Residency question could force change

The Whitefish City Council may have a new council member on Monday.

At press time on Friday, city officials were still researching ways to resolve a residency issue with newly appointed member Martin McGrew, whose home sits on county property.

Turner Askew, the candidate who tied with McGrew in the election but lost his council bid when the council chose McGrew, was asked to pick up a council packet and be prepared for Monday's meeting "just in case," Askew said Friday.

City Manager Gary Marks said the residency issue still is being researched by City Attorney John Phelps, but confirmed that Askew was put on notice to be ready for the meeting.

"We don't know what the outcome will be," Marks said. "The charter does clearly say the council will be the judge of its own membership. Pending legal review, the council may need to make a decision on how to proceed."

A public-works employee on Tuesday discovered that part of the lot on which McGrew lives has never been annexed into the city.

McGrew lives at 545 Ramsey Ave. on a long lot that runs north and south. The northern half of the lot, which is vacant, was annexed by the city, while the southern half of the lot, on which McGrew's home is situated, is an island of county property.

McGrew said he was unaware of the discrepancy and considers himself a city resident because he pays city taxes, uses city water and has voted in city elections.

Marks said the case is so unusual that it has been difficult to find any precedent on to how to handle it.

"It's a matter of was he a legal candidate?" Marks said. "If he wasn't, then Turner won" the election.

Laws governing residency are fresh in Whitefish officials' minds after dealing with a lawsuit over council member John Muhlfeld's residency. In that case, Muhlfeld's residency was challenged with a claim that Muhlfeld was not a legal candidate because he was residing outside city limits prior to the election.

A district judge ruled in favor of Muhlfeld on the grounds that even though he spent time out of the city for his job and personal life, he maintained his city home, paid the mortgage and utilities, kept a majority of his possessions there, received mail at the address and had a voter registration card with the city address.

State law says a person is not eligible to be a city council member unless he or she is a resident for at least 60 days preceding the election. Another state law says a person doesn't lose residency if he or she "goes into another state or other district … for temporary purposes with the intention of returning."

It remains to be seen how those state laws will apply to McGrew's case.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com