Polson Commission welcomes new members

Polson’s city government received a makeover Monday night when two new members and two incumbents took their oaths of office during the City Commission’s first meeting of 2022.

Mayor Paul Briney, who served four years in the position, performed his final act of office, the swearing-in ceremony, before “heading off into the wind,” as Ward 2 Commissioner Tony Isbell put it.

Briney first swore in two new members present in the commission’s chambers, new Mayor Eric Huffine and new Ward 1 Commissioner Jake Holley, who is a technical writer and documentation specialist at Black Mountain Software.

Huffine owns and operates Riverside Recreation, a boat and water recreation business based at Riverside Park along the Flathead River. He also owns Pablo-based Wall and Slab Concrete Construction.

Briney chose not to seek re-election last fall. Nor did former mayor and longtime Ward 1 Commissioner Lou Marchello, who also was present for his final meeting Monday.

After Huffine and Holley took the oath, Briney swore in Ward 2’s Laura Dever, who was appointed last year and won re-election in November, and Ward 3’s Brodie Moll, who ran unopposed. Dever and Moll attended the meeting remotely via Zoom.

After all oaths were completed, Briney gave way to Huffine, whose first act as mayor was to award plaques in commemoration of their service to Briney and Marchello.

Marchello, owner of the Crow's Nest art gallery on Main Street, served as Polson’s mayor from 2008-12. He represented Ward 1 from 2001-05, and again from 2017-21.

“Lou, I’d like to thank you for all your years of service to this community,” Huffine said Monday as he presented a plaque to Marchello. “You’ve done a hell of a job.”

He then turned to Briney.

“Paul, thank you. You’re going to be a tough act to follow.”

Both men received applause, but there were no farewell speeches before they left the room and the meeting resumed.

City Manager Ed Meece also thanked Briney and Marchello during his time for remarks.

“Thank you both, Mayor Briney and Commissioner Marchello,” Meece said. “It has been a pleasure to work with both of these gentlemen. They both have a sincere commitment to this community, which they’ve demonstrated over and over.”

In other business Monday, the Commission opted not to nominate and elect a new acting chairperson. In recent years, members have selected a member who is designated to run meetings when the mayor is absent. Moll was voted chairperson the previous year, but members decided the designation was unnecessary and members could select someone among themselves to run meetings on a case-by-case basis.

An ordinance establishing a process for appointing new members to a Commission vacancy passed a first reading on a unanimous vote. Issues over the process emerged when Dever was appointed to serve Ward 2 in July. The ordinance modifies the process to comply with state law. It specifies that the mayor shall select a list of qualified candidates for a vote before the commission. It also allows the mayor to cast a vote and requires the final vote to be transparent rather than by secret ballot.

Commissioners then appointed Dennis La Bonty and Larry Ashcraft to serve on the Polson Golf Board through 2022.

“It’s always good to get the first one out of the way,” Huffine said after the meeting.

Huffine, a lifelong Polson resident and father of three, said he sought the position of mayor so he could be part of the solution.

“I just see some issues, and you always think someone should do something about that, and then you figure out you are the someone.”

This is his first experience as a public servant.

“I’m not big into politics. I’m more about common sense and have a business background. I just see some inefficiencies that I think I can help out with. Hopefully I can stir some conversations and provoke some thought. I think the success and failure of every relationship is about communication. … I think that’s one of my strengths.”

The Commission’s next regular meeting is Wednesday, Jan. 19 since the previous Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.