Peace Park gets OK'd by council

With an “atta boy” for developing a

nice community park, the Whitefish City Council didn’t hesitate

July 18 in granting Ryan Zinke’s request for a five-year lease to

the Great Northern Veterans Peace Park Foundation for a corner of

city-owned cemetery land.

When it was discovered that city law

precluded using any portion of cemetery land for a purpose other

than as a cemetery, Zinke, a Republican state senator from

Whitefish, helped pass a bill through the Legislature clarifying

that a portion of cemetery grounds unsuitable for use as a cemetery

may be used for other public purposes.

The sledding hills in the park are

separated from Whitefish Cemetery by Ramsey Avenue and the

topography and separation from the current cemetery leaves the land

north and east of Ramsey as unsuitable for use as a cemetery.

Zinke got the ball rolling on the

Veterans Peace Park three years ago by obtaining an old gravel pit

near the Whitefish Cemetery from BNSF Railway Co. for use as a

recreation area. The initial goal was to create a prime sledding

hill for children.

After discovering his old neighborhood

play area still undeveloped, Zinke began a mission to secure the

open space for the public. He envisioned that the gentle slopes

with a bowl as a great setup not just for sledding but also

concerts in the summer.

With its view of Big Mountain and

Whitefish Lake, the site stuck him as also ideal for a veterans

park.

Council members Chris Hyatt and Bill

Kahle said they’ve used the park for sledding with their children

and have found it an asset to Whitefish.

Zinke told the council that landscaping

will begin this year to ready the property for summer concerts.

“I see it as a future icon of

Whitefish,” he said, adding that the bowl-shaped area could

accommodate up to 2,500 people for concerts.

Another goal is to establish a Frisbee

golf course at the park.