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CITY MANAGER’S REPORT July 1, 2020 COVID-19 PANDEMC UPDATE As of the date of this report and after having gone two months with no new cases, Flathead County has reported over 20 new case of COVID-19 since June 13th. Furthermore, Flathead County has confirmed community spread within the Valley. We must continue to be vigilant in our efforts to prevent the spread in our community by washing and sanitizing frequently, practicing physical distancing of 6 feet, and wearing a mask in public, especially when social distancing of 6 feet cannot be maintained. The Flathead Community Health Center is operating a COVID-19 testing site on Thursdays from 12:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. and Fridays from 7:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. in the Whitefish High School parking lot. This site is setup to test individuals who do not have of a respiratory illness and it is completely free! While is it designed for workers who interact with customers regularly, anyone who wants to be tested may do so. Availability is on a first come, first serve basis. While many event organizers are canceling events throughout Montana, the City anticipates certain special events to continue this summer. As directed by the Governor, the City is requiring all special event organizers to work with the Flathead City-County Health Department to ensure their event has put into place all safety measures to meet the Governor’s guidelines for Phase Two prior to the City’s approval. The Health Department has noted that the turn-around for event reviews is about three days. WWTP UPDATE FROM PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR WORKMAN Swank is making excellent progress on the wastewater treatment plant. To date they have completed the mass excavation for the project including all of the grading for the reactor basins, Grit Building, Main Process Building and the Biosolids Treatment Basin. The Effluent Diffuser has been installed in the Whitefish River and was done so in compliance with the permits issued by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks and the US Army Corps of Engineers. The Majority of the yard piping has been completed for the project including the new effluent line from the plant to the river and the 1,600 feet of non-potable water line from the plant to the screening building. This new non-potable line is one of the ways we will be recycling treated wastewater at the plant and will eliminate the use of more than four million gallons of potable water per month. The Retaining wall has been built along the Rocksund trail and the shared use path has been restored. Vertical construction is now well underway at the plant and reactor floor as well as several of the 25’ tall reactor walls have been constructed. The only significant change order encountered was due to unexpected soil conditions at the site. The foundation plan was designed based on several geotechnical borings which were advanced at the site. The borings revealed a suitable bearing sand layer approximately 26’ – 30’ below ground. A rammed aggregate pier foundation system was designed to reach this bearing sand layer. Unfortunately, during the early stages of the foundation work it was discovered that this bearing sand layer dives down significantly on the southern portion of the treatment plant pad. The RAP system could not be constructed to this depth and changes were required to obtain sufficient structural capacity for the reactor basins and part of the main process building. The solution involved a combination of poured concrete rigid inclusions and structural geofoam and resulted in $304,860 in additional cost. To date, Swank has billed us for $4,847,147 with $15,362,668 remaining for a total contract amount of $20,209,816. ---PAGE BREAK--- Photos courtesy of Randy Reynolds ---PAGE BREAK--- DEPOT PARK PROJECT UPDATE FROM PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR WORKMAN The City issued a Certificate of Substantial Completion to Knife River for the Depot Park Phase III Project on Thursday 6/25/2020. Central Avenue has been reopened and the first Farmers Market was held on the reconstructed roadway on 6/30/2020. This phase of the project included a plaza area with a planter and raised seating wall at the southwest corner of Depot Park, a variety of landscape features, improved lighting, bicycle and pedestrian amenities, and a completely reconstructed Central Avenue from Railway Street to Depot Street. The design also incorporated removable bollards to safely close Central Avenue for events. Although a few punch list items remain, such as the installation of a bus shelter, parking signage, and some minor landscape finishes, this milestone marks the completion of the Depot Park Masterplan, which was drafted in 2012 and updated in 2017. Residents, business owners, and visitors alike will enjoy the benefits of this successfully completed plan for generations to come. ---PAGE BREAK--- WHITEFISH FIRE SERVICE AREA On June 29, 2020, the Whitefish Fire Service Area, Fire Chief Page, and I mutually agreed to terminate the agreement for fire protection service as of June 30, 2021 and negotiate a new contract with a minimum of a two-year term. All parties agreed that the contract should not automatically renew for an additional one- year term beginning July 1, 2021, as written. The City is seeking an increase in the payment for service more than the 1.9% currently in the agreement. We will hold our next negotiating session in mid-July and hope to have a contract settled by the end of September. OTHER ITEMS City staff have been working diligently to update the current website. The updated website will allow increased accessibility and make notifications; alerts; reporting issues and paying bills easier. We are looking forward to enhanced community engagement and communication through this new web portal to the city. City staff has also prepared the attached brochure to assist downtown employees with finding all day parking places as re-parking will be prohibited starting July 1, 2020. ---PAGE BREAK--- NEXT COUNCIL MEETING The next City Council meeting will be held on Monday, July 20th, in the City Council Chambers. A work session is tentatively schedule for the review of the draft Sustainable Tourism Master Plan. Respectfully submitted, Dana M. Smith, CPA City Manager ---PAGE BREAK--- DOWNTOWN PARKING Q&A Q. Q. I work downtown, where can I park? I work downtown, where can I park? A. There are many unrestricted parking options within walking distance of downtown. Q. Does Whitefish Provide lease . Does Whitefish Provide lease parking? parking? A. Whitefish provides leased parking in the Parking Facility located at the corner of East 1st Street and Baker Avenue. The Parking Facility provides 62 covered spaces on the 2nd Level, 75 uncovered spaces on the 3rd Level; leased by the month or year. Q. Q. Can I re-park my vehicle? Can I re-park my vehicle? A. Effective July 1, 2020, re-parking is prohibited. Parking Facility Q. Q. What is re-parking? What is re-parking? A. Re-parking is minimally shuffling the parking location of your vehicle to comply with time restrictions. As of July 1, 2020 you must move your parked vehicle at least “out of the block face” or parking lot before a posted time limit expires. Q. Q. When can a vehicle return to the When can a vehicle return to the initial block face? initial block face? A. Vehicles cannot return to the initial block face or parking lot sooner than two hours following expiration of the initial time period. Q. Q. Why is re-parking prohibited? Why is re-parking prohibited? A. To ensure customers of downtown businesses can find convenient parking; encourage turnover of high-demand parking spaces; and discourage employees from shuffling their vehicles. Q. Q. Where does it apply? Where does it apply? A. The no re-parking applies to any public parking space with a time restriction. ---PAGE BREAK--- Q. Q. How do I comply with no re-parking? How do I comply with no re-parking? A. Park in one of the many locations within a short walk of the downtown core where all-day parking is allowed. Q. Q. Why would I want to park so far from Why would I want to park so far from my workplace? my workplace? A. If you use an all-day parking space you can expect • Less stress about enforcement • No need to move your vehicle every 2-3 hours • Better experience for our customers by improving parking availability. Q. Q. Why does Whitefish not provide Why does Whitefish not provide better parking for downtown employees? better parking for downtown employees? A. The city is working towards creating an employee parking permit program with input from a Parking Permit Implementation Committee. The permit program will debut in 2021. City of Whitefish 418 East Second Street Whitefish, MT 59937 [PHONE REDACTED] www.cityofwhitefish.org