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Barry County commissioners appoint members to mental health, planning and zoning boards; tax allocation seat stays vacant
Summary
At a March 17, 2026 special meeting in Hastings, the Barry County Board of Commissioners appointed three people to the Community Mental Health Authority Board and filled seats on the Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals; a Tax Allocation Board seat remained vacant after no candidate attended.
The Barry County Board of Commissioners met in a special session on March 17, 2026, in the Commission Chambers of the Old Courthouse in Hastings and approved several appointments to county boards and commissions.
Chair David Jackson called the meeting to order at 9 a.m. and the board completed roll call; seven commissioners were present and one was absent. After a brief public-comment period in which no members of the public spoke, the board conducted interviews for multiple advisory boards.
Following interviews of three applicants for the Barry County Community Mental Health Authority Board, Commissioner Marsha Bassett moved and Commissioner Jon Smelker seconded a motion to appoint Duane Secord, William Mattson and Mark Bonsignore to full terms beginning April 1, 2026 and ending March 31, 2029. The motion carried; two partial-term positions that expire March 31, 2027 were not filled.
The board interviewed candidates for the Planning Commission and later, after reconvening at 10:06 a.m., voted to appoint Jason Watson and Fred Jacobs to three-year planning-commission terms beginning May 1, 2026 and expiring April 30, 2029. Commissioner Bob Teunessen moved the planning-commission motion and Commissioner Marsha Bassett seconded; the motion carried.
A proposed appointment to serve as Citizen at Large on the Barry County Tax Allocation Board for a one-year term beginning April 1, 2026 was not completed because no candidate attended the interview.
For the Zoning Board of Appeals, the minutes record an interview with a candidate identified in the record as “Larry Osborne” (the first name appears inconsistently in the minutes). The board moved, on a motion by Commissioner Catherine Getty seconded by Commissioner Jon Smelker, to appoint Larry Osborne and Donald Perry to full three-year terms beginning April 1, 2026 and expiring March 31, 2029. The partial-term seat expiring March 31, 2027 was not filled. The motion carried.
Chair Jackson closed the meeting after commissioner comments; the board recessed briefly midmorning and adjourned at 10:18 a.m. County Clerk Sarah VanDenburg attested to the amended minutes.
