Candidate wants to listen to the people

Whitefish City Council candidate Chris Hyatt says he wants to listen and promote civility in local government. He says he wants to be the voice not only of residents and their children, but also their grandchildren.

"I'm not an extremist," he said. "I'm the guy who will ask the tough questions. My vision of city council is to protect paradise and foster good debate."

Hyatt said he first considered running for city council in 2001, but he was advised that politics could conflict with his downtown ski shop. He closed the shop in 2006 and is now doing consulting work. In addition to his 12 years as a downtown business owner, Hyatt has served on the Big Mountain Fire Board.

A long-time Montana resident, Hyatt's family has owned a cherry orchard near Flathead Lake's Yellow Bay since 1980. After receiving a bachelor's in communication and organization at Colorado State University, Hyatt worked in Minneapolis before moving to Whitefish in 1992.

"I like living here for the mountains, the water, the people — the community," he said. "Whitefish is a great place to raise a family."

Hyatt cites his three children, ages 4-9, and others with children, as one motivation for his city council bid. He considers himself strongly family-oriented, and he coaches for youth soccer and baseball teams.

"I think it's important to protect families of all walks of life," he said.

One way to support families is to promote economic development, Hyatt said. The proposal for an eating disorder clinic near the hospital, along with the Total Label USA manufacturing plant north of Whitefish and the Hammer Nutrition business on Whitefish Stage Road are examples of positive developments, he said.

"We need businesses that complement our community," he said. "We need diversity — think tanks, light manufacturing, tourism."

Hyatt says he supports in principle environmental regulations like the city's Critical Areas Ordinance and the Whitefish Lake and Lakeshore Regulations, but they need to be understandable, fair and easy to meet.

"Change is inevitable," he said. "Regulations should reflect the needs of the people and be reasonable and fair."

One "change" that has become contentious this year is streetscaping plans for downtown Whitefish. Hyatt said he's excited about the benefits of improving infrastructure on Central Avenue, particularly preventing basement flooding.

But he's concerned wider sidewalks could create traffic hazards, and raised pedestrian crossings and bulbouts at intersections could create snow removal problems. On the other hand, he recognizes the safety benefits of bulbouts and supports them. How the city developed and approved the streetscaping plan, however, does not sit well with Hyatt.

"I've met with downtown business people and asked them, 'What do you want?'" he said. "Most said they can't afford wider sidewalks because of the impacts on parking and traffic."

Hyatt also has an opinion on the council's decision to go ahead with construction on Third Street before their sidewalk mock-up test's six weeks were up.

"I'm sad to see they did not follow the process," he said.

As for growth and development and the city's new growth policy, Hyatt said he favors infill over sprawl and likes to see farmland surround the city, "but we can't be a community of no." This is particularly true for residents in the city's two-mile planning jurisdiction — the "doughnut."

"We need representation in the doughnut," he said. "You can't impose regulations on people without representation. This is a great country, and this is one of the things it's founded on."

Hyatt said he's "absolutely for protecting our watershed," but environmental regulations should not create an unreasonable burden for property owners.