Proposed agreement gives Health Board broader representation

A pivotal change that gives broader representation to the Flathead City-County Board of Health was the focus of a Kalispell City Council work session on Monday.

The proposed change would enable the cities of Whitefish and Columbia Falls to appoint board members for the first time.

The city councils of Kalispell, Whitefish and Columbia Falls, and the Flathead County commissioners, will vote on the revised agreement next week.

The city of Kalispell and Flathead County have been operating the City-County Health Department through an interlocal agreement for decades, and now are proposing a revised interlocal agreement that ties together the various municipalities in Flathead County.

The idea to form a joint health organization between Flathead County and the city of Kalispell first coalesced in 1976. The interlocal agreement was then revisited in 2004.

Now, more than 15 years later, the agreement is on track for another major update.

The nine-person board would be made up of one county commissioner, one member appointed by each of the three incorporated cities, and five members appointed by the Flathead County commissioners. This breakdown would eliminate two commissioner-appointed positions on the board.

The current board members, including Kalispell Councilmember Kyle Waterman, would serve out their terms until the end of the year.

“I’m very happy that the other two cities are going to have a member on the board,” Kalispell council member Sid Daoud. “It’ll bring more city issues to the board.”

City Manager Doug Russell echoed Daoud’s sentiments. “It brings more of a municipal perspective to health-related discussions,” he said.

But council member Ryan Hunter didn’t share his colleagues’ enthusiasm for the proposal. Instead, he pushed for an entirely new makeup of the board.

“We have a new interlocal [agreement], we have new city representation, let’s just have a full turnover of the board,” he suggested.

The Kalispell council will take formal action on the proposed changes on Monday, Oct. 4. The Whitefish and Columbia Falls city councils also are expected to vote on the proposed changes on Monday, while the county commissioners will consider signing the revamped interlocal agreement at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Under the proposal, the funding mechanism for the City-County Health Department would be “similar to its current methodology.”

Funding would be levied on a county-wide basis, but it would no longer go through the city of Kalispell for approval. Instead, it would go directly to the Health Department.

Otherwise, the update brings “not a whole lot of changes” to the Health Board, according to City Manager Doug Russell.

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at 406-758-4459 or bserbin@dailyinterlake.com.