in Italy.

Lost in this reverie are the drab or sometimes ugly essentials that make cities function — the pipes and tanks and drains beneath the ground.

It's worth noting, however, that the primary function of cities is providing for the health, safety and welfare of its citizens. In a modern world, this translates into water, sewage and storm water infrastructure, as well as police, fire and ambulance services.

In recent years, Whitefish has done a fine job in providing its citizens with a performing arts theater, public library, ice skating arena, health and fitness facility, skatepark, ball fields and a growing network of bike paths. Lined up this year and the next are a second performing arts theater, about $3 million worth of additional bike paths, a bike-jumping facility and maybe even a recreational trail circumnavigating Whitefish Lake.

Much of the above has been accomplished by private efforts. The city could play an active role in implementing a $76 million downtown master plan, including paying $3.2 million for Depot Park and $3.6 million for a new City Hall. That's on top of the $3.5 million it could cost to build a new police, fire/ambulance and city court building on Baker Avenue.

Sliding into public focus is a long list of expensive public infrastructure projects — some in response to rapid growth, some the result of inevitable decay and deterioration, and some mandated by stricter environmental regulations.

These include a $1.3 million water main routed under the Whitefish River possibly this year, a $1 million water main routed under the BNSF Railway tracks next year, a $1.4 million water main routed up Texas Avenue to the city's reservoir and a $1.5 million water tank possibly constructed above Baker Avenue.

That's on top of a $5.3 million capital improvements plan for the city's sewer system. The city will also have to replace much of the infrastructure beneath Spokane, Baker and Second streets as part of the U.S. Highway 93 reconstruction project.

All told, the city of Whitefish could see $15 million to $20 million in water, sewer and storm water infrastructure costs over the next five to 10 years.

The city can expect to get about half its sewer costs paid through grants, and a $600,000 grant will help pay for the water main project in 2007, but at least three-quarters of these future infrastructure costs will be funded by a combination of low-interest state loans, rate hikes and plant investment fees paid by new development.

The price of energy and real estate is not all that's going up these days. Keeping up with the demands of growth and the replacement of worn-out infrastructure will also tax the pocketbook.

This is not to suggest that Whitefish residents should give up on their dreams of building a beautiful and unique community, but they should be aware of less obvious costs that lurk just on the horizon. To help out, the Whitefish Pilot will continue to report on new city projects and keep readers informed on this important topic.