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Osage County commissioners appoint Michael Lawler as Ridgeway Township clerk after public hearing
Summary
After extended public comment from Ridgeway Township residents, the Osage County Board of Commissioners voted to appoint Michael (Mike) Lawler to fill an unexpired two‑year term as Ridgeway Township clerk.
Osage County commissioners voted to appoint Michael Lawler as clerk for Ridgeway Township, filling an unexpired two‑year term, after more than an hour of public comment in which several township residents and officials urged the county to accept local recommendations.
Supporters told the commissioners Lawler brings recordkeeping and road‑maintenance oversight experience to the position. “He made sure that the grader operator was and still is accountable for the time and the miles that he or she works,” Ridgeway resident Sheena Holler said, describing changes Lawler helped implement while previously on the township board.
The public comment period drew multiple Ridgeway Township residents and current township officers who described recent changes in road maintenance, equipment purchases and financial reserves under the township board’s recent composition. Speakers contrasted earlier meeting practices they described as informal with new recordkeeping they attributed to Lawler and other board members. One supporter summarized the case as a practical, operational choice: Lawler had produced documentation tracing gravel deliveries and other line‑item expenditures that proponents said supported improved road maintenance without raising township taxes.
County commissioners said they would review the testimony and paperwork before acting and then moved to a formal vote. A motion to appoint Michael Lawler to the Ridgeway Township clerk position for the unexpired two‑year term was made, seconded and approved by voice vote.
Because the appointment fills a local township vacancy, commissioners noted the appointment is temporary until voters next elect the position; several public speakers emphasized the next local election as the final accountability mechanism. Commissioners did not adopt additional formal restrictions or conditions on the appointment during the meeting.
Votes at the meeting were by voice; the motion carried and commissioners announced approval of the appointment.
The commissioners closed the item and moved on to the next agenda topics.
