The Kalispell City Council couldn’t agree Monday when it came to picking a city representative for the Flathead County Solid Waste Board.

There were two applicants for the volunteer position: Dale Haarr and Hank Olson. Both men are former members of the Kalispell City Council.

Olson is Kalispell’s current representative on the board. His term expires on Dec. 31.

Mayor Tammi Fisher recommended that the City Council appoint Haarr. That was supported by her and council members Bob Hafferman, Phil Guiffrida III and Tim Kluesner but failed 5-4 when put to a vote.

Hafferman supported Haarr. Hafferman noted Olson has never made a single report back to the City Council about what the Flathead County Solid Waste board is working on.

“I’m concerned about plain old recycling in the city and how that’s being handled, and hope we won’t lose that,” Hafferman said. “We need someone like Dale, who’s pretty level-headed. I think we need a change.”

Randy Kenyon then made a motion to appoint Olson for another three-year term. The motion was seconded by Kari Gabriel, but never got off the ground when Fisher refused to accept it.

“I would like to see him continue,” Gabriel said about Olson. “I appreciate Haarr’s interest, but I also appreciate Olson’s service, history and experience. I would be more inclined to support Olson.”

Kalispell’s representative on the Solid Waste Board is appointed by the mayor with consent of the City Council. The representative also must be approved by the Flathead County commissioners.

At an impasse, Kluesner at one point offered to serve on the solid waste board himself.

Fisher opted to revisit the issue at a future meeting.

“I would like to table this until our next meeting because I want to do research about council people being on boards versus, I don’t know if they’re called lay persons, but residents of the city, and what boards we want to do that on,” Fisher said.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.