There’s a crowded field of 10 applicants seeking to be appointed to fill the Kalispell City Council seat recently vacated by Randy Kenyon.

“I just have been totally shocked at the number we’ve received,” City Clerk Theresa White said. “I think it’s really good that this many people are interested in the city council.”

City Manager Doug Russell has a similar view.

“I’m always happy to see interest in serving local government,” he said. “It’s exciting to see.”  

White said the most applicants for a vacant position that she can recall in her 18 years with the city was five in 2007.

Mayor Mark Johnson remarked that “it’s interesting that we have that much interest in the seat, but we lack that kind of interest in wanting to run because of the public scrutiny that people go through in the regular election process.”

He said having so many candidates will make it a more challenging process for the council to choose a new member.

“It makes it a lot more difficult, because we have a field of a lot of great people who want to participate,” he said. “What we expected to be a relatively easy process is going to be substantially more difficult.”

State law requires that a majority of the City Council must appoint a replacement, but it doesn’t spell out a process for doing so.

Johnson said he wants applicants who “are serious” in their desire to serve to address the council at its Aug. 4 meeting, when a replacement is scheduled to be selected.

“Especially with that many people. I feel like we have to hear from them,” Johnson said.

The council could delay making an appointment for a week.

Kenyon left the council after 14 years of representing Ward 3 because he has moved out of the city to a home in the North Fork. His term expires at the end of 2015.

Here’s a rundown on the people who applied for the vacancy as of Friday’s 5 p.m. deadline:

 Karlene Ann Osorio-Khor points out that she came in second among multiple candidates in the last election, just behind council member Jim Atkinson. She has served on the Impact Fee  Committee, the city Planning Board, been a representative to the county’s Weeds and Parks Board and the St. Matthew’s School Board. She has also been involved with Soroptimists, the Conrad Mansion, the Foy’s to Blacktail organization and the Flathead Combined Training Association. She manages a limited liability company that owns properties on Main Street in Kalispell.

 As the owner of Great Bear Builders in Kalispell, Steve Burglund cites his familiarity with impact fees, building codes, growth plans, and annexation and zoning issues. Having started as a United Parcel Service driver, he also cites familiarity with the city’s transportation infrastructure.

 Jim Cossitt is an attorney who has served on the city’s Impact Fee Committee. He cites his role in providing significant comments on the city’s ethics policy and on the city panhandling ordinance. He points out that he has no clients with matters involving the city and no financial interests in city activities.

 John Hinchey has lived in Kalispell for 16 years after retiring from a 32-year career as an aerospace engineer with the Hughes Space and Communications Co. in California. He has served 10 years on the Kalispell Planning Board, 10 years on the board of the Museum at Central School, 10 years on the city Parking Commission and is currently vice chairman of the Kalispell Architectural Review Committee, on which he has served for 10 years. He is the current chairman of the Kalispell Business Improvement District.

 Lance Isaak has been the director of the Flathead Youth Home since 2004. He has been involved with the Daybreak Rotary Club, Leadership Flathead, the Kalispell Tree Commission and as a youth sports coach.

 Marc Rold has been the owner of Wild Horse Limousine Service for 13 years. He is an original member and chairman of the Kalispell Urban Renewal Agency and a founding member of Northwest Montana Wedding and Event Professionals. He is active in Toastmasters and has been active in several business and civic groups.

 Jonathan Smith is an attorney who has lived in Kalispell for more than 20 years. He worked as a deputy county attorney, working with many governmental boards, before his retirement, a life change that he says gives him time to put his expertise to work serving on the City Council.

 William Nelson works for the Montana Department of Labor’s Flathead Job Service. He worked 18 years at Whitefish Mountain Resort as a lift operator, lift manager, human resources manager and mountain manager. He has also worked several seasons as a trail crew leader in Glacier National Park. He says he has a particular interest in strengthening Kalispell’s downtown area by making it more conducive to pedestrian use.

 Rod Kuntz has lived in Kalispell since 1986. He has managed wholesale and retail business, developed a network marketing organization and has been a long-term substitute high school teacher. He has also served with the National Guard in Montana and Hawaii. He says he understands the necessity and benefit of government but is mindful of its potential to overreach. As a council member, he says he would approach the business of government as a business.

 Richard Hull worked as a journalist for 25 years and as a database programmer for five years and has been a commercial real estate appraiser since 2006. He owns several rental homes and served on the Kalispell Planning Board, where he opposed expansion of the city to Church Drive. He says he has no overriding political ideology but believes in affordable government, cooperation between local governments and the importance of consistency and fairness.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.