Council, Commissioners, Judge agree to park board appointment considerations

With a single remaining member on the Dubois County Park Board, the county council, commissioners and circuit court judge have some decisions to make before the park board’s July meeting.

Monday night, the council accepted recent appointee Shane Lindauer’s letter of resignation based on his ineligibility due to his political affiliation. They also discussed how to move forward with their appointment with County Commissioner Chairman Chad Blessinger.

To recap, way back in January, in a 4 to 1 decision that fell along party lines, the Dubois County Council decided to appoint Republican Shane Lindauer rather than reappoint longtime park board member and Democrat Jason Schmitt.
The remaining board members – Al Mihajlovits, Jim Hubers, Gerald Terwiske and Jane Betz – were surprised and felt snubbed by the council’s decision. They attended the council’s Jan. 30 meeting to ask why Schmitt was not reappointed and to express their disappointment at a decision they saw as politically motivated.

At the time, Councilwoman Charmian Klem provided a written statement — she was attending a council function in Indianapolis that day — regarding her decision. In the letter, Klem explained she was grateful for the board’s dedication and service. “Please bear in mind that my decision to call up a new name for consideration of the council’s appointment to the park board was in no way meant to disrespect or undermine the hard work and dedication of Mr. Schmitt’s years of service or the rest of the board,” the statement said.

Klem stated she felt Lindauer was a good choice to bring a fresh set of eyes to the offerings of the Dubois County Park. Lindauer’s zeal for the outdoors, his business experience and service as a councilman in the past will serve the board well, she wrote.

In April, Lindauer attended the park board’s meeting (they meet quarterly) at which time, Hubers, Mihajlovits and Terwiske all stated they were resigning from the board. Betz stated she would remain to help with the transition but was still on the fence as to whether she would remain.

Then, at the commissioner’s meeting earlier this month, County Attorney Art Nordhoff Jr. explained that Lindauer’s appointment was not in compliance with the state’s regulation regarding the political consistency of county park boards.

According to state statute, the county park board is comprised of five members; two appointed by the county’s fiscal body (council), two appointed by the county’s circuit court judge and one appointed by the county ’s executive body (commissioners). The council and circuit court judge cannot appoint two people with the same political affiliation.

Lindauer is a Republican and so is Betz.

Council president Jerry Hunefeld stated he was unaware of the political stipulations regarding the appointment until the day after Nordhoff told the commissioners.

According to Nordhoff, the council did not consult with him prior to the appointment.

“We’ve never consulted Art on any appointment, not that I am aware of,” Klem said. “That will change.”

“It will be automatic,” added Hunefeld.

Klem also suggested the council ask the clerk for any candidate’s voting record for future appointments that could have political stipulations.

The state mandates that a person’s party is determined by their voting record in the previous primary election. During a primary, voters choose a party and vote for the party candidates they want to run in the upcoming general election.

Blessinger also recommended the council utilize the services of the county’s appointed attorney in making decisions. “I think we will ask the attorney to review all our appointments,” he said. “You pay Art (Nordhoff) $6,000 a year from your budget I think. You can get some use out of it if you choose to.”

The council agreed to some informal guidelines in making the appointments. Blessinger proposed that the commissioners could appoint an at-large park board member while the council and circuit court judge could split the remaining board members between the four school corporations. The council will make appointments from Great Jasper Consolidated and Northeast Dubois school corporations and the circuit court judge will make appointments representing the Southwest and Southeast Dubois County school corporations.

In this case, since Betz is a Jasper resident, the council will consider a Democrat from the Northeast Dubois County School Corporation.

The circuit court has the responsibility to appoint two members but has traditionally given the superior court judge the courtesy of making a recommendation on one of those appointments. According to Circuit Court Judge Nathan Verkamp, he will continue to extend that courtesy to Judge Mark McConnell.

The appointments must be made before the park board’s July meeting or they will not have a quorum to hold a meeting. The council has indicated it will likely have appointments made at the May 30 meeting. The commissioners plan on making their appointment sometime in May.

Interested candidates can reach out to the commissioners and the auditor’s office.