GAYLORD — As the Otsego County Board of Commissioners said goodbye to retiring county administrator Matt Barresi on Tuesday, July 8, the panel also took a step toward finding his replacement.
Commissioners authorized county board chairman Brett McVannel to commence contract negotiations with a candidate favored by a search committee tasked with identifying a potential successor to Barresi. McVannel said he will work on completing a three-year contract with “a gentleman (from out of state) that has been in public administration his whole life. He interviewed very well and he met all of our qualifications.”
McVannel hopes to complete negotiations soon.
“I truly hope that we (commissioners) are talking about it next week and I think that is possible,” he said.
Meanwhile, Barresi closed out an 18-year career with the county that began as a corrections officer in the sheriff’s department, included a stint as director of the county-owned Gaylord Regional Airport and concluded with a three-year term as county administrator.
He recalled that the Gaylord airport was on the verge of losing its license when he arrived.
“In 2005, it was taking $350,000 from the general fund and that is $350,000 of taxpayer money to keep it running,” Barresi said.
Barresi introduced new marketing and a new staff, most of whom are still in place today.
“Today, the airport has three times the businesses it did back then. We also gave back to the community with 10 successful ‘Wings over Northern Michigan’ air shows. The event always paid for itself and took no taxpayer money and concluded with a $64,000 surplus,” he said.
Barresi said he is proud of the county’s human relations department and that he ended the policy of not answering financial questions at board meetings by bringing in the finance department and its interactive ability to find answers.
“We went to Detroit and settled a potential million-dollar lawsuit and preserved for future generations the (Louis M.) Groen Nature Preserve,” said Barresi.
He said his team addressed two of the three major infrastructure issues facing the county: the Otsego Lake drain replacement and the replacement for the building housing the circuit, district and family courts.
“We did that without invoking any special assessment or without any millage or taxpayer funding,” he said.
After the meeting, Barresi who had never been to Gaylord before moving here, recalled how the community embraced him.
“The warmth and affection people showed me even though I was from outside. Having to find a new home and having this one adopt me so readily and welcoming just blew me away,” he said. “The sense of community here, especially with Alpenfest. It’s on my mind today with the 60th anniversary. I had never seen that in a community.”
McVannel said that “Matt has devoted his life to the county.”
“He completely turned around the airport in a role that he may not have been familiar with and knocked it out of the park,” McVannel said. “He came in as administrator when the county was in a rough spot. There wasn’t a lot of confidence from our constituents. Matt helped changed that around. Matt leads by example. No one realizes that at 8 at night he is calling me because he is still sitting at his desk. Our community is a better place because of him.”
The longest serving county commissioner in the state and former county board chairman Doug Johnson also praised Barresi in remarks to the board.
Barresi and his wife, Holly, plan to stay in the area. He received a certificate of appreciation from Otsego Lake Township and a state of Michigan tribute presented by Rob Pallarito, district director for State Rep. Michele Hoitenga (R-Manton).
— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: As Barresi moves on, talks begin on a contract for next Otsego County administrator
Reporting by Paul Welitzkin, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
