Pedestrian & Bicycle Path Advisory Committee

Pedestrian and Bicycle Path Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes January 3, 2022 Committee Members Present: John Repke, Jim DeHerrera, John Phelps, Mary Behrendt, and Doug Reed City Staff Present: Carla Belski, Craig Workman, and Karin Hilding A. The meeting was called to order 8:31 a.m. B. Jim moved to approve the minutes. John Repke seconded. Approved. C. Public Comment: a. Jedd Sankar-Gorton, Whitefish Legacy Partners, reported that the 7 replacement highway wayfinding signs are being installed by Public Works Department. Jedd thanked Public Works and said that they are excited to complete this project, which involved 7 years of planning. WLP received grant support from the Whitefish Convention and Visitors Bureau and Montana Office of Tourism. D. New Business E. Old Business a. River Bend Condos: Craig reported that there has not been a formal response from the letter sent by the city attorney to the condo association. The city received a verbal response from their attorney that he was advising the association to work with the city to identify the easement. Once we receive something in writing from the association, Public Works will move forward with an RFP for engineering design of the trail. John Phelps additionally reported that he found an aerial photo of the boardwalk along the river in the early 80’s which would have established the easement location. John requested that staff engage with the committee as this project moves forward to discuss the moving parts and multiple parties involved including homeowners, FWP, DNRC, etc. b. Viaduct Improvements: The RFP for an engineer for the improvements will be closing this week. This project will be scaled down version of what was submitted for the MDT grant with the primary goal being to create wider paths on either side of the viaduct. There will be opportunities for public comment during the design phase. c. Malmquist Easement: John Repke reminded everyone that Casey Malmquist is hoping that his path design can be coordinated with the Riverbend path design, and he intends to start construction this spring. Craig reported that it will be a challenge juggling with homeowners while creating a design acceptable with FWP and DNRC. The conditional use permit does include an ADA designed trail  that is designed in the only place feasible to maintain ADA status. The location is locked in with a little flexibility on the south end to connect to Riverbend trail. d. Safe Routes to Schools: A sub-group is forming to work on this project including the principals of WF Middle and Muldown Schools, Bridger, staff, and Bike/Ped rep. Meeting planned for some time in January to discuss safety issues and plans to address them including potential improvements. May plan for Bike to School Day this year again. Karin will reach out to Vonda. Climate Action Committee would like to support some bike ped projects. KLJ has some ideas for Fifth St. and Kalispell Ave. improvements. e. FWP Project Approval: A draft version of the guidelines are being edited by Public Works and Parks. Plan to meet with Kenny with FWP this spring. Guidelines will include a checklist that the city will go through when planning paths along the river. Plan is to also select priority sections that the city wants to complete. This process will hopefully streamline future approval process. Bruce reported that it currently takes about 3 months to get a 310 permit. F. Parks and Recreation Comments: No comments. G. Public Works Comments: Craig reported that he received an email from the Duck Inn owners that included a long list of concerns related to the proposed trail. They would like to see a specific design drawn up, timing of project, etc. Craig will forward the email to the committee. H. Committee Comments: John P. requested that the committee prioritize river trail sections to be completed. Karin commented that this would be included in the transportation plan. John P. also suggested that the committee request council backing on stalled projects. It was suggested that we check in with Dave Taylor to see if there are any plans for development on the Dalen and Les Schwab properties. I. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 7, 2022. J. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 a.m.