Meeker County Board of Commissioners selected new leadership as part of its annual reorganizational meeting Tuesday.
New chairman of the board will be Steve Schmitt. The District 5 commissioner was nominated by Commissioner Paul Johnson and received unanimous approval.
District 4 Commissioner Danny Schiefelbein was appointed as vice chairman, and Johnson was appointed reading clerk.
In addition to leadership positions, the County Board approved assignments to various committees, with a few modifications from the previous year’s list.
Among the changes was elimination of the COVID Policy Committee, and the addition of Public Works Director Phil Schmalz to the Compensation/Classification Committee.
Two other minor changes approved included Commissioner Beth Oberg being named as representative to the Central Minnesota Jobs & Training joint powers board, replacing Schmitt, who will serve as an alternate.
Oberg also requested to be moved to an alternate on the Housing Redevelopment Authority, with County Administrator Andrew Letson being the county’s primary representative.
“It’s important that we know what’s going on” with the HRA, Oberg said, but many times, she has to bring questions back to Letson anyway. The regular meeting time of the HRA board also conflicts with her other commitments, Oberg said.
Letson said he could take on the responsibility, adding that “it is important for us to have some connection there.”
As part of its consent agenda, the board also:
- Approved reappointment of Dianne Barka and Kari Olson to the Meeker County Public Health Advisory Committee. Barka is a representative of the agricultural community, while Olson is a nursing professor, according to the board packet. The advisory committee has eight members — six from throughout the county, one medical consultant and one county commissioner. Other committee members include Susan Steuck, a retired long-term care nurse; Louise Brooks, a retired acute care nurse; Katie Klitzke, a clinical psychologist; and community-at-large representative Miranda Gohn.
- Designated the Meeker County website as the official publication for transportation projects, and the Litchfield Independent Review as newspaper for official publications.
- Appointed Doug Huhn as county surveyor.
Approval to set bid letting
The County Board gave approval to the Public Works Department to set dates for bid letting for 2023 highway construction projects, a list that includes eight separate projects with a total cost of about $6 million.
Half of the funding will come from local state aid allotment, with the other half coming from “various state funds we have been able to access,” Public Works Director Phil Schmalz told the board.
“I’d call it pretty much average,” Schmalz said of the project list. “It’s a higher use of our state aid funds than what we might see other years, because a lot of years that $6 million will have federal dollars included.”
Among the projects on the list are:
- A reclaim and pave of 8 miles of County State Aid Highway 14 from Common Street on the McLeod County border to Curran Street in Darwin;
- A widen and overlay of existing pavement of 2 miles on CSAH 4 from Dassel to 255th Street;
- Paving of 1.8 miles of 64oth Avenue from Greenleaf Lake to 198th Street;
- Replacing a bridge on 592nd Avenue over the North Fork of the Crow River in Manannah Township;
- Replacing a bridge on 287th Street over the outlet of Dunns Lake in Forest City Township;
- A countywide pavement marking project, including both centerline and edge line markings on various county state aid roads; and
- Asphalt pavement chip seal on portions of CSAH 21, CSAH 23 and CSAH 28, as well as various crack-sealed routes totalling about 15 miles.
Hearing set for ditch petition
Commissioners set a hearing for 9 a.m. March 21 for a petition from Smith Investment Group seeking removal of property in Darwin Township from County 35 drainage system.
As part of the action, the board also approved hiring a “disinterested” drainage viewer to provide input on the petition. Cost of hiring a viewer, conducting the hearing and the petitioner having evidence prepared is the responsibility of Smith Investment Group.
Administrator evaluation
The County Board went into closed session for the purpose of a performance evaluation for the county administrator.
Outgoing Mayor Keith Johnson receives a plaque from incoming Mayor Ron Dingmann during the Jan. 3 Litchfield City Council meeting.
Litchfield City Council’s first meeting of the new year started with a look back as Mayor Keith Johnson offered a formal goodbye before he turned the gavel over to newly elected Mayor Ron Dingmann.
