Contested Bois de Sioux Watershed manager appointment leads to re‑advertising and a later appointment

The Board of Commissioners grappled with the appointment of a Bois de Sioux Watershed District (BdSWD) manager across several meetings. In March, the board considered two candidates and received public comment; Commissioner Johnson withdrew a motion to appoint Bob Marts when questions were raised about eligibility and procedural timing. The board scheduled a special meeting for April 9 so the county attorney could provide a legal memorandum on options.

At the April 9 special meeting County Attorney Matthew Franzese summarized his legal memo and the board voted unanimously to re‑advertise the manager position with a target appointment date of May 1. The re‑advertise decision followed public concerns about statutory residency and eligibility. At the May 1 meeting the board voted on appointments: a motion to reappoint Bob Marts failed (Commissioners Salberg and Johnson in favor), and the board then appointed Ronald Vold to the BdSWD by a 3‑2 vote (Leininger, Deal and Appel in favor; Johnson and Salberg opposed).