They say people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan. Kalispell suffers from this condition right now, in terms of our housing crises.
Council member Ryan Hunter has consistently urged Kalispell to craft a formal plan to address housing. The last few years have proven him right. Our housing situation has gotten worse and too little is being done to address it.
Ryan Hunter supports a fundamental idea of fairness: People who work hard should be able to afford a roof over their heads. I agree with that idea, and I think most voters do.
In recent years, we’ve seen home prices and rents skyrocket to the point businesses, schools and the police and fire departments have a harder time recruiting employees.
We’ve also seen low-price motels fold up, resulting in more people living on the streets. This has resulted in a long list of well documented side-effects. We are paying the costs, in terms of social conflict and wear-and-tear on our libraries, parks and public spaces that are being used for purposes for which they were not designed. That is, housing.
So what’s the plan? So far, there is none.
Kalispell has plans for roads and parks. It has plans for parking. It has plans for supplying water and sewer services. It should have a plan for addressing our housing needs.
Ryan Hunter wants to strike at the root of this problem, not just snip at the branches. Ryan deserves to be reelected to continue to serve all of Kalispell, those of us who can afford a roof over our heads, and those who wish they could.
Ben Long
Kalispell