Candidate hopes to jump from Utah to Kalispell

Editor’s note: This is the second of three stories on candidates for Kalispell city manager.

One of the three finalists for Kalispell’s city manager job, Tom Steele has never been to the city, but he has heard “glowing descriptions” of the area from a brother who lived in Columbia Falls.

“Closest I’ve been is Missoula,” said Steele, who is 65 and lives in Pleasant Grove, Utah.

Steele is headed to Kalispell this week for a job interview, along with Doug Russell of Yankton, S.D., and John Sutherland Jr. of Santa Fe, N.M.

Steele most recently worked as city manager for West Jordan, Utah. It’s that state’s fourth-largest city with a population of about 104,000 — one of those “big small towns,” he said.

Steele said he likes Kalispell’s “manageable” size, with about 19,000 residents. That’s one of the things that drew him to apply for its city manager opening.

“It’s a good number, enough to give you some real substance but small enough to let you be part of the community,” he said.

The salary range was adequate. And as someone who likes to get outdoors, Steele said the Northwest Montana location appeals to him and his wife of almost 42 years.

“I just like what I see in terms of the area,” Steele said. “We love the location. We have lived in a lot of great places and it qualifies as a great place.”

AMONG THE finalists for Kalispell’s city manager job, Steele likely has the most experience. He has spent more than 29 years working for various cities around the West as either a city manager or assistant city manger.

Steele was born in Utah, grew up in Southern California and went back to Utah to attend Brigham Young University.

He got his start in public administration working for Santa Ana, Calif., for a couple of years while getting his Master’s in Public Administration at California State University, Long Beach.

From there, Steele moved on to work for Washington County, Ore. He then took a job as assistant city manager in Walla Walla, Wash.

Steele got his first city manager job in Woodland Park, Colo. He worked there for about four years before taking another city manager job in Clayton, Calif.

After that he spent four years as a private consultant for developers, working mostly along the Front Range in Colorado.

STEELE TOOK an assistant manager job in West Jordan in June 2001. He held that position until he was appointed city manager in February 2009.

Located in Salt Lake County, the city of West Jordan had been growing rapidly but saw its sales tax revenues plunge by almost $3 million a year as the national recession hit on Steele’s watch.

“We ended up at about 12 layoffs out of 500 employees, but we did eliminate about 30 positions, the rest through attrition,” Steele said. “It caused a bit of pain, but you’re dealt cards and have to play them.”

Steele held the city manager job until March 2011, when he was reportedly told by West Jordan Mayor Melissa Johnson that he could resign, retire or be fired — for reasons never made public.

Johnson did not return a phone call seeking comment. Steele said he was given the ultimatum after a closed session of the West Jordan City Council. He called the situation “not untypical” for city managers.

“After I’d been city manager for a year there was a majority change and a year later they decided they wanted to get their own guy in there. I was never given a particular reason and they don’t have to,” Steele said.

The West Jordan City Council put out a press release saying Steele would be retiring; Steele told local newspapers he was being forced out. Steele said he just wanted to set the record straight.

“It happened so abruptly that I didn’t want to give employees or business people the impression that I was just dropping out. I wanted them to know it wasn’t my choice,” he said.

Clive Killpack, an at-large member of the West Jordan City Council, declined to comment on the ultimatum or the reason for it, but said he enjoyed working with Steele.

“It was hard for me to see him go. I thought he was an asset to the city,” Killpack said. “If you’re looking for someone with dedication who works extremely hard, Tom’s your man.”  

STEELE SAID said his nearly three decades of public sector experience could help set him apart.

“But when you get down to it, if I turn out to be a better fit with the community and the council, that’s my edge. If I don’t, then it doesn’t matter what my experience is,” Steele said.

 Between jobs and in their 60s, both Steele and Sutherland have applied for other positions, unlike Russell, who is working as city manager in Yankton.

Steele was one of six finalists for a city manager job in Longmont, Colo.

In February, he was one of seven finalists for a county administrator job in Deschutes County, Ore., and one of 10 finalists for a city manager job in League City, Texas.

Last fall, he was a finalist for city manager jobs in Rockaway Beach and Silverton, Ore.

“I’m looking around,” Steele said of his job hunt.

Since he was let go in West Jordan, Steele has been applying for jobs, visiting his eight grown children — attending a son’s wedding last week — and “trying to keep fit.”

“I have a couple places that expressed interest, but not at the same stage as Kalispell,” Steele said.

If he winds up with Kalispell’s city manager job, Steele said, “It’s going to be where I alight until I decide I don’t want to work any more.”

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