NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Several appointments for boards and commissions for Reno County are on the business agenda for the Board of County Commissioners on Wednesday.
Included is the appointment of three citizens to serve a three-year term on the Planning Commission, approval of a resolution updating the Reno County Health Department (RCHD)’s Advisory Board Guidelines, replacement appointments to the Reno County Health Department (RCHD) Advisory Board and renewal of appointments to the Reno County Council on Aging to serve three year terms effective January 1, 2025, along with a renewal of appointments to the Reno County Public Transportation Commission for three year terms effective January 1, 2025.
County Commissioner John Whitesel has asked repeatedly to have nominees to such boards and commissions interview with the Board of County Commissioners prior to appointment, and has voted against all appointments that did not follow that procedure during his tenure as County Commissioner. Whitesel lost in the August primary and will be leaving the commission at the end of the year.
As currently proposed, Reno County Administrator Randy Partington expects the commission to approve the department recommendations, which is what they have done lately on 4-1 votes, with Whitesel voting against. However, the commission still could ask for interviews and defer the choice to a meeting between now and the end of the year, if a majority wants that to happen.
The Board of County Commissioners meets Wednesday at 9 a.m. in the Veterans Room of the Reno County Courthouse.