Three vie for council

West Shore News

Elections for the two open seats on the Lakeside Community Council are approaching and residents will have three candidates to choose from.

Lakeside residents Bob Berreth, David Fetveit and Gene Shellerud will all compete for the two three-year positions on the council. As members of the council, they will represent the community of Lakeside by acting in an advisory role to the county's decision-making boards. The council meets on the last Tuesday of every month, usually at 7 p.m. in the Lakeside Sewer District Building on Bierney Creek Road in Lakeside.

The seats are currently held by Gregg Schoh and Janet Heinze and neither filed for re-election.

The candidates for the open seats are scheduled to appear twice Tuesday, April 27.

They will be at the Lakeside & Somers Chamber of Commerce general membership meeting at noon at Vista Linda. Candidate Gene Shellerud will be out of town but his bio will be presented.

The candidates have also been invited to the LCC meeting that night at 7 p.m. in the Lakeside Sewer District building.

The West Shore News asked a series of questions to the candidates to help residents learn more about them. Here are their responses.

BOB BERRETH

-Tell us a little bit about your background.

I was born in and spent the first 18 years of my life growing up in Eureka.

I graduated from Lincoln County High School and then went on to get my bachelor's degree from the University of Montana in Missoula with a major in business administration and minor in economics.

For the past 18 years I've been employed in the mortgage industry.

In 1999 I was offered the opportunity to relocate back to Montana from Washington.

At that time, I purchased my home here in Lakeside and I've enjoyed every minute of it ever since. Since 2002, I've owned and operated Great Northern Mortgage here in Lakeside. This is an Internet-based, mortgage-origination business that services all of Montana.

Most of my time is spent raising my three daughters, Ellie, 10, Emma, 6, and Ava, 4. I play a very active role in their lives as well as coaching their sports teams.

I've also volunteered the past four years as a committee member for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Chapter 3.

-Why do you want to serve on the Lakeside Community Council? What made you decide to run?

I would like to be a member of the Lakeside Community Council because I can provide a positive contribution to the future of Lakeside. I'm a motivated, hardworking, focused person that has extremely high ethical standards. My contribution to the council would be an analytical thinker that fully explores the varying sides of issues before a vote is rendered. I believe the council plays an intricate role in the direction of growth and the council can become more influential in carrying through on the will of the people.

-What qualifications do you have for the position?

I've worked the past two and a half years as treasurer of the Lakeside Neighborhood Plan Committee. This role has allowed me to become very familiar with the challenges and opportunities faced by our community of Lakeside.

I feel as though being a member of the Lakeside Community Council will allow me to expand on my knowledge of the issues important to our community and have a positive impact on the direction of Lakeside.

What do you think are the two or three biggest issues facing the Lakeside community today?

As I see it, the primary issue Lakeside faces today is growth.

From the growth challenge, we can extract many subtopics the community and council will be challenged with in the years to come such as protecting Flathead Lake, zoning, subdivisions, road connectivity and community development to name a few.

-Why should someone vote for you over one of the other candidates?

With a vote for Bob Berreth, you will be get a honest, hard working individual that will always put the good of our community in front of all else. I have no personal agenda in my pursuit of this seat. I'm proud to call Lakeside home and want nothing more than to help guide us into the future and ultimately leave a community that my daughters are proud to call home as well.

DAVID FETVEIT

-Tell us a little bit about your background.

I am a third generation Kalispell native that lived in Lakeside off and on as a child, but spent most of my life in Arizona.

I moved back to Lakeside permanently in 2005 after 10 years as a corporate executive for a national environmental testing firm in Phoenix.

Wanting to spend more time with my family, I launched my real estate career in 2008 and I am currently an agent with Trails West Real Estate in the Lakeside office.

I met my wife of 15 years in Tucson as I was earning my bachelor's degree in molecular and cellular biology.

We have four boys (12, 10, 7 and 3) who keep us on our toes. I am actively involved in serving in my church, on the board for Stillwater Christian School and as treasurer for the Flathead Community Foundation.

