Jacobson gives notice to council

Dec. 1 meeting will be her last, concerns about communication

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

Whitefish city councilor Shirley Jacobson has announced she will not finish her four-year term, and the Dec. 1 council meeting will be her last. Her effective departure date will be Jan. 1.

Jacobson cited personal health reasons for her decision. She also noted changes in her family, including her husband's health and the return of her son and his family from Peru. She said she wanted to spend more time with her grandchildren, and that the council workload interfered with family time.

A retired Whitefish native, Jacobson served on the city council from 1998 to 2002 before losing a bid for re-election in 2003. She ran again in 2005 and was elected.

She has been involved with numerous city committees, including weeds and resort tax, and she has served on the Whitefish City-County Planning Board.

In 2005, Jacobson said she was running to help stabilize the future of Whitefish and keep developers in check. She said developers, not taxpayers, should pick up the check for development costs.

During the past three years, Jacobson took positions on building heights downtown, retaining older homes that could provide affordable housing stock and supporting the police and fire departments.

On Monday, Jacobson talked at length about communication between the council, volunteer boards and city staff.

"The council does not get all the information we need," she said. "We need to know about all large commercial developments and anything controversial."

She said, for example, that the developer at the former Truby's restaurant site would not have had as much trouble if his plans had been brought to the council sooner rather than go through the Architectural Review Committee.

Jacobson and the councilors and staff who responded to her comments did not mention communication with the public. Jacobson's plans to leave the council were apparently discussed at workshops over a month ago but never brought to the public's attention.