Whitehall, MT

This party was for anyone from the community wanting to contribute their ideas to the Future Vision on Whitehall. The following questions and ideas were on the tables, and the answers were anonymous.

What words best describe Whitehall Now and in the Future?
Now: There aren’t many curbs or gutters, but the theatre is reasonably priced.
Future: We need better sidewalks, and walking/biking trails. There needs to be decorate street
lamps also.

Is ALL change bad?
Sometimes change is bad, but not always

What is change?
Change is continuous. Sometimes you notice it and sometimes you don’t
Evolution
All living things grow and change
When one thing becomes another

What is the best thing about Whitehall?
The location and people
Skate Park
Weather
The scenery and recreational opportunities
Good selection of churches and a nice library

How much growth is TOO much growth?
Places like Bozeman have too much growth
Having to have stoplights and more traffic reports
When the infrastructure begins to fail from too much use
Pollution, and too much farm land covered with cement
Malls are an example of too much growth

Is there a “correct amount” of growth?
No
Yes, if the infrastucture and housing keeps pace
Only if it is proportionate to the jobs available
No, you cannot figure things that way

When we use the word “Future”, how long are we talking about?
1 year
10 years
Things coming in our tomorrows
When current children become adults

If you had $20,000 to spend on this community, what would you do?
Pay the balance owing on the new pool strucutre
Improve the sidewalks because they are in disrepair

If you had $100,000 to spend on this community, what would you do?
Help support the face lift of old buildings in town
Make the skate park bigger with easier equipment for beginners

What is the best thing about Whitehall?
The good selection of churches
A nice library
Swimming pool
A great place to raise children
A wonderful playground

What is the worst thing about Whitehall?
Blowing dust and the wind
The drug problem
Trash
The small town mentality
Too much “lip” service, and not enough action by residents
The crumbling sidewalks, curbs, and overgrowth of weeds
The streets are in disrepair
The children in poverty

What made you decide to live in Whitehall?
Business opportunites
Beauty of the surrounding country
Seattle was too big
An airport and affordable housing
We selected Whitehall to be our retirement home 30 years ago

What do you do in your free time that is specific to Whitehall and the surrounding area?
Skate at the skate park
Go to the farmer’s market to buy eggs from the Amish and tomatoes from the Silver Star
greenhouse
Go to the museum
Play flag football
Hike and fly fish

What types of businesses would be welcome in Whitehall?
Affordable high-tech businesses
Specialty medicine
Any business the town would support
Shops for younger people like toy stores, video game shops, and card shops
Community supported agriculture

How would you define “capacity building”?
Helping our people gain skills to make our town a better place
Understanding where we are going and building to support it

What do you like about Whitehall?
The peace and serenity

What is needed for the future of Whitehall?
The town needs to be ready for growth
More communication between the county and city
No piece meal annexing, we don’t want to be like Belgrade
More affordable housing and bigger rentals with low upkeep for seniors, and more upscale
Use of the Candlestick ranch
More businesses
Maybe a historical theme
Attractive fronts on buildings in Whitehall
Improvements on the bowling alley

What do you like and want to keep in Whitehall?
The pool, skate park movie theater, gas stations and grocery store
It is a small town
Tennis courts
Limited amount of traffic
Farmer’s Market
Youth Groups
Everyone knows everyone
The schools are small enough to still have 1 on 1 time with teachers
Everything is within walking distance

What makes school hard?
Drugs
Distractions
Cliques
School rules
Adults look down on children
Racism
Children not in sports don’t feel they have a place

What do you want to have in Whitehall?
An activity center with pool and bowling
Whitehall needs to stay small
More activities like a mini golf course, paint ball area, arcade, skating rink for summer and winter
The swimming pool being year round
McDonald’s
Clean up of the Cowdry Courts
Improved law enforcement with more drug raids and more attention focused on sexual predators
Better basketball courts
A La Crosse team
Improved turf on the football field and track
Better bleachers and an announcer’s booth
Motocross track
More industry jobs and jobs that prepare you for the future
Babe Ruth baseball field
University
More grocery stores

What do you like about Whitehall?
It is a good community that is friendly and caring.
It maintains a small town tradition
Library
Medical and EMT service
The Senior Center bus
You can depend on your neighbors

What growth and change do you want for Whitehall?
A willingness to change
Open mindedness to good jobs
Walking Trails
Gardens
Improvement of the sidewalks and beautification of town
A firm growth plan with public input
Enforcement of the dog and cat ordinance
A city to city relationship
Affordable housing for seniors
Proactive zoning that meets the needs of residents
Keeping our traditional values