-Why do you want to serve on the Lakeside Community Council? What made you decide to run?

I love Lakeside — it is why I have chosen to live here and raise my family (at great cost). I want to be involved in the continued evolution of the community, and make sure that the local residents have a chance to be heard at the county level.

-What qualifications do you have for the position?

I believe I can draw on my experience in business, real estate and serving on community-oriented boards to effectively serve on the community council.

-What do you think are the two or three biggest issues facing the Lakeside community today?

I believe the biggest issues for Lakeside on the horizon will be the shaping of our downtown business district, and the potential for a "Village Bill" sometime over the next few years. With the addition of the new park, I believe there will be an increased interest in business development within our downtown district.

We need to continue the work that has been done with the Lakeside [Neighborhood] Plan to make sure the community has access to the [Flathead County] commissioners as we manage this growth. I also think that the "Village Bill" that has been proposed in past state legislative sessions could become an issue again. The community council will need to play a critical role in evaluating and/or implementing any legislation of this kind.

-Why should someone vote for you over one of the other candidates?

I believe my background, experience and commitment to Lakeside make me a qualified candidate for the council.

GENE SHELLERUD

-Tell us a little bit about your background.

I was born over on the east side of the state in Glasgow, graduated from Opheim High School and met my wife in college at Montana State University. We have been married for 37 years, have three very successful children and two grandchildren.

We built our home in Lakeside in 1999 and have been spending two to three months a year here in Lakeside since then.

In May of 2009, we moved here permanently.

I am currently selling real estate for Coldwell Banker Wachholz from the Lakeside office, am a member of the Glacier Symphony and Chorale, and am proud to volunteer as a member of the Lakeside QRU as an EMT on the ambulance.

-Why do you want to serve on the Lakeside Community Council? What made you decide to run?

I decided to run because wherever we have lived in the past, I have always been very involved in the community in any way I could, and I feel my experience and background in business, government and service qualifies me for this opportunity.

-What qualifications do you have for the position?

My qualifications are as follows. I was president and member of the Williston, N.D., Planning and Zoning Commission during the 1980s when the city was rapidly expanding during the oil boom. I was vice chair of the Black Dog Water Shed Commission, representing the City of Burnsville, Minn. Our budget came from state and federal grants. I was appointed by the mayor of Apple Valley, Minn., to represent the city at the Vermillion Water Shed as an advisor during the time they rewrote their 509 program. I served as vice chair of the City of Burnsville, Minn., Board of Appeals that resolved disputes between building permit applicants and the city.

I served for six years as a volunteer on a community ambulance in North Dakota and now am an EMT-B with the Lakeside QRU.

I was a licensed building inspector in Minnesota as a requirement of a home builder I worked for.

And, I am a past member of the National Home Builders Association, and am currently a member of the National Association of Realtors, the Montana Association of Realtors, and the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians with certification by the Montana Board of Medical Examiners.

-What do you think are the two or three biggest issues facing the Lakeside community today?

The biggest issues facing Lakeside today are maintaining our village atmosphere while allowing development along U.S. Highway 93, and creating a Highway 93 corridor that will require a consistent "theme" including building store fronts, landscaping, setbacks, sidewalks and lighting. Other concerns of mine include maintaining our water quality and enlarging our trail system. I will also do what's possible to bring natural gas to Lakeside from Somers.

-Why should someone vote for you over one of the other candidates?

As you can see, I have always taken on community service responsibilities wherever we have lived and taken them very seriously. I enjoy being a member of this community, and I also enjoy being a part of the process that creates the community. As a council member, I will always make myself available to everyone by phone or e-mail to hear your comments or concerns. Thanks for your confidence and support.

UP NEXT

Seats on the Lakeside-Somers School Board will also be up for election May 4. Five candidates are competing for the two open seats.

Look for information about the candidates in the next issue of the West Shore News on April 28.