Interim manager takes the helm

By JOHN STANG/Daily Inter Lake

Myrt Webb of Columbia Falls is now Kalispell's interim city manager.

The Kalispell City Council voted 8-0 Monday to hire Webb to fill the job vacated by the firing of City Manager Jim Patrick two weeks ago. Council member Jim Atkinson was absent Monday.

The council also voted publicly Monday to end Patrick's tenure.

Webb took over Tuesday morning. He is expected to fill the post until a new permanent city manager is hired, which is expected to be in four to six months.

Webb's contract calls for a salary of $4,000 a month, with no health or retirement benefits.

Former council member Bob Herron questioned the speed of hiring Webb slightly more than a week after Patrick's termination.

"What's the hurry to appoint an interim city manager? It seems like every time we get in a hurry, we make a mistake. How many of you have met him? How many of you have interviewed him? … Do you have the guts to slow this down?" asked Herron, who lives north of town.

Mayor Pam Kennedy said she talked with individual council members.

Many agreed that the department heads - who likely would have to take turns filling the interim city manager's shoes - would be overburdened without an actual interim manager. Council members also wanted continuity in the city manager's chair from meeting to meeting.

Webb would help with figuring out how to hire a new city manager, Kennedy said.

Council member Hank Olson said Webb is familiar to many Kalispell leaders. "This just isn't someone coming stumbling off the street to do the job," Olson said.

Webb briefed the council on his background.

He is a retired U.S. Army colonel. After the military, he became the city manager of Colfax, Wash., and then city manager of Columbia Falls for three years. He later was an interim county administrator for Flathead County and manager of the Flathead County Solid Waste Department.

Webb also is on a committee backing the $10 million land and water conservation bond request on November's ballot.

The council expects to discuss how to approach hiring a new city manager next Monday.

Council members will consider whether to appoint a committee to search for a new city manager, or to tackle the job themselves.

A few council members are flirting with the idea of not requiring applicants to have city manager experience or public administration degrees. A few also are considering weighting the application process toward in-state candidates.

The council on Monday unanimously ratified Patrick's firing - a decision made in an Oct. 13 closed session and announced on Oct. 17.

The Daily Inter Lake questioned the legality of Patrick's termination decision because it was made during a closed session with no prior announcement of a vote or action to be taken.

Consequently, a public ratification vote was held Monday.

Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com