About Frank
I feel a deep connection and responsibility to this community. I am a 3rd generation Montanan and have a long view of life here. Much of my strengths come from my experiences: being raised on a farm, owning and operating 2 successful businesses for over 20 years, and raising my daughter here with my wife. I am a problem solver and have learned a lot from my mistakes and my wins. I am a good listener. I feel a call to use my experiences and abilities to participate, work hard, and help in our county government.
When I take a big picture view of issues, I need to remember to step back to look more carefully at the small details too. I have biases and blind spots, like anyone does, and I need to be keenly aware of this in the role of a commissioner. On a lighter note, I’m not a very good speller and forget names too easily!
The biggest challenges in Park County are preserving our community, fostering a safe and healthy environment for families and seniors, all while promoting economic development and managing growth. We need to listen to one another and try not to shut each other down. There is no shortage of good ideas out there. We need to work together to address our challenges, and turn them into opportunities to build a stronger, more resilient community.
Promoting and preserving farms and agriculture businesses in Park County is an incredibly important issue for us. Policy tools like promoting land easements and sharing available supportive resources with land owners will help support and preserve farm and ag businesses. There’s lots more to learn and do on this.
We definitely need to take steps and use available resources to help provide better and more affordable housing options for people in Park County. Sometimes, as a county, we may be limited in our scope to help because of state or federal limitations or regulations. However, we have some current strategies and policies in place like with HDRC, Park County Housing Coalition, and Home Repair Program for example, providing some housing relief resources. This is such an important issue here, and in many other communities. I’m eager to get to work and learn more to help with affordable housing.
We must take an active role in expanding access to mental health services. Because we have an extremely high suicide rate here, and because the well-being of the community depends on better mental health overall, we must continue to support and share resources for our people. Luckily, we recently have a local mobile crisis response team, as well as LiveWell49 Resilience Project, and L’esprit therapy to name a few successful resources.