About 20 Leelanau County residents were appointed or reappointed to various boards and commissions at a Dec. 17 county government meeting. The county board of commissioners reviews and approves committee recommendations for new appointments at their December meetings every year.
Ten county boards, commissions, committees, and authorities now have new members, or they had their active members’ terms renewed. The duration of these appointments ranged between one year and five years.
“We had an awful lot of residents sign up and volunteer for committees, commissions, and boards,” board Chairman Ty Wessell said after the meeting. “We sure appreciate everybody’s willingness to serve. We had a couple of commissions/ boards that we did not fill because of a lack of applicants, (and) we’re reaching out and listing those for a later date. We just wanted to thank you, and we appreciate your interest.”
The county’s land bank fast track authority (LBA) still has one opening, with citizen-member Richard Foster’s term expiring Tuesday. The county advertised this position in August but received no applicants. According to executive documents, the LBA manages taxforeclosed and abandoned properties. It has three citizen members, each serving three-year terms.
The county board appointed three people to the solid waste council, but there are still two openings left. This council helps implement solid waste management to protect public health and the environment, provides means and encouragement for public involvement in these activities, and develops sustainable methods such as recycling and compositing, according to documents on leelanau.gov. It has nine citizen members, each serving two-year terms.
Committee appointments approved at the Dec. 17 regular session included:
• Appointing David Quimby to Benzie/Leelanau District Health Department board of health for a two-year term expiring Dec. 31, 2026.
• Reappointing Don Barrows to Benzie/Leelanau District Health Department environmental health board of appeals for a two-year term.
• Reappointing David King and appointing Christopher Logan and Kathleen Wiejaczka to the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority for three-year terms.
• Appointing Thomas Verschaeve to the construction board of appeals, plumbing/ mechanical category, for a partial five-year term expiring Dec. 31, 2028, and appointing Julius Bunek to the construction board of appeals, electrical category, for a full five-year term expiring Dec. 31, 2029.
• Approving the Leelanau County Road Commission’s recommendation to reappoint road Commissioner Garth Greenan as their representative on the Leland Dam Authority for one year.
• Reappointing or appointing Charles Godbout, Keith Beduhn, and Rebecca Benedict to the parks and recreation commission for three-year terms, appointing Jim Carpenter for a partial term expiring Dec. 31, 2026, and approving the Road Commission’s recommendation to appoint road Commissioner Mel Black as their representative on the commission for one year.
• Appointing Lois Bahle to the Planning Commission, recreation category, for a threeyear term; Scott Heiser to the Planning Commission, finance category, for a three-year term; and Black to the Planning Commission, real estate category, for a three-year term.
• Reappointing Eric Lind and appointing Kathy Dawkins to the soil erosion, sedimentation, and stormwater runoff control ordinance board of authority for three-year terms.
• Reappointing Andrew Gale and Tom Peterson and appointing Kathy Dawkins to the solid waste council for two-year terms.
• Reappointing Steve Stanton to the Veteran Affairs administrative committee for a two-year term.
The Board of Commissioners have not yet appointed or reappointed county commissioners or commissioners-elect to any boards. And for some committees, the county board briefly considered changing board appointments from ex officio to citizen positions or vice versa. In each case, the outgoing commissioners agreed to defer decisions on whether the county’s representatives on these boards should be elected officials or private citizens to the incoming county board.
