Departure comes amid board grumbling about advisory role to council

Longtime Kalispell city planner Narda Wilson resigned her post last week, citing philosophical differences with how the city's growth planning is unfolding.

She declined Wednesday to elaborate on those philosophical differences.

Wilson submitted her resignation last week with a month's notice. However, City Manager Jim Patrick suspended her with pay on Monday for her final month, Wilson said. "He found the working relationship untenable," she said.

Patrick said the suspension was a case of making a clean break between the city and an employee who was resigning.

He said he does not classify Wilson's departure as a philosophical difference. He said the disagreement was about "her customer service skills," declining to elaborate.

"It's an unfortunate situation. Narda has a lot of good recommendations and skills. I hate to see her go. … We're going to miss Narda and wish her the best," Patrick said.

Wilson's departure comes as the city's Planning Board has grumbled about what it thinks is its weakening role in advising the Kalispell City Council. It is unclear whether her resignation echoed that dissatisfaction. Wilson was the city administration's chief liaison with the Planning Board.

In recent weeks, the board has complained about its perception that it has been left out of the loop and is not in sync with the City Council's vision for Kalispell's growth. Those complaints included being bypassed when the Old School Station industrial park site was annexed despite being two miles south of the city, and the council's qualms about how proposed architectural standards - mapped out by the Planning Board - should be enforced for new commercial and multiple-family developments.

Board Chairman George Taylor could not be reached for comment Wednesday or Thursday.

Wilson joined the Flathead Regional Development Office - which covered Flathead County plus Kalispell, Whitefish and Columbia Falls - in 1993. She assumed responsibility for Kalispell's planning in 1995, keeping that job when the county withdrew from the coalition, converting the office into the Tri-City Planning Office. Whitefish withdrew last summer, and Kalispell set up its own planning department, which included Wilson.

Wilson was unsure Wednesday about her plans.

City Planning Director Tom Jentz will handle her duties until a replacement is hired after a national search.

Jentz said Wilson was key figure in developing the city's growth policies. "She was great to work with," he said.

Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at [email protected].