County to issue doughnut survey

Flathead County Commissioners on Sept. 28 agreed to Whitefish City Council’s request to extend the 90-day deadline for a response to the county’s notice of withdrawal from the Interlocal Agreement.

Whitefish now has until Dec. 15, 2011 to respond. The county, however, said they will not agree to extend the June 21, 2012 termination date.

Whitefish residents vote this November on a ballot referendum regarding whether or not to repeal the Interlocal Agreement. The referendum was a main reason cited by the county for filing a notice of withdrawal from the agreement.

Commissioners told the city in their response letter that they are receiving conflicting information about what doughnut residents want in an agreement.

“The Whitefish advocates tell us that doughnut property owners favor Whitefish control, while county advocates argue that these people favor county control,” the letter states. “We think it is time to end this speculation and allow the doughnut property owners themselves to decide this question.”

The county has prepared a mail-in ballot survey for doughnut property owners to ask who they prefer to regulate them. They will announce the details of the election process at a later date.