Iron County students join board of supervisors

By ZACHARY MARANO

zmarano@yourdailyglobe.com

Hurley — Five high school students from Hurley School District were sworn into the Iron County Board of Supervisors as student representatives at the board’s meeting on Tuesday. The students were introduced to the board by Neil Klemme, 4-H youth development educator with the University of Wisconsin-Madison – Extension Iron County.

“The goal of the program is to provide an opportunity for the youth to have a voice in county decision making. Our county is trying to find ways to attract and retain our people and some of the research points to youth engagement as a way of doing that. By engaging youth in decision making, students are more likely to stay after high school or return after college,” Klemme said.

The student representatives at the meeting were Connor Bentley, 10th grade; Kaydance Colassaco, ninth grade; Elloyis Manzer, ninth grade; Serena Tauer, 10th grade; and Luca Villanueva, 10th grade. Jade Hostettler and Elaina Maki were also named student representatives but were not present.

In addition, another four student representatives were named to the board from the Mercer School District. They are Tommy Hohner, Hana Joustra, Adrienne Konneker and Mollie Konneker. They were also not present at the meeting.

Klemme said that just three student representatives from each school district will serve on the board and that the others will be alternate members.

Two of the student representatives will also serve on the Northern Iron County Engaged Residents board of directors and one of them will serve on the Gogebic Range Health Foundation, as well. Klemme told the board that because they allowed students representatives on the board, other organizations are creating places for young people, too.

Another positive outcome of the program is that the student representatives learn more about their civic duties and become more likely to participate in county or local government as adults, Klemme said. Through the program, he said that the student representatives have learned about Robert’s Rules of Order, parliamentary procedure and leaderships styles.

The board of supervisors also considered bids for the bathrooms at the Iron County Fairgrounds in Saxon. Although they weren’t the lowest bidder, the finance committee recommended awarding the bid to Nasi Construction.

While the other contractor proposed a stick-built structure with a drywall interior, Nasi proposed a block building with a metal roof that requires less maintenance. They also agreed to make other changes at no additional cost, including widening the utility area from one foot wide to two feet wide for easier access.

A motion to award the bid for the bathroom to Nasi Construction for $242,500 passed 9-1, with board member Tanner Hiller voting no.