Murdock prepared to balance growth, small-town character

For John Murdock, serving the community through local government should be about bringing balance to issues facing the public. He believes he can bring that balance to the Whitefish City Council.

Using his business experience and leadership skills honed in the Navy, Murdock is prepared to find common ground between growth in Whitefish and the need to preserve its unique qualities.

Murdock, who moved to Whitefish three years ago, is one of seven candidates vying for one of the three open seats on the council in the upcoming mail-in election.

Rapid growth is the biggest issue facing the community, he said. One of his key concerns is the need to keep the mountain village characteristics of Whitefish intact.

"That's the reason we all live here," he said of the community's small-town feel.

On the issue of the proposed critical areas ordinance, Murdock feels the city is setting itself up for major legal problems. He thinks the law created to protect Whitefish's water bodies through increased building regulations goes against personal property rights.

"It's an attempt to deal with a real problem, but as written the city is exposing itself to possible lawsuits," Murdock said.

He feels there are other technical means of protecting water bodies that need to be looked into, other than severely limiting building sites.

"The council needs to find some middle ground," Murdock said. "Right now things are quite divided."

Murdock also said he believes the Whitefish planning jurisdiction outside city limits is another place Whitefish should be careful in taking away landowners' property rights.

Landowners in the two-mile "doughnut" area must abide by regulations set forth by the City Council, though they have no representation on the council.

"The city and county are going to have to work closely on this," Murdock said.

Regarding the city's recently approved capital improvements plan, Murdock thinks the council should be looking closer at how money is allocated.

"I would be asking a lot of 'why' questions if I were on the council," he said. "Why do we need this? Why can't we get by with what we have? Why does it cost this much?"

Murdock said there needs to be a very careful review of the amount of money spent by the city.

"We need to look at all that is out there and then decide what is the best path," he said.

In terms of maximum building height requirements, Murdock said the regulations are very necessary.

"We are a village-like community," he said. "We need to keep that character consistent."

Murdock noted the narrow streets as a reason to keep building heights low, saying, "If we go any higher, downtown will look like a tunnel."

Murdock also feels strongly that Whitefish needs to re-evaluate its relationship with businesses in the Flathead Valley.

He said he doesn't want an uncontrolled business boom, but that a city like Whitefish needs a healthy business community.

"With the whole Safeway thing, Whitefish almost made a huge mistake," Murdock said, referring to Safeway's recent reconstruction proposal that became controversial when the council wanted various architectural changes made. "We can't afford to drive good businesses out of town."

If elected, Murdock said his only role would be as a public servant.

"City Council members are there for no other reason than to serve," he added.

Reporter Amy May may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at amay@dailyinterlake.com