Ron Golden has been selected as the newest member of the Lake County Commission.
County commissioners interviewed Golden as well as B&G Co-owner Jerry Johnson and retired farmer Craig Johannsen in open session on Tuesday.
"I think it's a great honor," Golden said Wednesday morning (today). "I think it's a great opportunity to serve with the commission that's in place right now. I look forward to being involved with the county."
Following the open-session interviews, commissioners convened in closed session to discuss their decision and then announced their selection Tuesday afternoon.
During his interview, Golden said that his experience as a licensed surveyor would come in handy in many aspects of county commission business, from evaluating drainage requests to approving plats.
"As a surveyor, I see a lot of plats that come before the county that don't meet regulations," he said. "I know how to identify those errors."
Golden said that the county needs to continue moving forward with getting all of its records digitized. He said other counties currently have that done and he sees the need for Lake County to move forward as well.
In the past year, county commissioners have been advised of the risks in approving local drainage requests because of limited state regulations. Lake County chose to continue issuing local drainage permits and asked each candidate their thoughts.
Golden supported the decision.
"It's good that you stayed in. Your job is to protect the citizens of Lake County. By getting out, you would have pushed it aside and let someone else deal with it," Golden said.
Each candidate was given the opportunity to discuss how they would spend extra money if it were available.
Golden said he would first have to identify where the budget was lacking, but he would place a priority on technology improvements.
Golden is a land management supervisor for East River Electric Power Cooperative. He is also a member of the county's GIS committee and previously sat on the city planning and zoning board.
He will officially be sworn into office on Monday.
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