The Vilas County board of supervisors held their scheduled organizational meeting with all 21 board members present in person and included five new members.
The only significant order of business was to elect a board chairman and two vice chairs by secret ballot. According to county clerk Dave Alleman, each position needed to receive a minimum of 11 votes and if no candidate did, there would be a second vote, or more if needed..
Re-elected board chairman for the next two years was supervisor Ron DeBruyne who received 14 votes over 7 for supervisor Marv Anderson. Re-elected 1st vice chair was supervisor Jerry Burkett who received 17 votes over 4 for Marv Anderson. Elected 2nd vice chair was supervisor Chuck Hayes on a second ballot. The first ballot saw 10 votes for Hayes, 8 for Marv Anderson, and 3 for supervisor Art Kunde. The second vote saw 12 for Hayes, 8 for Anderson, and 1 for Kunde.
Chairman DeBruyne addressed the board with both a challenge and a caution. “All 21 of us come from different paths of life and we bring a whole pool of knowledge with us to make decisions,” DeBruyne said. “Each of us need to stick to the subject of any motion or resolution and not push a personal agenda. We need to be aware of open meeting regulations especially when contacting other supervisors on the board or committees you are on. “The coronavirus has affected all our lives and will continue for the immediate future. I wish we were making decisions for our area rather than those outside our area making them for us.”
