Askew concerned about Whitefish's lack of growth

Whitefish City Council member Turner Askew has spent the past four years cautioning fellow councilors to be mindful of the “unintended consequences” of their decisions. It’s a practice he aims to continue if elected mayor of Whitefish.

Askew is wrapping up his second term on the council and squaring off against council member John Muhlfeld for the mayor’s job in the upcoming election. Current Mayor Mike Jenson is not seeking re-election.

Askew sees a fundamental difference between him and his opponent.

“He’s an environmental engineer and I’m a businessman,” Askew stated. “We see the problems differently.”

Askew said he chose to run for mayor because he’s concerned about Whitefish’s future.

“Our town’s growth is stagnant, our high school is losing students at an alarming rate, our residents have little prospect for new jobs and our small-town collegiality and good humor have been replaced with bickering and fights about government control,” he said.

“An agenda that reflects government-only growth and control, without vigorous private industry and household growth, will fail us all.”

Critical areas ordinance

Askew, a longtime commercial and industrial real estate broker, calls Whitefish’s critical areas ordinance incomprehensible and so complicated that even planners and engineers don’t know how to interpret it.

“We need the CAO, we need to protect water, but we need to do it based on needs here,” he said, noting that the comprehensive drainage ordinance was “done by people in Washington” where the soils are much different.

Askew said he knows of real estate transactions that have been scrapped because of the ordinance’s overreaching regulations. And by imposing the law on residents in Whitefish’s 2-mile planning jurisdiction, it’s set off a “Hatfield-McCoy fight.”

“It wasn’t intended to be that way, and it’s hard to say, ‘I guess we made a mistake,’” he said. “There have been unintended consequences.”

Askew said he’ll wait to see what recommendations the Planning Board comes up with to simplify the critical areas ordinance before weighing in on specific changes.

The ‘doughnut’

Askew said he’s baffled by the tug-of-war that has developed over control of Whitefish’s 2-mile planning “doughnut.”

“We in Whitefish have come to the conclusion we can tell the county what to do,” he said. “We need to acknowledge that the county is in charge, but we need to communicate what we [as a city] want.”

He said he doesn’t understand the intent of the proposed referendum that will let voters decide in this election if the 2010 revised interlocal agreement for the doughnut should be kept or thrown out.

“How can Whitefish vote on what the doughnut people want?” Askew wondered. “My daddy always said you can’t go back to where you’ve never been. This is fraught with unintended consequences.”

While Askew believes a community council for the doughnut area is a good idea, it can’t happen without the Legislature changing state law. Until that happens, doughnut residents have representation at the county level, he said.

City Hall

As the city weighs options for a new city hall, Askew wants to see Whitefish take a modest approach to a new facility and give a portion of its tax-increment revenue to the Whitefish School District for renovation of the aging high school. He believes the city should buy the Mountain West Bank building for $2.1 million and remodel it for a city hall facility.

“Why are we trying to talk about a Taj Mahal?” he said about other, more expensive, options. “We can afford to buy Mountain West and put City Hall into a parking lot. ... If down the road someone wants to buy [the current City Hall site] for retail, we could require a second story for parking.”

Budget

Askew voted against the 2012 fiscal budget because it didn’t sit right with him that the city balanced the budget by transferring $300,000 from its wastewater fund reserve to help offset another part of the budget.

“That’s like using your credit card to pay off your debt,” he said.

With the addition of three new council members two years ago, the city has reined in spending, Askew said, but noted the belt-tightening has to continue.

“I’m afraid the worst is not behind us,” he stated. “We’re losing people ... and it doesn’t bode well for income to the city because we can’t function with fewer police or firemen. We can’t leave the sewer and water plants on auto-pilot. Parks and Recreation is short-handed, and their department is revenue-generating. We’re down to the point where who do you lay off?”

Perception

Whitefish has a reputation for excessive regulation that needs to turn around before growth can get going again in the resort town, Askew said.

“Contractors tell me they put 20 percent extra on Whitefish projects because of problems,” he said. “Even if I don’t believe it’s a problem, if the rest of the world thinks it is, we have to deal with it.”

Last words

“I really don’t think I have an agenda. I want the best for the city, and that’s my motivation.”

Turner Askew

Age: 71

Family: wife, Nancy; two grown children, three grandchildren

Occupation: Commercial and industrial real estate broker

Background: Moved to Whitefish from Memphis 15 years ago and has a long family connection to Flathead Valley and Montana. Served on Whitefish City Council 1999-2003 and 2008 to present; member of Flathead County 911 Board; Flathead Business and Industry Board, Flathead County Long Range Planning Group; member and past president (2005-06) of Whitefish Rotary Club; served as Montana Ambassador since 1996, named Ambassador of the year in 2003 for Montana; member of Montana West Economic Development Board and Flathead Valley Port Authority Board; served on state Economic Advisory Board and Governor’s Economic Development Advisory Group board.

Email: dirtpeddler@theaskews.com