Although Dan Vermilyea was not elected for county board in 2008, he has new hope for this upcoming election. Vermilyea has filed to run against District 1 County Commissioner Tim Gabrielson.

“I think I can bring problem-solving skills to the job,” he said.

In 2008, Vermilyea’s most important issue was the recently approved Mower County Jail and Justice Center. He had many questions and concerns about the amount of money that would be spent on the building and how that would affect tax payers.

“I think all these decisions need to be made on what’s best for the people,” Vermilyea said.

This time around, Vermilyea believes transportation is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed. He sees it as an essential part of the board’s job, which he doesn’t think has been fulfilled.

“[Transportation] is one of the core responsibilities of core government,” he said. “Why is a core function of county government being dropped?”

As one of the supervisors for Lansing Township, he also sees the landfill there as an issue. SKB Environmental has said it’s looking into adding mixed municipal solid waste — or household garbage — and possibly recycling services to its Austin site. However, the county board is updating its solid waste ordinance to address such questions.

“The landfill is an ongoing issue for not only the township, but the whole county as well,” Vermilyea said.

Vermilyea, 63, lives in rural Lansing and works in the planning and zoning office in Steele County. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing. He has a wife, Joyce, a daughter and three grandchildren.

James Williams is also running for the district 1 county seat.