Councilor wants his vote to count

In small-town government, city council is where the decisons are made, incumbent councilor Doug Karper says. He should know. Wrapping up an elected four-year term, Karper is one of the longest serving city councilors, with about 12 1/2 years by year's end.

Karper's time on the council goes back to the early 1990s when he was elected to a four-year term ending December 1997. He was re-elected and served 11 months in 1998, was appointed to complete a 1 1/2-year term in 2004-2005, and was elected to finish a two-year term in 2006-2007.

His community service also includes time as president of the Columbia Falls Chamber of Commerce, 14 years on the Heritage Days Committee and serving on the Columbia Falls City-County Planning Board.

Karper grew up in south-central Pennsylvania and graduated from Penn State with a degree in agronomy. He met his wife Colleen in Great Falls while serving in the Air Force, where he maintained electro-mechanical equipment at Minuteman missile silos.

After working for a wholesale seed company in Pennsylvania, he and his wife moved to Columbia Falls in 1986, where they ran the Park Merc, a small store on Nucleus Avenue. His children, Michael, 23, and Beth, 22, grew up here and graduated from Columbia Falls High School.

Karper, who heads up the School District 6 maintenance department, said he first became interested in public service when he brought an idea to the city for consideration while serving on an economic development committee.

"I can't remember what it was now, but the council or planning board just said no," he said. "That brought to light that if I want to be involved in the community, I needed to be where a vote counts, and that meant the city council. You can advise all you want, but the council may not take your advice. I wanted my vote to count."

Karper doesn't expect to see Columbia Falls change much in the coming years because of the current economic recession.

"It would be nice if CFAC would fire up so people don't have to head elsewhere for work, like North Dakota or Back East," he said. "But how to do that, I don't know."

Karper was a member of the city committee that helped transform Columbia Falls from a mayoral to city manager form of government, and he believes city councilors should listen to their staff. He praised city manager Susan Nicosia and her staff for finding ways to save money.

"We're in a holding pattern now and need to keep what we have," he said. "The streets are in good shape, the bike path system is growing slowly but surely."

Karper said his earlier interest in land-use issues has changed to a focus on developing parks for the city.

"I'm proud to say I live in Columbia Falls, honored to have served the people of Columbia Falls and would be proud to serve again," he said. "This is the best place in the valley to live."