'I tried to build some trust'

Hayden Mayor Scott Forssell said he and the Hayden City Council have accomplished many things, but he won’t be running for re-election Nov. 7.

“The bucket list I have of things I want to do is incompatible with the time I have to spend as a city mayor,” Forssell said Tuesday.

Forssell was appointed mayor in April 2021, during a time of abrupt change.

Then-Mayor Steve Griffitts had resigned months earlier and two new council members had recently been elected.

Council members were having personal disagreements and couldn’t agree on a candidate to fill the open mayoral position. City attorney Fonda Jovick said if council members couldn’t select a mayor, someone would have to be appointed by the governor.

“I couldn’t let that happen, so I decided I had to put my name in the hat,” Forssell said. "I could not bear to have the governor appoint a mayor."

Forssell said he didn’t apply to be mayor because of political aspirations, but thought he could provide a solution to a few problems.

“It very quickly became evident that, despite personal disagreements, many council members had, they generally shared the same ideas, and I tried to build some trust and get them to realize — and I think they have — that they have very similar goals,” Forssell said. “Things went smoother, in my opinion.”

Since, the council has largely come together and moved in the same direction, Forssell said.

“Having a mayor provides a calm and help with direction that people were worried about,” City administrator Brett Boyer said.

And Forssell couldn’t say enough positive things about his time working with city staff, like Boyer and community development director Donna Phillips. The relationships, internally, have largely healed and he’s ready to move on.

Forssell looks back with pride on what he and the Hayden City Council have accomplished during his short term.

He touts a citizen survey, the passage of a police levy after failing twice in previous elections and he points to significant reductions in residential building permits in the city.

When his term ends, he admits he may lose sleep over the fate of the Hayden Urban Renewal Agency.

“Dissolving HURA would save the city about $800,000 in revenue over the next few years," he said. "It would cost the city $8 million to $12 million in lost project money if we dissolved it during that same time."

HURA uses tax revenue from Walmart to fund city improvement projects. If HURA is dissolved, it would make the city more dependent on tax revenue for traffic improvement projects that HURA can currently fund, Forssell said.

“This city, this city council, these city decisions have to run on compromise,” he said.

Despite some worries, there are several positives, like more parks being built, specifically the one at Miles and Maple.

What he most looks forward to is spending time with his grandchildren. The 70-year-old and his wife plan to travel and dip their beaks into snowbirding.

In the end, Forssell said he stepped up when someone was needed, but he’s ready to move aside for someone else to fill the position long-term.

“I never planned this to be a permanent thing,” Forssell said. “It has been such an honor to represent the city of Hayden for the last two years.”