Page 31 - Flathead Beacon // 8.24.16

TRANSACTIONS
WEEKLY BUSINESS BRIEFING
MEERKATZ NAMED NEW PRESIDENT OF MWED
Jerry Meerkatz, a graduate of Flathead High School and long- time community member, was appointed the president and CEO of Montana West Economic Development, the organization announced Aug. 18.
Meerkatz will replace Kellie Danielson, who is stepping down later after seven years leading the local nonpro t economic devel- opment organization. Meerkatz will assume responsibilities on Aug. 22.
Meerkatz, a 1976 graduate of Flathead High School, has more than 35 years of management experience, including a sprawling career in the technology sector. He graduated from DeVry Univer- sity in Arizona with an engineer- ing degree. He previously worked for Compaq Computer Corpora- tion, Hewlett Packard Company
and Infowave Software, Inc. “After intensive review of can- didates from throughout the United States, including many very quali ed local individu- als, we were pleased to o er the position of President to Jerry Meerkatz,” stated Rick Weaver, chairman of the MWED Board of Directors and a member of the
hiring committee.
As a not-for-pro t economic
development organization, MWED has worked to stimulate a diversi ed, sustainable busi- ness base through loan and grant programs, consulting, market analyses and regional marketing campaigns.
Among the organization’s most prominent projects, MWED has spearheaded the development of an industrial rail park in Kalispell.
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White sh, and most tourists don’t notice the tax or aren’t bugged by it, Stearns said, particularly when com- paring it to other resort towns, or their home states with sales taxes.
The Riverside Tennis Courts on Baker Avenue are currently being ren- ovated, while the potholed corridors of Somers Avenue, State Park Road, Kar- row Avenue, West Seventh Street, and East Edgewood Place are all slated for repair.
The resort tax was controversial in 1996 when it was put in place, and while some locals still gripe about it or opt to shop in Kalispell to circumvent it, the city’s adoption of a resort tax has gen- erally been accepted as a positive, Stea- rns said.
That acceptance was no more evi- dent than in April 2015, when White- sh voters turned out to overwhelm- ingly approve the resort tax increase to help fund the Haskill Basin conser- vation easement by a margin of nearly 84 percent.
“You let me know any other tax increase that passed by 84 percent of the voters,” Stearns said. “I’ve never seen that in my career.”
By comparison, residents reluctantly passed the resort tax in 1996 with a 56 percent to 44 percent margin. In 2004, residents renewed the tax with a 76 per- cent to 24 percent vote.
Stearns said he believes that vote was
somewhat swayed by tangible changes in the community, like “fewer potholes and new roads.”
The resort tax has been an “immense help” to the community of 6,700 resi- dents, he said, raising about $2.5 mil- lion in scal year 2016, compared to $770,074 in 1997, the rst full year of resort tax collections. Of the 2016 col- lections, 65 percent was put into roads, 25 percent into property tax relief, 5 percent into parks and trails, and 5 per- cent for vendors.
Stearns added that the revenue also has allowed the city to hire more police o cers than other cities per capita.
The tax applies to consumable food served, which has led to some inter- esting interpretations. For example, if a person buys a doughnut and eats it at the location, it’s taxed. But if a person buys a bag of doughnuts and eats them at home, they’re not taxed.
Other Montana resort towns and communities have bene ted from resort taxes of their own, according to theMontanaDepartmentofRevenue.
Virginia City, West Yellowstone and Red Lodge are the other Montana com- munities using the local option resort tax to their bene ts. St. Regis, Big Sky, Cooke City, and Craig are the other resort areas with resort taxes. In all of the communities and resort areas, the tax is 3 percent.
tscott@ atheadbeacon.com
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Dr. Peter Nelson has sold his pediatric dental practice to Dr. Gabe Dawson, who will take over the practice under the title of Big Sky Pediatric Dentistry. Dr. Nel- son has built the practice over the past 34 years and is grateful for the practice’s transition under the leadership of Dr. Dawson. During the process of transition Dr. Nelson will be working part time at the practice for the next several months.
Dr. Dawson is a trusted Kalispell native, and his return to the valley is bringing- Dr. Nelson’s practice full circle. Original- ly a patient at Dr. Nelson’s, Dr. Dawson recalls a memory from the third grade, explaining that he wanted to work with children and “be just like Dr. Pete.”
Big Sky Pediatric Dentistry
Dr. Gabe Dawson Dr. Peter Nelson
795 Sunset Blvd. Kalispell, MT 59901
P: 406.752.8302 F: 406.756.1953
Once Dr. Dawson nished dental school at University of Washington School of Dentistry and was accepted into a pedi- atric residency at the Nationwide Chil- dren’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, the plans for Dr. Dawson to join Dr. Nelson’s practice became serious.
In 1982 Dr. Nelson began his practice from scratch. “ ose shelves,” Dr. Nelson pointed to rows of hundreds of patient’s les “used to have only two folders on them when we began.”
Dr. Nelson’s practice has come a long way, and its legacy will be carried on as he passes the torch to Dr. Dawson. e current sta will remain a vital part of the practice during the change of ownership.