Candidate wants to keep the Flathead special

Steve Qunell of Whitefish has two words for voters —growth and planning

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

The Democratic candidate for Flathead County commissioner this year has narrowed down the issues to two words — growth and planning.

Steve Qunell and his wife Jessica moved to the Flathead in 2000 after getting their teaching credentials at California State University-Chico. He was raised in South Carolina, where he graduated from college. A few years ago, he returned to college, receiving his master's in education policy and management from Harvard University.

He first visited Montana more than a decade ago. After working in Yellowstone National Park and looking for work on a cherry orchard near Bigfork in 1995, Qunell developed a keen appreciation of the area.

So when it came time to choose a place to settle down and raise a family, the couple chose Whitefish because of their love for the outdoors and because it looked like a good place to raise a family.

"I wanted to live in a town that still had a hardware store downtown," he said.

Qunell currently teaches part-time at Flathead Valley Community College, works as a freelance writer and helps raise their two children. His wife teaches fourth grade at West Valley Elementary School.

The decision to run for county commissioner starts with Qunell's personal beliefs.

"I'm the kind of person who asks himself, 'What else can I do for my community?'" he said.

Qunell said he decided to run because he felt the two commissioner candidates — incumbent Gary Hall and former sheriff Jim Dupont — were not going to take the steps needed to keep the Flathead special.

Dupont defeated Hall in the June 3 Republican primary by 8,065-3,585. Qunell garnered 7,708 votes. Republicans win most Flathead County elections, and pundits believe Democrat Joe Brenneman won the 2004 county commissioner race because of cross-over voters.

As a member of the Whitefish City-County Planning Board, Qunell is familiar with growth and planning issues around the county.

"Growth is a big issue," Qunell said. "All the other big issues are related to growth and planning — budget issues are related to the costs of extending services to rural areas, the need for a new jail is related to population growth."

Steps need to be taken to protect the valley's water quality, he said. With no building codes in the county, adopting the setbacks proposed in the county's new subdivision regulations will prevent further degradation of the valley's streams and lakes.

The county also needs to address impacts from the thousands of septics scattered across the valley. That could include extending city sewer out into rural areas or requiring more expensive septic systems.

"It will cost more, but it's needed to protect water quality," he said.

He's also concerned about aesthetic issues — protecting the valley's landscapes.

"What do the people who live here value? Why do people visit here?" he asked.

People want to see mountain vistas and working farmland, not strip development like on U.S. Highway 2 between Kalispell and Columbia Falls, he said. One way to protect the county's viewshed is through an open-space bond like the one on the ballot this fall, he said.

"We need to keep working landscapes as working landscapes," he said.

Protecting highway corridors is not just about views, he said — there's also safety issues and economic issues. If development goes on the highway corridors, downtown retail businesses will suffer.

Qunell thinks trying to zone the entire county, as is proposed in Ravalli County, does not have widespread support and would increase divisiveness. Instead, he looks to neighborhood planning. Unfortunately, he said, the commissioners weakened existing neighborhood plans by making them nonregulatory after a Montana Supreme Court decision.

Qunell also expressed disappointment about the commissioners disbanding a committee studying impact fees. He said he's not so naive as to believe the fees would cover the cost of growth, but the county needs something in place "so people who stand to make the most money pay their fair share." On the other hand, there has to be some give and take.

"People use the word 'developer' like an epithet, but I don't believe that," he said. "I'm a firm believer in the carrot-and-stick approach. We need to provide incentives to developers."

Qunell says a local-option tax should be put to the voters, and the commissioners should not stand in the way of democratic process.

"Look at what it's done for Whitefish," he said. "It's paid for roads and lowered property taxes."

As for roads and dust, Qunell says it's time to stop approving subdivisions that don't provide adequate infrastructure.

"The first and foremost thing you do when you're in a hole is to stop digging," he said.