The newest member of the Crow Wing County Board will seek a full, four-year term in November.
District 5 Commissioner Doug Houge, who was elected last June to fill a term left vacant when Commissioner John "Jinx" Ferrari died suddenly, said Thursday he'll run for re-election to a four-year term. Ferrari had served on the board for 26 years.
Houge, 45, of Ironton, received more than 60 percent of the vote when he ran against former state Rep. Kris Hasskamp for the county board seat.
Although the county still has work to do, Houge pointed to the restructuring of the land services department as one of the major accomplishments of the last year. The changes, he said, call for planning and zoning, surveying, forestry and solid waste employees to all report to one department head. He said the planning and zoning department, where people go to rezone or to acquire permits, was recognized as a place with the biggest need for improvement.
"We want to build a much more customer service, user-friendly process going forward," he said.
Houge said the upcoming 2009 budget will present many challenges but also opportunities. The county must continue to provide the necessary services in an effective and cost-efficient manner.
"We need to capitalize on those opportunities, continuing to offer all the necessary services," he said.
He wrote in a statement that Crow Wing County's population is estimated to grow to nearly 90,000 by 2030 and the county board must plan for the growth by encouraging responsible land development. Houge wants to continue working on projects that will offer additional recreational opportunities and increase tourism.
"Going into this position there's a tremendous learning curve in order to address these challenges," he said. "There have been a number of difficult decisions that we've been forced to make but the bottom line is that we've got to look out for all the people of Crow Wing County and some of those decisions may impact people in different ways."
Houge said he has visited many of the cities and townships in District 5 and wants to continue to build relationships and hear the residents' issues and concerns.
The commissioner works in the sales division of Weyerhaeuser in Deerwood. He was a volunteer firefighter with the Crosby and Ironton departments for a combined 15 years.
MIKE O'ROURKE may be reached at mike.orourke@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5860.
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