Several elected Fraser officials waived their compensation from the last few years, which the Town Board donated to the Grand Foundation to help support services during the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday.
Trustee Ryan Barwick and committee members Nick Swanson, Francie deVos and Ken Ball all waived their compensation for their meeting attendance in 2017-2019, totaling $5,525.
Barwick specifically asked the town if his compensation could be donated to the Grand Foundation or another local nonprofit.
“I just wanted it to go back into the community to help,” Barwick said.
Since the committee members who waived their pay didn’t specify where they wanted the money to go, the other trustees agreed that donating the money would be the best use of the funds.
Mayor Pro Tem Eileen Waldow suggested the money go to Mountain Family Center to help the nonprofit continue its services, including stocking food pantries, offering senior meals and providing rent and utility assistance.
Barwick agreed and the board unanimously approved the donation.
In other business:
- Mayor Philip Vandernail took his oath of office during the meeting Wednesday evening. Trustees Ryan Barwick, Parnell Quinn and Brian Cerkvenik took their oaths throughout the day Wednesday, reported Town Clerk Antoinette McVeigh.
- The board reappointed McVeigh to the town clerk position, as well as reappointed Rod McGowan as the town attorney, Beth Williams as the town treasurer and Ron Carlson as the municipal judge.
- The board also reappointed Eileen Waldow as Mayor Pro Tem.
- A building code board of appeals was approved by the town board. Members include Brian Dornbusch, Troy Nieberger, Steve Jensen, Joe Gould and Jared Veenstra.
- The board continued a discussion about committee appointments to give trustees more time to review the applications. Applications for any of Fraser’s committees, including the Public Arts Committee and the Economic Development Advisory Committee, are still open for interested residents.