New manager found through attorney connection

David Nielsen's first shot at retirement proved short-lived: about one week long.

He retired as Helena's city attorney on Dec. 30 after nearly 16 years on the job.

Now he's getting ready to start work next week as Kalispell's interim city manager.

"I got a call from the city asking if I would consider doing that on an interim basis while they did their search, and could I step in real quickly. I said I'd be happy to do that," said Nielsen, 62.

Call it a favor among city attorneys.

Nielsen announced his intention to retire in November. Not much later, he got a phone call from Kalispell City Attorney Charles Harball - "an old pal" - who asked Nielsen if he would be interested in Kalispell's interim city manager job.

"Although he said he was looking forward to retiring, I know that's rarely true," Harball said of the phone call, which he made after Myrt Webb declined to take the job again.

"I told [Nielsen] this might look good on his resume if he wants to become a traveling city manager," Harball joked.

Harball thought about calling Nielsen because Nielsen had in the past spent several months working as an interim city manager for Helena. The two city attorneys knew each other through years of meetings with the Montana League of Cities and Towns.

"The city attorneys, we're kind of a tight bunch," Nielsen said.

Nielsen agreed to fill in as Kalispell continues its search for a permanent manager, but said he has no interest in the permanent job. "Nope, that's why I'm retiring," he said.

"I thought it sounded exciting and like a challenge. I feel confident I can bring some value to this, not just be a place holder but get some things finalized and keep the city running."

The Kalispell City Council approved Nielsen's contract on Dec. 19.

Nielsen will replace departing City Manager Jane Howington, who is leaving to take an identical job in Newport, R.I.

A special City Council meeting on Wednesday will be Howington's last day on the job.

Kalispell Mayor Tammi Fisher hopes to have the city manager position filled by May and has appointed a special selection committee to help narrow down the applicant pool.

Nielsen was hired to work for 150 days or until a permanent hire is made.

He was born and raised in Bozeman.

He got an undergraduate degree in industrial and management engineering from Montana State University and his law degree from University of Montana.

Once out of college, Nielsen worked as a Judge Advocate General's officer in the military for three years. He then joined a private practice in Glasgow and spent eight years as the Valley County attorney.

A job with Montana Department of Revenue took Nielsen to Helena, where he eventually started working as the city's first in-house attorney.

He said he plans to split his time between Kalispell and Helena, where his wife of more than 30 years continues to work for the Department of Public Health and Human Services. Their three children all are grown.

Nielsen sees himself as someone driven to find practical solutions.

"In Helena, I spent three months as city manager really cleaning the decks so when the permanent manager came in, we didn't have a lot of things lingering," he said.

Kalispell has a number of unresolved issues as it transitions to new leadership, including the sunset or extension of the West Side Tax Increment Finance District, the consideration of a new street maintenance assessment model and what to do about the Kalispell City Airport.

Working with wheels already set in motion, Nielsen hopes to finish off whatever projects he can so the permanent city manager is able to start with a clean slate.

He said he doesn't plan to micromanage or try to steer the city in new directions. The city's existing employees will continue to do most of the heavy lifting, he said.

"From what I hear, Kalispell has really good department heads and it's just a good bunch to work with. I hope I can add value and coordinate and assist where I need to," Nielsen said.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.