New county board members hold first meeting

Home City News New county board members hold first meeting
New county board members hold first meeting
Bred Benzing is one of four new county board members for 2021. Courtesy | Facebook

When the Hillsdale County commissioners sat down for their monthly meeting last Tuesday, the board was joined by four new members who won their elections two months previous. The board discussed renovations and reopening buildings, agreeing to open the county building starting this past Tuesday. 

The new commissioners are Douglas Ingles, Kathleen Schmitt, Brad Benzing, and Brent Leininger—representing districts one, two, four, and five respectively. 

Official swearing-in for the new members took place on Monday, Jan. 4, and the first meeting was Jan. 12. The board held the organizational meeting to discuss goals and future projects for the county. 

Kathleen Schmitt Courtesy | Facebook

Kathleen Schmitt has lived in the county for over 40 years and has experience in accounting and financing—billing herself as an “asset” to the board amidst the financial difficulties resulting from the pandemic. She said her main focus is to “keep the county on track by staying within the budget.”

Schmitt said the board’s job is “to set the county budget, set policy when appropriate, provide oversight of the various county elected officials and department heads, and provide information to the public in regard to their concerns. To accomplish these duties it includes a lot of time attending many different meetings.”

The first meeting went well, Schmitt said, and the board is focused on reopening the county. 

“The commissioners set in motion the opening of all county buildings with appropriate safety measures in place given issues with COVID and eliminating the added cost of the screeners now that there are no federal or state dollars to cover that expense,” she said.

New commissioner for distinct one and Stadium Roller Rink owner Douglas Ingles concurred with Schmitt, saying the board talked about “trying to open up.”

“Currently the county buildings are closed and locked to the public,” he said. “Any public that needs to do business with the county needs to call, make an appointment, and then come in. As a board, we are trying to begin the process of opening the county buildings for easier access for the public.”

At the meeting, the board voted to open the county building on Jan. 19. Starting Tuesday, the county buildings have screeners to take temperature and let people into the building until at least Jan. 31. 

Ingles was assigned as chairman of the Facilities and Technology and Economic Development committee and said he has been “trying to meet with department heads” as well as “parks commissioners and the road commissioners.”

Ingles said his main priority is the restoration of the historic courthouse—a project that has been in the works for many years and overseen by several of the past boards of commissioners. 

“It is going to be important for us to finish this project,” he said. “Much renovation is required with an old building. Lots of challenges pop up that you do not expect.” 

As the project has been tackled, more issues have been discovered. 

“One thing they found when they were moving walls was that the wiring is old and they have to rewire,” Ingles said. “So this project has really developed into quite a big project. “

Ingles was a city councilmember, mayor pro tempore, and mayor for Hillsdale in the 1990s. During that time, Ingles said, his business suffered so he focused on the rink for many years. The rink, located on Carleton Rd. in Hillsdale, has been in his family since 1956.

“My enthusiasm and my desire to participate on the government level never really went away,” he said. “As commissioners, we work for the public, and it is important for the public to do their business with the county.”

The next county commissioner meeting will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 9 a.m. via video conference.