City Manager Fired: Kalispell Council to Vote on Interim City Manager

The Kalispell City Council will vote Monday night on a contract to hire an interim city manager.

If the contract is approved, Myrt Webb will take over the job left vacant by last week's dismissal of City Manager Jim Patrick.

"Mr. Webb is a fairly (well) known quantity. ... I would anticipate no problems there. But we're a little ahead of the game to say it's a done deal," City Attorney Charles Harball said on Tuesday afternoon.

Webb was city manager in Colfax, Wash., before spending four years as city manager in Columbia Falls. He later served as Flathead County administrator as well as director of the county's solid waste department.

He has been involved in job creation, economic development, community and land-use planning, and most recently has worked as a volunteer at North Valley Hospital in Whitefish.

"He has tremendous depth," said Kalispell Mayor Pam Kennedy, adding that she hoped Webb would be replaced by a full-time and permanent manager by early spring.

"I'll be available as long as they need me," Webb told the Missoulian newspaper. He estimated the search for a permanent city manager would take less than six months.