Utah man hired for Whitefish finance job

The Daily Inter Lake

The city manager of Bluffdale, Utah, has been hired as the new finance director and assistant city manager for the city of Whitefish.

Richard Knapp begins work March 16 in Whitefish. He replaces Mike Eve, who retired in late December and died Jan. 12 after battling renal-cell cancer.

Knapp has been the city manager at Bluffdale since October 2007; prior to that he was the finance director and Internet technology manager for the city of Cedar Hills, Utah, for three years.

He has a 2001 Bachelor of Science degree in business management, with an emphasis in information systems, and a 2004 Master of Public Administration degree, with emphases in city management and finance, both from Brigham Young University.

Knapp said he and his wife, Kellie, were drawn to Montana by the abundance of outdoor activities.

"I was raised in Seattle and my wife was raised in Las Vegas, so we are really excited for the new adventure," he said, adding that he found the Whitefish city staff to be 'very knowledgeable, professional and down to earth."

They have a 16-month-old daughter, Macy.

As part of Knapp's volunteer service in past years, he served as a full-time representative for his church in Taiwan, where he was fluent in Mandarin, taught classes, supervised other missionaries and worked 100-hour weeks.