Election 2011: Hildner ready to contribute
Council candidate Richard Hildner has
been a citizen-participant in Whitefish government since 1988. It
was then that he proposed before council the idea to create
Montana’s first urban canoe trail on the Whitefish River.
The idea was never approved, but his
involvement resulted in both a no-wake restriction on the river and
Hildner’s consistent interest in local government. Show up to a
council meeting on any given Monday, and you’ll likely see Hildner
in the front row of the audience.
Hildner moved to the Flathead in 1958
at 12 years old. He is a graduate of the University of Montana, and
has a degree in geography and a teaching credential. He currently
teaches AP government at Glacier High School, although he is set to
retire at the end of this school year.
Hildner worked with the Forest Service
on the first wildfire Hot Shot crew in the Flathead and has
recorded 48 jumps. The last time he jumped out of an airplane was
in 1983.
“I’d do it again in a heart beat,”
Hildner tells the Pilot.
Hildner’s running for council because
he wants to contribute to the community. After retirement, he says,
he’ll have the discretionary time needed to take on the commitment
of being a councilor.
The most important issue facing
Whitefish today, he says, is the economic vitality of the entire
community.
“The vitality includes appropriate
development in downtown and our entrances,” he said. “It includes a
business climate that will encourage small and medium businesses to
move here that are compatible with the nature of our community —
non-polluting, living wage businesses.”
He disagrees with the notions that
Whitefish is business unfriendly and that there are too many
regulations.
“The regulations we do have are
regulations that have been demanded by the people,” he said. “We
can explore why a regulation is there and if something needs to be
changed, but they are all there for a reason.”
Hildner has been involved with the
Critical Areas Ordinance since its inception. He sat on a CAO
advisory committee in 2007 as an at-large member. At the time, he
said the ordinance wasn’t strong enough.
“I was an advocate for deeper setbacks
and buffers,” he said. “but I also realize the need for compromise.
When it came out of committee, I voted for the compromise. It’s
compromise that brings us the best solutions.”
He says he’s open to examining the
document to see how it can be more responsive to the needs of the
public, while still protecting water quality.
“Water quality is absolutely essential
to the survival of Whitefish,” he said. “Not only for recreation,
but for our own health.”
Hildner has played a strong role in
getting on the ballot the referendum to repeal the 2010 Interlocal
Agreement. He says the council didn’t reflect the will of Whitefish
citizens when they voted to approve the restate agreement in 2010.
He doesn’t like the amendments in the 2010 agreement that allow the
city or county to withdrawal with a one-year notice.
“The 2005 agreement requires both sides
to stay at the table and resolve their differences,” he said. “Not
pick up their bat and ball and go home.”
He says the city should be an equal
partner and negotiator with the county.
“The best way to do that is an elected
citizens council made of representatives from the extraterritorial
area and the city,” he said.
Hildner has read the city’s 2012 budget
and says it’s balanced. He’d like to see more funding allocated for
the police and fire departments.
“Both our police and fire are right on
what they can handle and probably beyond,” Hildner said. “Our fire
department is staffed so that it places additional burden if
somebody goes on vacation.”
Hildner has been on a Police Department
ride-along and notes that 2 a.m. in downtown Whitefish is a
different Whitefish than most know.
“It was an eye-opener,” Hildner
said.
On the topic of a new City Hall, he
wants the public to be more involved.
“It’s premature to look at hard and
fast locations,” he said.” He is interested in the idea of
reproducing the original architectural design of the current
building.
“There is beautiful facade beneath that
art-deco monstrosity,” he said.
Hildner says he’ll bring a sense of
humor to the council if elected.
“And I don’t mean that lightly,” he
said. “Sometimes levity is a good thing. I also listen well, and I
think the people deserve answers.”