A letter-writing campaign by the Community Foundation for a Better Bigfork targeted a Kalispell representative on the Flathead County Solid Waste Board who may not be reappointed.

Hank Olson has represented Kalispell on the county board for 14 years and is currently the board chairman. His term is up Dec. 31.

However, letters from people involved in the debate over Bigfork’s green-box site opposed his reappointment.

Foundation president Paul Mutascio wrote to Kalispell Mayor Tammi Fisher Oct. 24 requesting that she consider appointing a new representative to the Solid Waste Board.

At the Nov. 4 Kalispell City Council meeting, Fisher recommended that the council appoint Dale Haarr to replace Olson. That appointment failed 5-4. Council member Randy Kenyon then made a motion to reappoint Olson, which Kari Gabriel seconded, but that motion failed when Fisher refused to consider it and decided to table the issue until Nov. 18.

Olson said eight Bigfork residents emailed letters to the Kalispell council asking that he not be reappointed.

“I’m kind of shell-shocked by it all,” he said. “Several of the Bigfork residents emailed stuff to the council in an extremely derogatory fashion towards me.”

In his letter, Mutascio referred to “controversy surrounding the Solid Waste Board’s intention to eliminate nearly all of the Green Box sites in the county ... This drastic change in county service to Flathead residence is being led by Hank Olson ... He is adamant in wanting to close the Green Box sites now operating in Bigfork, Lakeside, Creston among others that have already been closed.”

Mutascio said Olson “has only shown a disregard for our input, a disrespect for those in attendance, the county citizens he is supposed to be serving, and has made obvious misrepresentations of facts. He is locked into his position and is unwilling to take an objective look at this very important issue that impacts all County residents.”

Olson denied that he has shown disrespect toward Bigfork residents and noted that the Solid Waste Board gave Bigfork six months, plus a six-month extension, to come up with an alternative to closing the Bigfork green box site. He said the board has no intention to close the Creston site.

“I have never been chastised and lied about like that,” said Olson, who served two years as Whitefish mayor and eight years on the Kalispell council. “What a childish move that is. The way those Bigfork people absolutely ‘shrambled’ my reputation, I can’t hardly believe it. Paul and his crowd did a great job of discriminating me. They scared the hell out of the Kalispell City Council.”

Fisher said she decided against reappointing Olson because she believes in term limits.

Kalispell council member Tim Kluesner offered to serve on the Solid Waste Board. Fisher said she will likely proceed with Kluesner’s appointment if the council agrees to have one of its members sit on the board. Fisher said she would like to re-evaluate having a council member on the board because the council has the “bottom line on tax bills. Prior to Mr. Olson, that position was filled by a city council member,” she said.

She said the city advertised the position for two or three weeks and only got two applicants: Olson and Haarr.

Olson said the only council member who called him prior to the Nov. 4 vote was Gabriel. When asked why he thought Fisher didn’t reappoint him, Olson said, “The mayor doesn’t want me.” He noted that he was reappointed to the position several years ago by Fisher.

Council member Bob Hafferman said at the Nov. 4 meeting that Olson has never made a single report back to the council about what the Solid Waste Board is working on.

Olson said the Bigfork green box site is dangerous and too small for county waste trucks to turn around safely. “Somebody’s going to get run over,” he said.

Soptelean is a reporter at the Bigfork Eagle.