Jim Van Doren returns to Lenawee County board chair

David Panian, The Daily Telegram
·4 min read

ADRIAN — A divided Lenawee County Board of Commissioners elected a new, yet familiar, chairman Friday at the board's organization meeting.

Commissioner Jim Van Doren, R-Tipton, was elected chairman on a 5-4 vote. Commissioners Nancy Jenkins-Arno, R-Clayton, Terry Collins, R-Adrian, Dustin Krasny, R-Cambridge Twp., Kevon Martis, R-Riga Twp., and Van Doren voted for Van Doren. Commissioners Dawn Bales, R-Madison Twp., K.Z. Bolton, D-Adrian, David Stimpson, R-Tecumseh, and Ralph Tillotson, R-Adrian Twp., voted no.

Van Doren was nominated by Jenkins-Arno. Krasny seconded the nomination.

Tillotson nominated Stimpson to continue as board chair, but Stimpson declined the nomination. Stimpson had been chairman since 2015.

Van Doren then nominated Krasny to be the board's vice chair, and Jenkins-Arno seconded. Krasny was elected on a 5-4 vote with the same split among the commissioners.

Van Doren and Krasny were both elected to full terms in November along with Martis. Krasny was already on the board after being appointed about a year ago to fill a vacancy. Van Doren previously served on the board from 2000-10, the last four of those as chairman.

Lenawee County Commissioner Dustin Krasny, R-Cambridge Twp., was elected vice chair of the board Friday during the board's organizational meeting.
Lenawee County Commissioner Dustin Krasny, R-Cambridge Twp., was elected vice chair of the board Friday during the board's organizational meeting.

Van Doren and Martis each defeated incumbents in the primary election, then were elected in November. Van Doren had a Democratic challenger in November, while Martis was unopposed.

"The people of Lenawee County the last election asked for a change and a new direction by this commission, and we appreciate the representation and the fact that they want to see us move forward," Van Doren told the audience. "With that being said, I think the people want to be heard and not just listened to. The most important part is the people have elected us to bring this commission back together, and that's what we're here for. I'm looking forward to 2023 to bring the group together on a consensus basis, move ahead for the people of Lenawee County."

Differences on the board developed in 2022 over the proposed Phoenix Project recreation center that would have been built on the former Tecumseh Products Co. site in Tecumseh. Van Doren was executive director of Lenawee Now when the economic development organization asked for an independent audit of Project Phoenix before it would give its support to the project. Martis was among those who opposed the project from the start, arguing that it was too expensive, would not benefit most of the county's residents and should not be a top priority for the county. Jenkins-Arno voted against purchasing the property and questioned how it would benefit people who live in her district. Collins originally supported the project, but changed his mind due to the project's projected costs, which one estimate set at $88 million to build, and how that money could otherwise be spent.

Van Doren resigned from Lenawee Now in June, saying he had intended to retire by the end of 2022. By then he was a candidate for the county board.

The Daily Telegram reached out to Stimpson for comment on the meeting but had not heard back from him by the print deadline.

After the meeting, Van Doren said he has talked to county administrator Kim Murphy about restoring funding for Lenawee Now and about new county staff positions, including a communications and marketing director and a community development coordinator, that have been created but not filled. The previous board rescinded its third- and fourth-quarter funding allocations to Lenawee Now, adding up to $74,500, in part over its request for an audit of Project Phoenix and questions about the value Lenawee Now has provided to the county.

Van Doren on Friday said Lenawee Now has been beneficial to the county in terms of job creation and retention. He also said working with other organizations that can provide what the county wants to achieve with the new positions can control the county's payroll.

The board passed a motion to continue the 2022 committee assignments until new appointments are made by the chair and approved by the Rules and Appointments Committee.

A few dozen people attended what ordinarily is a routine, administrative meeting. Collins said it was "refreshing" to see so many people at the meeting and he hopes that similar attendance continues.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Jim Van Doren returns to Lenawee County board chair