City candidates face off at forum

Kalispell City Council and mayor hopefuls faced off Tuesday at a candidates' forum that drew a packed house to the Hilton Garden Inn.

Mayor Pam Kennedy and her challenger Tammi Fisher provided some sparks for the debate when they clashed over ownership of City Hall.

Fisher restated her claim that the city sold the building to a New York firm after it purchased and began remodeling the former Wells Fargo bank building.

She said a lease/purchase document, laying out an $80,000 semiannual payment schedule, has the city leasing City Hall back from the New York firm. If the city goes bankrupt and cannot make payments, Fisher said, it loses the building.

Kennedy said the agreement does not turn City Hall over to any entity other than the city of Kalispell. The arrangement with the New York firm was a smart fiscal decision to avoid variable interest rates, she said, and lock in a fixed rate that stabilized the city's budgeting decisions.

The city is at no risk of going bankrupt, she said. City officials have explained in the past that the contract allows 30 days to cure any default, which easily could be covered from a number of other funds within the municipal budget.

In large part, however, Tuesday's debate among all six candidates was a congenial airing of local issues during the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce's monthly luncheon meeting.

Kennedy and Fisher were joined at the table by Ward 2 incumbent Hank Olson and his challenger Jeff Zauner, and Ward 3 incumbent Jim Atkinson and his challenger Marc Rold.

Barb Funk, Northwest Montana Association of Realtors president, and Terry Kramer of the Flathead Building Association moderated the event.