Panel at full strength

Commissioners choose three new members

Connie Leistiko, Terry Peterson and Kristi Hatfield are the new members of the Flathead County Library Board.

The Flathead County Commissioners unanimously appointed the three Thursday, bringing the five-person board up to full strength.

Leistiko will complete the four years that remain of the Kalispell seat's term, opened by the resignation of Kala Lougheed. Seven people applied for the position.

Peterson will complete the one year remaining on the Whitefish seat's term, opened by the resignation of Jerry Hanson. Two people applied for that position.

Hatfield will complete the two years remaining on the Columbia Falls seat's term, opened by the shift of Laura Long to the then-empty Bigfork position. Five people applied for that slot.

Commissioners Gary Hall and Dale Lauman said they avoided any e-mail and other lobbying on the appointments. Commissioner Joe Brenneman said a few people spoke to him about the appointments, but they did not include present or past library board members or Stewart Harvey, director of the library's fundraising foundation.

That's in contrast to the lobbying prior to the commissioners' early July library board shuffling that reflected some intense behind-the-scenes library politics - resulting in the three openings.

On July 2, the commissioners chose not to reappoint Anne Moran to the Whitefish seat, transferred Long from the Columbia Falls position to the Bigfork seat to reflect her change of residence, appointed newcomer Jane Lopp to the at-large position, and transferred Hanson from the at-large seat to the Whitefish slot, reportedly without warning and against his wishes.

Hanson and Lougheed soon resigned in protest - contending that the traditional appointment process was circumvented by behind-the-scenes politics.

Prior to the commissioners' unanimous decisions on Moran and Hanson, Harvey sent an e-mail to Hall that suggested the moves that occurred with Moran and Hanson - speculating that Lougheed and Hanson would resign in protest.

Hall forwarded that e-mail to Lauman and Brenneman. Brenneman and Lauman said they did not see the e-mail and had not discussed the matter with Hall prior to the July 2 vote.

The library board and politics have been split on whether the former grocery should be seriously considered as a site for a potential new $16 million main library, and on how much the board should be involved in the library's administration.

Moran, Lougheed and Hanson opposed the Tidyman's site because of a lack of money, plus the potential legal liability over an unknown amount of oil pollution beneath the site.

The three also had a strained relationship with the library administration.