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Seven interview for commissioner
McCOOK, Neb. — Candidates for the vacancy on the Red Willow County board of commissioners include two former county commissioners, one former city council member and one former village board member, several former school board members, a former member of a state water policy task force, former firefighters, an engineer and several farmers.
Wednesday evening, seven of eight applicants for Vesta Dack’s District 3 seat interviewed before a special committee comprised of county treasurer Sue Wesch, county clerk Tami Teel and county attorney Paul Wood.
Dack created the empty seat when she resigned in April to move to Paxton, to be closer to her husband’s doctors in North Platte.
The committee, whose membership is determined by state statute, plans to announce who will serve the last 1 1/2 years of Dack’s term at 8:30 a.m., Monday, May 22, before the commissioners’ weekly meeting scheduled to start at 9 a.m.
Commissioners Earl McNutt and Steve Downer told committee members they would like someone on board by budget time, by the end of June, first part of July.
Candidates are: James “Jim” Coady, Charles Fritsche, Leigh Hoyt, William “Bill” McConville, Zac Richards, Jacqueline Riener and Dick Trail. Evelyn Baumann submitted an application, but did not attend the interviews.
All are current residents of District 3. The position pays $21,012 per year.
JIM COADY told committee members he is a lifelong resident of Red Willow County, and has experience in local and state government, in elected and appointed positions. He is owner of Front Range Environmental Services and president and part-owner of Willow Springs Investment Group. Coady is retired from Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad.
Coady served two terms on the McCook Economic Development Corp., and was appointed to the state water policy task force and the Governor’s Republican River Basin Advisory Council.
He served on boards of education for the Perry School District 23 (treasurer) and McCook Public Schools (president for six years).
CHARLES FRITSCHE said, “To do the commissioner’s job and do it right would require a lot of time, especially at budget and tax protest time. If I’m appointed, I won’t take the job lightly.”
Fritsche was a maintenance crew leader at Valmont Industries in McCook from September 1999 through September 2016.
He owns/operates Fritsche Brothers Trenching, and is a farmer/rancher. He told committee members he has experience operating heavy equipment and wants to improve county roads and save the county money.
He said he’s willing to do the homework required before making decisions.
LEIGH HOYT represented the county’s board of commissioners on the Hillcrest Nursing Home board and on the Fair Board when he served as county commissioner for eight years prior to 2010.
Hoyt said his previous experience as a commissioner means that he can “hit the ground running and start making an immediate contribution.”
Hoyt is a test plot manager/wholesale sales support for the Kugler Oil Company. He lists his skills as farming and fertilizer/chemical recommendations, planning and organizing, along with “interpersonal and listening skills (that) can be used … to enhance constituent and employee relationships.”
BILL McCONVILLE has served on the St. Patrick’s school board, the Red Willow County Extension board and held the treasurer’s office for three terms on the District 41 school board.
He has farmed for 43 years, and said he is familiar with budgeting, finance, machinery and big equipment. He assured committee members he can “learn on the go.”
ZAC RICHARDS said he works on his own and on the family farm and ranch, and has experience with heavy equipment. He said he is knowledgeable about county government through his dad, Barry Richards, who is a county commissioner in Hayes County. “I’m green,” he admitted, “but I’m willing to learn.”
Richards said he is very interested in economic development and agri-tourism and, through his and his family’s farming experiences, in budgeting, creating successful cash flows and accounting/bookkeeping. “Attention to detail is a must for me,” he said.
He served on the Hayes Center village board for six years and was a volunteer firefighter for eight years.
JACQUELINE (“Jacque,” pronounced “Jackie”) RIENER told committee members it is not a conflict of interest to work as an engineer and also serve on a public board, as a county commissioner. In fact, through her occupation she is familiar with bridge inspections, groundwater technology, household hazardous waste, zoning, environmental conditions, well drilling and pump installing. She wrote the grants for Red Willow County’s household hazardous waste program and was the project manager for the construction of the HHW building on Railroad Street in McCook.
She is the managing partner, project manager and design engineer for Southwest Environmental Engineering LLC in McCook.
Riener said she is analytical, and will “go to the citizens” to help her make decisions regarding controversial issues.
DICK TRAIL served for four years on the McCook city council and for eight years as a county commissioner (chairman for five years). He was the training officer for the Red Willow Western Rural Fire Department.
Trail said, as commissioner, he set up and directed the change to county group self-insurance to better provide health insurance for county employees, and took special interest in the administration of the county-owned Hillcrest Nursing Home. He told committee members he was instrumental in creating the nursing home’s daycare center and arranged funding to build the nursing home’s assisted living units.
“The best part of my commissioner position was the roads. I miss that part of it,” Trail said. “I especially liked working with my road crews.”
“I can do the budgets,” Trail promised. “I’m a skinflint … taxpayers appreciate that.”
Following the interviews and a 20-minute closed session, committee members agreed they will reconvene at another public meeting before the commissioners’ May 22 meeting.