(Spirit Lake)– With more than a dozen people interested, the matter of filling a vacancy on the Dickinson County Planning and Zoning Commission became politically charged at Tuesday’s board of supervisors meeting.
It took two attempts, but the supervisors did fill the position on a split vote.
Each of the five supervisors recommended a name of a person they had contacted that expressed interest.
Following a considerable amount of discussion over what perameters should be considered in filling the vacancy, supervisor Paul Johnson made a motion to appoint Barb Mendenhall, who currently serves on Okoboji’s P & Z, to the vacancy. Johnson said Mendenhall indicated to him she would resign from the Okoboji commission should she be appointed to the county post. The motion was seconded by Pam Jordan. It failed on a two-to-three vote, with Mardi Allen, Wayne Northey and Supervisor Chairman David Gottsche all voting no.
At that point, Allen said it’s important cities in the county have representation, saying it could open the way for dialogue between the cities and county.
Johnson differed, saying having people in city government sitting on county boards is a mistake.
Allen then made a motion to appoint Mike Roach of Superior, a member of the Superior city council, to the vacancy. That motion passed three-to-two with Allen, Jordan and Northey voting yes and Gottsche and Johnson voting no.
