Meet Jerry Ballas, Ward 4

AGE: 64
OCCUPATION: Architect at the University of Montana’s Physical Plant
MARITAL OR PARTNERSHIP STATUS: Married
EDUCATION: Architecture degree from Montana State University
PROFESSIONAL: Owner FBB Architects for more than 30 years
MILITARY EXPERIENCE: Served in Vietnam as an Army combat engineer and officer.
PUBLIC SERVICE: Habitat for Humanity
PARTY AFFILIATION: Declined to comment
ENDORSEMENTS: Missoula County Republican Central Committee, Missoula Indepedent; Chamber of Commerce rating: 2.5 of 3.0.

Questions and answers

What qualifies you to be on the City Council?

"I’ve had lifelong residency in Missoula, 35 years as a homeowner, almost 35 years as a business owner, working with the community and being active in community affairs. Being an architect, I’ve worked with just about every segment of the community, listening to their needs, dreams and goals, and helping them achieve those dreams and goals. City Council is just kind of one more segment of that community service.”

What are the best and worst things City Council has done in recent years?

“The best thing that I think the council did was approving the aquatics facilities for the community. ... I think that was an extremely challenging job, but one with tremendous benefits for the community. As for the worst thing the council has done, to allow the boundary line process to proceed as far as it did without challenging or questioning the legality of that issue.”

What one thing would you most like to accomplish as a member of the City Council?

“One major goal, and the reason that I decided to run again, is to make sure that the zoning and subdivision rewrite is clear, concise; that it addresses some of the problems in the city, and also protects the character of the core neighborhoods. The only way I can do it is by utilizing the experience I have in trying to analyze and review and approve ordinance changes.”

What can Missoula do to attract better-paying jobs?

“The city by itself can’t do anything. The city needs to find ways to partner with economic development corporations and other business promoting entities to create the atmosphere to develop those types of jobs. The city also needs to make sure that ordinances don’t discourage the development of new jobs.”

What should the city do to encourage the development of more affordable housing for Missoula residents?

“We need to make sure that we have a very modern, progressive housing authority that can help us address the greatest needs. We have to seek opportunities like redeveloping the mill site, and partner with private developers interested in developing those larger pieces of ground. We must keep administrative costs manageable and decisions timely.”

Should Missoula endorse a troop withdrawal from Iraq? Why or why not?

“No. I was an officer in Vietnam. I was a pretty young and inexperienced officer. You had to figure out how to keep the morale up in a situation that wasn’t the best. For me, the opposition to that war totally demoralized many of our troops. I associate the resolution with having an effect of demoralizing the troops without really achieving the ends.”

What is Missoula’s most pressing traffic problem, and where should the city turn to for money to solve it?

“The worst traffic problem we have is probably Reserve Street. A lot of our major thoroughfares in Missoula are also state highways, and our best opportunity is to work the state and federal government to approve them."

Should the city limit the number of unrelated people who may share a house?

“I supported the occupancy standard limitation when it was first raised. The basis for my argument is, if you turn around and let a house be used for something that it wasn’t designed for, very probably it will lead to deterioration of the entire neighborhood. I think if you adopt occupancy standards you've got to then find a better way of providing housing for students. We could encourage the university to provide a higher proportion of housing for students. There isn’t any one single solution.”

What specific problems in your ward would you like to see solved?

“We need to improve Hillview Way, because it is substandard and it’s a hazard. We need to find a way to develop hillsides and sloping sites so that new development doesn’t impact people who have invested in this property for many, many years. I want to better develop the standards for planned neighborhood clusters. We are susceptible to planned neighborhood clusters which I don’t think will fit in with the character of the neighborhood.”