Incumbent feels called to the job

Hall says he's learned a lot in first term as commissioner

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

Flathead County commissioner Gary Hall has often likened his job to being a CEO of a $60 million corporation. Encompassing as much land as the state of Connecticut, the county has seen rapid development since Hall moved into the commissioner's office. This has created both growth pangs and a diversity of opinions.

The incumbent Republican, who will face former sheriff Jim Dupont in the June primary, said he feels good about his accomplishments over the past five years.

His biggest disappointment, he said, was Whitefish's "regulation of county stakeholders" in the city's two-mile planning and zoning jurisdiction — the so-called "doughnut" area.

"I am still quite hopeful that when the issue is resolved, we can come back together to discover new ways to have an even better relationship," he said.

Hall said the interlocal agreement between the city and the county didn't work and something else should replace it.

"It was an experiment in cooperative planning that failed, and we have since come to realize it is unconstitutional to give legislative authority to another government entity," he said. "I believe the cities should have some sort of input on areas they intend to annex, and I'm willing to discuss that option."

Although he supports the county's Long Range Planning Task Force, a committee he formed, Hall said he doesn't support bringing back a countywide planning office.

"While the concept is a good one, it could fall apart under different administrations within the cities and county as it happened before," he said. "The current makeup of the planning boards are good in the respect that the county and cities both have representation on them."

The last time there was countywide planning, under the Flathead Regional Development Office, the county unilaterally withdrew and then held onto the $256,000 left in the office's account.

Commissioner Dale Williams defended the county's right to hold onto the money, and the three cities ended up suing the county.

That was when Hall, who was mayor of Columbia Falls, decided to run for commissioner. In a 2002 interview, he cited the division in the county.

"One of the main reasons I'm running for commissioner is that the relationship between the county and the cities has gotten worse and worse," he said at the time. "It has to come back together."

Hall defeated Williams in the June primary. Williams then ran as an independent, garnering about 10 percent of the vote in a bitter campaign that Hall still remembers vividly.

Looking ahead, Hall said the Long Range Planning Task Force is developing a needs assessment for a valleywide mass transit system as well as architectural designs for highway corridors. But unfunded federal and state mandates continue to pose some of the county's biggest challenges.

"The choice is to raise taxes or fees," he said. "With 29 department and 500 employees, it is a daily challenge to keep costs in line."

Hall said he's studied impact fees and is concerned about their impact on affordable housing. That same concern carries over into how the commissioners have looked at growth.

"What people don't realize is that if a project goes through the process and meets all requirements, then it's very difficult to deny the project," he said. "If you halt all development through regulation or subdivision regulations or a growth policy, then you effectively have eliminated affordable housing, and the prices go up even more as a result of your policies or regulations."

Hall pointed to the Memorial of Law display in front of the court house, which includes a Ten Commandments monument, as one of his biggest accomplishments. He also points to the capital improvements program, performance-based budgets for each department and consolidation of departments to keep the budget in line.

"I have truly loved the time I have spent in public service," he said. "I feel called to it and am committed to spend the many hours a week to keep up on the business of the county. I have made mistakes but have made the point to learn from my mistakes and be a better commissioner for it. I have gained an incredible education through this process, and I place great value on that education."