Wednesday, May 28, 2025
84.0°F

Council balks at board appointments

by Daily Inter Lake
| May 8, 2013 10:00 PM

Board appointments recommended by Kalispell Mayor Tammi Fisher were tabled Monday by other City Council members who said they want to see application letters and know who applied for the volunteer positions and didn’t get recommended.

In one case, Fisher’s recommended appointments would leave two seats on the city’s impact fee committee vacant rather than fill them with either of two applicants.

None of that information was provided to other City Council members for them to consider before they were asked to accept the mayor’s recommended appointments on Monday.

“In the past we got letters from everyone and I don’t even know who applied,” council member Jim Atkinson said.

Other council members agreed, moving to table the appointments until the next regular council meeting. That action was supported by Fisher, who leaves her seat on the City Council at the end of this year because she is not running for re-election.

The city advertised openings on its advisory boards earlier this year.

While some boards are filled administratively by the city manager, openings on others traditionally are filled by the mayor’s recommendation and council confirmation.

They included openings on the Board of Adjustment, Downtown Business Improvement District, City-County Health Board, Airport Advisory Board, Conrad Mansion Board, Economic Development Revolving Loan Committee, Planning Board, Parking Advisory Board, Police Commission, Technical Advisory Committee, Urban Renewal Agency and Impact Fee Advisory Committee.

Some boards had multiple applicants and some had none. The Impact Fee Advisory Committee had at least two applicants for two open seats. Both applicants failed to receive Fisher’s recommendation and she chose instead to recommend leaving the seats vacant.

Following are the mayor’s recommended appointments:

v Board of Adjustment: Robert Vine

v Downtown Business Improvement District: Janet Clark and Debbie Snyder

v City-County Health Board: council member Phil Guiffrida III

v Conrad Mansion Board: Sue Corrigan

v Economic Development Revolving Loan Committee: Ronnie Laudati

v Planning Board: Chad Graham

v Police Commission: Doc Harkins

v Technical Advisory Committee: Mark Munsinger

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