Becker County District 4 Commissioner John Bellefeuille will serve as county board chairman for 2010.
Bellefeuille was unanimously elected to the position by his fellow commissioners at Tuesday's 2010 organizational meeting.
"It's exciting and frightening at the same time," Bellefeuille said of the prospect of taking the helm for the county.
Bellefeuille, who is in the final year of his first term on the board, said he sees 2010 as "a year of many challenges" for the board in the months ahead.
Among those challenges, he added, will be managing the county budget; partnering with neighboring counties on the Perham incinerator expansion and revamping the county's solid waste plan; and development of a countywide recreation plan.
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He listed balancing the county's budget as being "huge for us" -- particularly in light of continued "unallotments," or cuts in state aid that are expected to be enacted by Gov. Tim Pawlenty in 2010.
But Bellefeuille also said that he feels Becker County "has done a good job of working with what we have," and avoiding large increases in the county tax levy.
Developing a countywide recreation plan is also something that Bellefeuille sees as a priority for the coming year. The inclusion of Detroit Mountain in the plan is something the board is currently exploring, he added.
"It's out there, people are talking about it," Bellefeuille said.
But if Detroit Mountain were to be developed under the county's auspices, Bellefeuille added, he would not want to see the cost burden for that development fall upon the county's taxpayers. He would also want to include public input as part of the development process.
Bellefeuille will chair his first county board meeting of 2010 on Jan. 12. Among the items on the agenda: Discussion of a solid waste joint powers agreement with neighboring counties (the Perham incinerator expansion); and a review of the county's timber cutting policies with regard to white and Norway pines.
The afternoon portion of the meeting will consist of a planning session with county department heads.
Commissioner Barry Nelson is the new vice chair.
