Hays Post
The Ellis County Commission approved reorganization for 2018 at Monday’s meeting but not without controversy.
The commission voted 2-1 to appoint Dean Haselhorst as the chair instead of Commissioner Marcy McClelland, who served as the vice chair this past year and was in line to take over the chair position.
Commissioner Barb Wasinger made the motion to nominate Haselhorst, who previously served as the commission chair in 2016.
In a statement, Wasinger said she could not support McClelland as the chair of the commission because of the current lawsuit involving the Blue Sky Acres residential development.
“I simply cannot support Commissioner McClelland as chair of the Ellis County Commission due to her decision to put the interest of seven homeowners in the VonFeldt subdivision over those of the almost 29,000 residents of Ellis County,” Wasinger said. “Her decision in the Blue Sky Acres matter has, in effect, halted development for over a year in Ellis County, and it has denied the county any potential tax revenue from such development.”
McClelland and the county commission are currently in the middle of a lawsuit after the commission failed to approve a final plat of the subdivision south of Hays.
With Wasinger recused due a conflict of interest, the vote on the final plat was 1-1, essentially defeating the proposal.
McClelland had expressed concerns that the new septic systems could contaminate the existing water wells used by residents in the VonFeldt Addition, directly east of the proposed residential subdivision.
Wasinger was appointed as the vice chair. McClelland had no comment after the meeting.
In other business, the commission:
• Approved a proclamation declaring January as Stalking Awareness Month.
• Approved a conditional use permit allowing Casey Zimmerman to start a trailer sales business in rural Ellis County.
• Met as the Public Building Commission and conducted the 2018 reorganization. Haselhorst was appointed president and Wasinger vice president.