How do you see Whitehall now?
Whitehall has a receptiveness for new business and people with disabilities
Whitehall is very comparable to Columbus with the friendliness, culture, appreciation of hard work
and a nice entrance to town
The mine has brought in a fresh perspective

What could be enhanced in Whitehall?
Walking trails and parks
Stronger marketing of our murals and the historical parts of our area with a theme for the
community
Medical facilites in the future for the ambulance, etc.
Expand the library
Make a positive visual image by picking up trash, rewarding people for keeping this up
Ensure that travelers feel safe so people will be more willing to stay
Have Clays in Calico next to the A & W to draw people

What would you like to see in Whitehall?
Mentoring, community projects, and connections to higher education to help children out of
poverty
A plan for growth
More teaching and educational opportunities for young children, because there is a waiting list
now for Headstart, clearly showing we need more opportunities
Daycare with the high school
We need to maintain our identity because our children will want that in the future
A large diversity in kinds of businesses
Early age daycare
Nursing Home
All types of child care!!!

What does Whitehall need to maintain or sustain?
The pride in our community
School system
Swimming pool
The civic groups in town
The fact that Whitehall works well together in the face of tragedy

How is Whitehall doing on the Whitehall 2010 vision?
It is doing well and many improvements have been made, and leadership understands the speed
of small communities.

What do you like about Whitehall?
The location and size of town
The attractive entrance to town
Class size is small
Good community involvement with the ambulance and school
Youth opportunities such as the pool and the skate park
The amount of young families
Strong sense of community
Whitehall is safe for children
The beauty of the area, and the lack of development
The amount of services
Direction of the education system
People are still friendly

What do you want for the future of Whitehall?
Recognition for at risk youth and families
More advertising for the good point we have
Golf course
Recognition of youth interests and desires
After school care with more school programs directed at youth
Daycare!!!
Daycare at the school for minor parents
Vocational opportunities for those not interested in college
Sustainable youth recreational center
Family and parenting workshops and education
Strong enforcement of ordinances and laws
Better weed control
A hospital and more health care beyond the hospital
More small businesses
Downtown beautification with a main attraction
Keeping access to recreational lands
Address the illegal substance issue in Whitehall
Better sidewalks
Walking trails
Nicer rentals that make people wanting to be proud of them

What are the problems with growth in Whitehall?
The class size is growing
There will be safety issues with new people moving in
Subdivision are too expensive for beginning families and retired couples
Enrollments in school will shift
Impact fees will be positive for the school
There is no early child care for learning, let alone basic child care

What do you like about Whitehall?
Events like Frontier Days and the Christmas Stroll
Rodeo events and sporting events
Nice and polite children
The large number of willing volunteers
Numerous churches with good attendance
Nice weather
Things become quiet after 5:00pm
The townspeople are friendly
Whitehall has the outdoors close, but is close to larger towns
It is a safe community where everyone knows each other
Property values are reasonable
Whitehall has a long history and some people who have left have returned again.

What are your ideas for types of Economic Development?
Growth from small and medium firms
Light manufacturing of specialty products
Capitalization on location in regards to shipping, etc.
Home health care organizations
Recreational opportunities
Walking trails

What is needed for the future of Whitehall?
Thoughtful growth
Sustainability as a small community
Provide opportunities for the young
Replace Golden Sunlight Mine taxes and employment by developing small and medium businesses
Ensure that the conservation resources are protected
Upgrade of our infrastructure like the streets, sewer and telecom

What is changing in Whitehall?
The changing population in Whitehall has caused an increase in calls and caused more major trauma calls. With the increase in population, we need more volunteers, coverage and more search and rescue activity.

What would be beneficial for Whitehall?
Growth in the medical field with specialty medicine
St. James Trauma Center with resource for an expansion of medical services
Urgent Care Center with extended hours
A better stocked rural ambulance
Increased support from the County government
People outside our city limits need to be able to have a say about emergency services
Formalized mutual aid agreements with surrounding counties
A person designated to serve as a resource for domestic violence, something like Safe Harbor
Reinstall a human service satellite office in Whitehall
Diversity awareness with sensitivity training
Date Rape education
Vocational awareness for children

What do you like about Whitehall?
The small size of the town
The size of the school
Safety
The location is great for recreational opportunities and is close to larger cities
People in the area are friendly
The amount of volunteers
The Senior Center

What type of businesses would be good in Whitehall?
Distribution center
Capitalizing on local talent, art, etc.
A Made in Whitehall website to market products
An art school

What changes/services are needed in Whitehall?
Better affordable housing
Daycare
More job opportunities
Educational opportunities and GED opportunities
More services like a job service
We need to get control of the drug and alcohol problem
Better jobs