Candidate for City Council Kent Taylor

The Whitefish Pilot reached out to Whitefish City Council candidates running in the Nov. 7 municipal election. The information below was provided by the candidates and edited for spelling, punctuation and space.

Name: Kent Taylor

Family: Wife Kim, 41 years of marriage; son Kyle, 38, daughter Klaire, 30

Occupation: Owner operator Hidden Moose Lodge

Community Involvement: Coached soccer and little league baseball; former board member Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation (10 plus years) and still involved in fundraising and volunteering; committee member for Wisconsin Avenue Steering Committee.

Why are you the right candidate for the position?

I came to Whitefish 32 years ago. Managed a property on Big Mountain (original board member of the Big Mountain Commercial Association). I built and opened the Hidden Moose Lodge 28 years ago. I am the only board member who has a business that generates and pays the resort tax. I have a deep sense of community through involvement and through other community businesses and individuals. I consider myself an outsider when it comes to politics. I am not linked to other council members and bring a different perspective. I spent over 15 years in the hotel business and have managed budgets exceeding $20 million. I know how to collaborate and pride myself on getting things done.

As the city updates its growth policy, what is your vision for Whitefish’s future?

My vision for Whitefish is to maintain its charm and character. Our southern and western entrances are pivotal. I would hope to see those entrances remain the same along with the downtown historic homes. I am not a big fan of high-density downtown. As these new three-story ground-floor retail and upstairs housing buildings take over we start to look like everywhere else. I believe we should expand our bus/transit system. The National Transit Authority has a $13 billion budget. They grant millions of dollars to communities like ours to help fund this. We could have a bus system that goes all over town regularly and perhaps around the valley.

What role should the city take in addressing housing?

The city should take a leadership role. We definitely have a housing shortage. In recent years we have seen a proliferation of nightly weekly rentals. Cities have enacted laws that require an owner or owner’s representative to live on property. My business is required to comply with this law. If this rule was enacted there would be a significant reduction in nightly weekly rentals, thus making more rental units available for long-term rentals. I would work toward that goal. I am also in support of reallocating part of the resort tax to housing. I support the money Explore Whitefish receives being partially allocated to housing.

How should the city manage public safety needs amid rapid growth?

First and foremost, I believe we have first-class fire and police departments. This didn’t just come about, it has taken years of support from the city. We have several long-term first responders and that is a direct result of support first from the community and secondly through the Council's fiscal support. The old saying if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. With that in mind, I believe Council has and should continue to listen to the emergency services leadership. I believe there has been a good working relationship between the city and the EMS professionals.

What other issues should the city be addressing?

Over the years Whitefish has gained a reputation that it is hard to work with. We have had a strained relationship with the county commissioners. We have some fence-mending to do both locally and with the county. I am a strong supporter of Explore Whitefish and believe Council should publicly support the organization. Their voluntary assessment on hospitality-associated businesses has helped fund sustainable tourism (not during the high seasons) from November to Early June. Many people don’t know that in the past two years, Explore Whitefish has allocated funds to several community organizations. This voluntary assessment could also help fund an enhanced bus system.