Kenyon leaving Kalispell council after 14 years

Longtime Kalispell City Council member Randy Kenyon has resigned from his council position because he’s moving to the North Fork area.

Kenyon was first elected to the council in 1999 and has represented Ward 3 for 14 years since taking office in January 2000. He has lived in Kalispell for nearly 40 years and retired last week as director of case management for a nonprofit organization that serves disabled adults.

He and his wife, Donna Harrison, are moving to a permanent residence in the North Fork.

“Kalispell is still near and dear to my heart and it always will be,” Kenyon said during a phone interview Tuesday.

He said that the two things he liked most about serving on the council were his love for public service and the congeniality of the council.

“We were a very diverse group, but we all got along,” he said. “Once the vote was counted, everything was forgotten and we all moved on. I actually enjoyed going to the meetings or I wouldn’t have stuck around for so long.

His personal highlight as a council member was drafting an ethics policy that was passed by the council.

Applications are being accepted to fill the remainder of Kenyon’s term, which runs through Dec. 31, 2015. The council plans to appoint a replacement by Aug. 4.

Interested residents must live in Ward 3 — a map of the ward can be found at www.kalispell.com — and submit a letter of interest by 5 p.m. on July 25 to the city clerk at 201 First Avenue East. Letters can be mailed to P.O. Box 1997, Kalispell, MT., 59903. They can also be emailed to cityclerk@kalispell.com.

Letters of interest must include the applicant’s legal name, home address and telephone number, along with any additional information they wish the council to review. For more information call the city clerk at 758-7756.

Reporter Aaric Bryan may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at abryan@dailyinterlake.com.