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.”