“… I want to thank the residents and business people of our community for your faith in me to serve for three consecutive four-year terms,” Johnson said. Reading from a prepared statement, he also thanked city staff and the numerous councilors he worked with during his 12-year stint as mayor.
“The council members that I have served with over the years have kept the focus on a conservative way of doing business, serving our community functions,” Johnson said. “I so appreciate their efforts as we have worked together as a team.”
Each of the six council members at the dais Monday night followed Johnson’s statement with their own messages of appreciation — both for Johnson’s work as mayor, and his previous careers as a band teacher for Litchfield Public Schools and a house painter, as well as a Lions Club member.
“So, I was lucky enough to have you as a teacher, and I think that what we did … in our band was amazing,” Councilor Sara Miller said. “I’m very blessed to have had you as a teacher and then getting to not only work beside you here, but also being able to work with you at church and recently being able to sing with you, which was also fun. What you have done for this community — it’s hard for people to understand when you’re not sitting at this table, in these seats — but what you’ve done is amazing.”
Councilor John Carlson had similar recollections of his earliest dealings with Johnson. He carried a flag in the high school marching band under Johnson’s direction. Then they became colleagues when both taught at Litchfield High School. Later, Johnson who pursued a career as a painter after retiring from teaching, painted Carlson’s house. And, finally, they’ve worked together as elected officials since Carlson’s election to the City Council in 2020.
Through more than a half century of friendship, Carlson said, he has observed many positive attributes — his work ethic, his thoroughness and follow-through, and his fearlessness in making decisions.
“He’s a true leader. His standards are always very high. He’s passionate,” Carlson said. “And the thing I love the most is he’s very positive. He gets things done by being positive.”
Having now retired for the third time, Carlson kidded, Johnson should take some time to relax, and then maybe write a book.
“Your journey has been amazing,” he said. “You need to preserve the many stories and accomplishments. That’ll take a long time. You can sit in your basement (and) write until your heart’s content.”
Johnson’s promotion of Litchfield through the years was what Councilor Darlene Kotelnicki praised during a brief statement. That and the fact that Johnson offered praise and appreciation for his wife Marian’s support throughout his career.
“You know, she was my CCU partner for 15 years,” Kotelnicki said of her former colleague when both were nurses. “And I truly, many times, thanked her for her wisdom. I can see her support for you and the two of you together. I want to thank you for being such a wonderful ambassador for Litchfield in anything you’ve done — Lions, the band, mayor — thank you for being such a good ambassador for our community.”
Dingmann, who along with Kotelnicki challenged Johnson for mayor four years ago, wrapped up the nearly 15-minute program by highlighting his predecessor’s leadership.
“The time and energy has been enormous,” Dingmann said, then highlighted Johnson’s work with staff and other Council members during the COVID crisis, as well as his work on the recreation center.
“There are three attributes that I picked out that I really, really feel define leaders in a community,” Dingmann said. “No. 1, you have to love this community. No. 2, you have to believe in this community. No. 3, you have to have a passion to serve. Mayor Johnson, you have all three of these qualities. You’ve been a great cheerleader for the city, and we appreciate it very much.”
With that, Dingmann presented Johnson with a plaque, which included a gavel like the one he used to open and close meetings during his 12-year term.
Not long after, Johnson exited the council chambers with his wife, Marian.
Meanwhile, they prepared for the future with a swearing in of Dingmann as mayor, and of the three council members re-elected in November — Eric Mathwig, Miller and Betty Allen.
And later in the meeting the City Council approved two resolutions aimed at filling the now-vacant At-Large councilor position that Dingmann had occupied. The first resolution simply declares an opening on the City Council, while the second set a timeline for applications.
Interested people can pick up an application at City Hall. Applications will be accepted until 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25. The City Council will interview applicants during its Monday, Feb. 6 meeting.
