Four community members running to serve Whitefish Fire Service Area

Four candidates have filed to serve on the Whitefish Fire Service Area board. Two positions are opening this term. Ballots for the May 5 election will be mailed later this week.  

Mark Carlson and Dave Kauffman are running for reelection.  

The Pilot asked the candidates to share information about their background, reason for running, and a goal they would work toward while serving. The following is in their own words.  

David Ordway 

I am a retired executive who has lived in Whitefish for 10 years. My life and career reflect deep commitment to integrity, accountability and service. As vice president of Pineland Farms Natural Meats, I built and led a source-verified beef program that connected more than 150 family farms to national markets, always prioritizing transparency, trust and long-term sustainability.  Throughout my career, I have focused on sound financial management and creating programs that serve people fairly and effectively. 

I am running for the WFSA board because there is currently an underserved population that are not heard and there is not a current viable plan in place to service their critical needs.   

My first goal if elected, is to ensure all residents in the WFSA have an equal voice.  My second goal is to help create a strategic plan that will serve the needs of all residents living within the 75 square mile radius of the City of Whitefish. 

Mark Carlson  

I spent 24 years as a volunteer with the Whitefish Fire Department. I have served on the board of the Whitefish Fire Service Area for 12 years. I also have spent 10 years serving on the Fair Board. I have worked closely with the County Commissioners and the Whitefish Fire Department. I have good working relationships with both groups. I work as a loader operator at the gravel pit we ran for 20 years before leasing it to Schellinger in 2009. I live in the WFSA, off Whitefish Stage, with my wife of 32 years, our dog, and our cat.  

I am running for reelection because I see the need for better fire service, the trouble of not addressing the problem, and because I want to make sure the WFSA is protected against losing people and homes to fires. I also want to finish the work the Board is in the middle of. We have a good Board with good relationships between the board members and the executive director. We are getting good work done, and I want to continue with the board so there is no disruption to the progress we’re making.  

I have three goals to keep working on: finish the switch to a fire district, add more firefighters and stations, and serve the entire WFSA as smartly as we can. We only have so many dollars to spend, and we need to be wise about how and where we spend them. For the fire district, I want to make this change so people can vote directly on rate changes. This gives WFSA residents freedom to vote for raising more money for the WFSA (or not). They deserve the freedom to choose, and I want to give it to them. I also want to add more firefighters so there can be quicker responses and more than one response team. Quicker response times will save lives and help stop fires quicker. To be wise with WFSA dollars, I will not support selling the station at Hodgson and Whitefish Stage to finance the hopes of a station in a high-income, low-population density part of the WFSA. Where it is located now is close to a large population center, and it will serve more people there.  

Brian Cole 

I've had the pleasure of being in numerous leadership positions here in the Flathead Valley over the 22-plus years that I've resided here. The experiences I've gained have come from time spent working for Hanson's True Value, Midway Equipment Rental, Third Street Market and Nelson's Ace Hardware. The opportunity gained from working in each of these family-owned businesses has given me greater understanding of the diversity of the community where we live and the needs of the people that call the Flathead Valley home.  

I hope to bring to the WFSA fresh ideas to address the challenges I see that my neighbors are facing. One of these being the challenge of finding and keeping affordable property insurance as the Whitefish Community expands westward. We all want to be able to protect our homes and property if a catastrophic event were to happen. I have experience from the time I spent as a volunteer firefighter in Yakima County, Washington and have deep admiration for our fire service personnel. My desire is to support and expand their EMS efforts to serve our greater Whitefish community. 

My desired outcome from being a part of the WFSA Board would be to help find ways to help expand the coverage offered by Whitefish Fire Department's EMS services, to reduce the response time to the underserved areas surrounding the Whitefish community where growth is taking place and to help my neighbors be able acquire and keep affordable property insurance protection. I feel that the growth in our community requires us to find new fresh ideas to address these challenges before they become bigger problems. 

Dave Kauffman 

I volunteered to fill a vacancy on the board over three years ago and was approved by the County Commissioners. 

I’m retired from the Flathead County Sheriff's Department after serving 29 years as a deputy sheriff. Prior to that, I grew up in Whitefish, graduated from Whitefish High School, and went on to get a BS in Chemistry. After graduating, I returned to Whitefish, I became interested in law-enforcement and was an officer with the Whitefish Police Department for six years. I’ve been married 38 years and am blessed with four children. My wife and I live in rural Whitefish. 

The challenges facing the WFSA board are more complex than it would appear at first glance. Having gained a good understanding of the issues and established a good working relationship with the other current board members over the past 3+ years, I believe it is in the best interest of our community to continue serving with the existing board members. During the past several years the board has worked hard to address the current challenges. We have developed a practical, fiscally responsible plan for more effective fire protection in the near term and are hoping to implement it with the approval of the County Commissioners. Our longer-term plans will require the cooperation of community members to join our petition to convert from a Fire Service Area to a fire district. 

My goal is to convert the WFSA to a district. Why? Because a service area is currently funded by a flat fee. Everyone pays $180 annually for fire protection. Owners of small houses pay the same amount as multimillion dollar houses. The flat fee can only be adjusted by the County Commissioners.

A fire district is funded based on a tax mill basis. Owners pay for fire protection based on the value of their homes. The amount of money allocated for fire protection is determined directly by a vote of residents of the fire district. There are only three remaining fire service areas in Montana. The flat fee does not adequately provide for growth in the community and does not adjust for inflation. The current flat annual rate of $180 is equivalent to about half of some of the operating budgets of the local fire districts in Flathead County. 

Unintentionally, the WFSA has been underfunded for years. Our community needs additional personnel, equipment, and fire stations. Converting to a Fire District is essential to providing the funding for this necessary growth. The current Fire Board members have established a clear path forward but need community help in communicating to our neighbors the need to sign our petition to convert to a fire district. If re-elected I will do my best to provide essential information to our community enabling voters to make an informed decision.