Advisory given for dates on airport referendum

Kalispell residents won’t decide a voter-initiated referendum on the city’s general aviation airport any time soon.

Other than the November 2013 general election, Kalispell’s only other option to hold the referendum is in the non-partisan city primary election preceding it in September.

That’s the advisory that came out of the Flathead County Attorney’s Office, Kalispell City Attorney Charlie Harball said Thursday.

City officials had asked the county attorney’s office for the advisory to see if a voter-initiated airport referendum could be held in a special election at some point before November 2013.

Montana Code Annotated in this case stipulates a “special election” must be held in conjunction with a regular or primary election, Harball said.

“Council will have to talk about if it’s worthwhile to have it on the ballot a couple months earlier or not,” Harball said. He added that members of the City Council have received the advisory.

Kalispell’s municipal races generally do not attract enough candidates to warrant primaries. If they do next year, it would not cost Kalispell any extra money to hold the airport referendum at that time.

Otherwise, it would.

“We don’t always have primaries, and may not have enough candidates,” Harball said.

“If they don’t, they would have to convince the public that it was worthwhile to have [the referendum] a couple months earlier.”

Five of nine seats on the Kalispell City Council are up for election next year.

The referendum asks Kalispell voters to reject or affirm the City Council’s 5-4 decision in July to upgrade the 84-year-old airport to B-II design standards through the federal Airport Improvement Program.

Chad Graham led the drive for a referendum on that decision and volunteers secured enough signatures to put it on the ballot and halt any more work on the proposed upgrade unless it is approved by voters.

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