Four seek Monroe County Road Commission board seat

Four persons, including Paul Iacoangeli, a former chairman of the Board of Monroe County Road Commissioners, have applied to fill a vacancy on the road board created by the recent resignation of Charles Londo, vice chairman of the body.

The four submitted resumes to Mark Brant, chairman of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners, to fill the remaining two years of Londo’s seat. The deadline for applying was 5 p.m. Friday.

Londo resigned from his seat in December to spend more time with his family, said Dori Hawkins-Freelain, managing director of the road commission. He has two years remaining on his term of office.

Brant told county commissioners Tuesday night the seat would be filled similar to the process followed in 2020 when Dan Minton and Bill Kipf were named to the road board after being interviewed by the nine commissioners.

Brant recommended the commissioners interview the four candidates at their Feb. 15 meeting and make a decision then based on who scores the highest from the interviews. The other candidates will be kept outside the board room during the interviews, he said.

Two years ago, Iacoangeli completed a six-year stint on the road body, including five years as its chairman.  

Other candidates seeking the post include Jim Jacobs, a local architect; Jason Ruhlig, a partner in Ruhlig Farms in Carleton, and Jeff Hensley, a former Monroe City Council member and an employee of DTE Energy for 19 years.

Hawkins-Freelain, who attended the commissioners’ meeting Tuesday, said the road body is short one member due to Londo’s leaving. She said at last week’s organizational meeting, the road body chose Chairman Greg Stewart to lead the board again in 2022 and named Minton to be the new vice chairman.

Road commissioners serve six-year terms on the road body, with their appointment subject to approval by the county board.

Road commissioners currently earn $7,708 annually. The chairman is paid $8,222 a year and vice chairman earns $7,965.