The Hillsdale County Road Commission is looking for applicants to fill two new seats.

The county Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 to add two new members to the road commission board in August. The road commission oversees the maintenance of roads and state highways in Hillsdale County, including paving and snowplowing.

The county set aside a total of $50,000 per year to fund the positions, according to Mark Wiley, who chairs the Board of Commissioners and represents District 3.

Commissioner Doug Ingles voted in favor of adding the new members. He represents District 1, which includes the city of Hillsdale and some surrounding areas. Ingles said a transparency law has hindered the board because it only has three members.

“Any time two members are together talking about road commission, that creates a quorum,” Ingles said. “Then you need to fit into the Open Meetings Act.”

The Open Meetings Act is a Michigan law that requires government bodies to hold public meetings if enough officials attend, according to the Library of Michigan. For the three-member road commission, a quorum only requires two members. Ingles said this limits the board’s ability to do business.

“The intent of adding two members creates the possibility for the road commission to create committees as needed so that official business can transpire more efficiently,” Ingles said.

Wiley voted against the expansion.

“I’m not an advocate of making government bigger,” Wiley said. “By adding two more seats, we’re making government bigger. That board has been a three-member board for 106 years. I think time has proven three can do the job.”

He said he thinks the funds could go to better causes, including road maintenance programs.

“Training the drivers how to grade the gravel roads has been the biggest complaint,” Wiley said. “Some of these guys basically get hired, jump in a truck ride with somebody for two days, and then are turned loose. That’s not much of a training program.”

Bob Godfrey, chairman of the road commission, also said adding two members will streamline the board’s business by avoiding Open Meetings Act requirements on two-member meetings.

The board sends members to visit each of the 18 townships at least once a month, according to Godfrey. He said the new members will help with the visits, lightening the burden on each member.

“Each commissioner has six townships to visit each month. Some nights you have two or three township meetings on the same night. You just can’t make them all so you have to stretch it out,” Godfrey said. “What this will do is let us divide it up between five commissioners.”

Data from the Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council reports that 54.2% of road miles rated for federal aid in Hillsdale County were in poor condition in 2021. 

Galloway Residence House Director JoAnn Arendt, who said she has been driving frequently in Hillsdale County for more than a decade, said the roads are in poor condition especially in the city of Hillsdale.

“It’s a shame,” Arendt said. “You have to go 25, but you have to kind of zigzag around to not hit the potholes. It would be a good thing if they could fix the roads. I don’t know how I could help them, but I’ll cheer them on if they do.”

Godfrey said budget constraints have prevented the road commission from improving road quality.

“We can only do what we can do with the money we receive, and the money we receive comes from registrations on vehicles and gas tax,” Godfrey said. “We have $4 gas and $5 diesel. People have stopped driving. We could use twice what we’re putting into roads right now to start bringing it back to a better percentage. Right now we’re just trying to maintain and not get worse.”

The board has received four applications so far, according to Wiley. He said the board has yet to form criteria to judge applicants, but that he has some qualities in mind.

“I’m looking for a longtime county resident,” Wiley said. “I’m looking for somebody that expresses an interest and perhaps has some sort of background in either finance or heavy equipment or roads – some areas that might make them an asset.”

The county will accept applications online until Dec. 15 at 5 p.m. at co.hillsdale.mi.us.