Incumbent values foresight

Flathead County Commissioner Cal Scott, a fifth-generation Flathead Valley native, says foresight and planning is needed for good county government.

That includes investing in the county’s Kalispell campus and recent improvements to the grandstand and stormwater drainage at the fairgrounds.

“I’d rather spend a nickel today than a dollar tomorrow,” the Republican said. “We need to be fiscally responsible but also to take a broad view and do the best job for our taxpayers.”

Scott was appointed to replace the late Jim Dupont in March 2012. Several revelations marred his 2012 campaign but didn’t stop him from being elected to finish Dupont’s term. Filing for bankruptcy in August 2009 and reporting $173,663 in unsecured debt on 22 different credit cards was followed with a report that he did not have a civil engineering degree, as Scott had told reporters twice.

But he was honorably discharged from the Army National Guard, he told the Hungry Horse News during an April 25 interview. He held up a photocopy of his discharge papers to prove the point.

Scott said the county’s budget is healthy and revenue is in good shape, with about $3.4 million in federal PILT funds, about $1.7 million in federal Secure Rural Schools funding, and 30 percent cash reserves.

But the failure to move forward with a new Agency on Aging facility was a setback — the money was available, he said, and plans were in the works for a facility at the fairgrounds.

“This is not just for our current senior citizens,” he said. “We’re facing a tsunami of Baby Boomers in the future — we see 20 more people over 65 every month in the Flathead. We’re seeing more shut-ins who need support, and it costs society a lot less money to keep people in their own homes than in institutions.”

Scott says the county must take back planning and zoning jurisdiction in the Whitefish “doughnut” area, which is still tied up in courts.

“It’s an issue of representation,” he said.

County planning staff can handle all the land-use work in the “doughnut,” but one or two more planners might need to be hired.

Scott explained his vote on the proposed Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes water compact.

“I was in favor of the process, not the final product,” he said. “It warrants further investigation.”

He questioned claims for off-reservation water rights and the quantities of water CSKT has asked for.

“I recommend we start all over, with additional players and greater oversight,” he said. “We also need less sensationalism and more rational thinking. There’s been too much fear mongering.”

Scott said the effort is not over to secure funding to prevent a slump along the Whitefish River near Kalispell, which threatens nearby homes. He said the commissioners had been working on grant money for the project, but the Office of Emergency Services got further ahead and lined up the money.

“The concern is that the county would be the applicant and be liable for the project,” he said. “We need a simple agreement with the contractors who would do the work and should be responsible.”

He said the project “can be rescued,” and the county’s legal department was looking into the matter. He noted that as a Realtor prior to becoming a county commissioner, he had advised clients not to buy property in that area.

“Man must recognize he’s not going to conquer nature,” he said.

Scott has put some time in helping the city of Columbia Falls get quiet zones established at two at-grade railroad crossings on county land north of town.

But it won’t be as simple as it was for Whitefish — one of the roads needs to be realigned, concrete curbs must be installed down the middle of the roads, a pedestrian path must be built, rights-of-way need to be acquired from adjacent property owners, and BNSF Railway wants a fence run along Depot Park.

“The two crossings could cost $400,000 to $500,000,” he said.

Scott also said he wants to see more logging on Forest Service lands, and he cited a national movement for counties to reclaim these federal lands.

“Many feel it’s time to give those lands back,” he said. “We need to study this idea closely.”