Wave speaks out on music policy

This letter is intended as an update to our members and the community regarding The Wave's music policy.

We are currently in the process of working with certain members who would like The Wave's music policy to incorporate their preference for Christian music. It is our absolute wish and primary goal to ensure that The Wave provides all members with a comfortable and enjoyable facility for their recreation and wellness needs. It is also our desire to be an inclusive facility, for our community and for individual members.

The Wave has never in the past and does not intend ever to bar members from use of the facility based upon the music they listen to. We do, however, have a need on behalf of all 4,600-plus members to set policy regarding practices, including the playing of audible music, that impact the facility and other members.

The board of directors is composed of seven volunteers who are committed to this organization and its members. We represent diverse religious and political backgrounds. We do not have any personal agendas, nor do we wish to interfere with people's desire to enjoy themselves while at The Wave.

We do not seek to exclude any religious viewpoints held by Wave members. By the same token, we do not intend to and indeed cannot promote The Wave as a place that favors any group, religion or person more than others. To date, but for one abstaining vote (Gayle Weinberg), our position on the music policy has been unanimous.

We have an obligation to our members and this community to act within the law. Our actions to this point have been driven solely and exclusively by our own understanding of our constitutional responsibilities, as a community-centered and, more importantly, publicly-owned facility. We have recently hired legal counsel to assist us in further understanding those responsibilities and implementing a policy that incorporates the goals we describe above.

In a nutshell, the First Amendment serves both to protect citizens' rights to free expression and free exercise of religion, but it also imposes an equally important burden on entities like the city of Whitefish and The Wave to avoid an endorsement and establishment of religion. That balance is complicated, not only at our community facility, but all over this free nation, as demonstrated time and again whenever these matters come before the courts and legislatures.

We make no promise to be legal scholars, but we do promise to obey our duty as board members to obey the law as we understand it. We believe that in working with not only a lawyer but also those concerned members, we can both stay within those boundaries and improve upon the music policy that is currently in place.

We regret that this issue has caused so much pain and consternation. Most of us in Whitefish see The Wave as a gift to this community. One of its founding intentions, reflected in large part by the many scholarship opportunities we provide, was to be inclusive and to provide a place where our whole community could recreate and grow together.

Despite the public impression that seems to have taken on a life of its own regarding the music policy, The Wave should be considered an absolute success for Whitefish. We thank you all for your continued support. We doubt that we can satisfy everyone's wishes, about music choice, locker size, fan speed, hours of operation and, of course, the list goes on. But we are committed to developing policies that fulfill our mission, serve our members and keep The Wave a great place for Whitefish.

Finally, while we cannot change what has already happened, the board is very hopeful and confident that a good outcome will result, with participation from all interested parties.

While we believe that this current public response is necessitated by the public outcry in recent months, we also believe that this issue ultimately needs to be resolved through work and knowledge, free from the kinds of personal attacks and passion that so often characterize debates in the newspaper.

No matter what you may have read, we can assure our members that the board has spent many hours trying to become knowledgeable and work toward a solution of this issue, albeit behind the scenes and not in the newspaper. We remain committed to that goal and are hopeful that in the very near future a true resolution can be gained.

Whitefish Wave board of directors Jim Alderson, Jim Lewis, Gary Marks (currently out of the country), Swithin McGrath, Dan Weinberg, Gayle Weinberg and Dave Williams