Mayor raises ‘complicated’ question, but offers no solution

Newly seated Kalispell Mayor Ryan Hunter raised some eyebrows last week when he floated the prospect of opening public park restrooms 24 hours a day.

He introduced the idea during Kalispell City Council’s review of the draft Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which prompted his question about summer access to restrooms and whether winter alternatives were possible to provide homeless people a place to relieve themselves.

“Is there something we can do to ... provide bathrooms for folks who are living out on the streets but also being aware of the risks of vandalism, drug use and everything else?” Hunter asked. “It’s a complicated, difficult question.”

As a city councilor, Hunter often pushed back on regulations meant to dissuade homeless people from congregating in public spaces. During a June 2023 meeting, he spoke out against measures put in place in Depot Park, such as installing bars on benches to prevent people from lying down. At the time, he called those efforts “reactive policy” that don’t address the root cause of homelessness.

“It’s legal for people to be in the park, to congregate in the park, and we shouldn’t try to dissuade particular individuals that we don’t want there,” Hunter said at the 2023 meeting.

His position on 24-hour access to public restrooms follows the same logic, and it’s an appropriate discussion point as Council digs into its parks master plan.

But Hunter must also realize that as mayor, his words carry more weight as the face of the city.

On public restroom access, he put forth a provocative subject without offering potential solutions to combat the likelihood of costly vandalism or illicit activity. As such, city staff were quick to object, and the public outcry that followed was predictable.

It would have been more productive for the mayor to have worked with city staff and researched the idea in advance of putting it in front of the public.

Saying, “We should expand access to public restrooms and this is how it can be done safely,” is more helpful than tossing a “complicated, difficult question” into the ring without a path forward.

As Hunter settles into his new high-profile mayoral role, he will be best served by leaning into the attributes of a clear-eyed, decisive leader. Doing so will build trust among his 30,000 constituents and ultimately help push forward his vision for the city.