Outgoing leaders reflect on contributions

ABOVE: The three outgoing Martin County Commissioners: Kathy Smith, Steve Flohrs and Elliot Belgard.

FAIRMONT– Three Martin County Commissioners are retiring at the end of this year after serving the residents of Martin County a combined 34 years. Elliot Belgard, Steve Flohrs and Kathy Smith all gave immeasurable contributions to the county during their years of service.

Prior to becoming commissioners, they each were involved in a form of government.

“I was a soil and water supervisor for 10 years– that’s an elected position, too. Then I switched over to becoming a commissioner,” Flohrs explained.

He was interested in running to become a commissioner to ease more into a leadership role and continue to help people out around the county.

“People asked me to run so I gave it a shot. There was seven of us that wanted to be commissioner when I started out and then we got it to two,” Flohrs said.

He first assumed the role of District 5 Commissioner in 2013.

Belgard was on the Truman City Council for 18 years, four as a council member and then 14 years as mayor.

He can’t really explain what got him interested in become a county commissioner and said there was a gap as he ended being mayor in 2004 and didn’t get on the county board until 2012.

He began his role of District 1 commissioner in February of 2012 after a special election but had to run again in November of 2012.

Prior to becoming a county commissioner, Smith worked for the Martin Soil and Water Conservation District for more than 30 years.

“I felt like my experience gave me a good insight into county government and I felt that the skills that I learned through soil and water prepared me to be a commissioner. That’s why I ran nine years ago,” Smith said.

She also ran in a special election and along with her, there were seven men that ran. It was narrowed down to two with Smith ultimately winning and taking over as District 3 Commissioner in December of 2015. She had to run again the next year.

“I did a lot of campaigning in that first year,” she said with a laugh.

While Smith is certainly not the first woman to be on the board, she was the only one to serve over the last nine years.

“Our population is made up of 50 percent women so I think it’s really important to have a female representative on local boards and all through our government. It’s so important,” Smith said.

Speaking to some of the most significant moves they’ve made during their time as commissioners, Belgard said he believes it’s the work the board has put into the courthouse building in recent years.

“The whole project was several million dollars. Nobody had the guts to do it before,” Belgard said.

Speaking about the roof work specifically, Smith added, “It turned out to be a much bigger project than we anticipated after we got underneath what was there. It was a good project to complete and the dome will be there for many years to come.”

In addition to the courthouse work, the commissioners also pointed out that the board has recently put some money into other county buildings including the Human Services building and Martin County Library building in Fairmont.

“Somebody’s got to do it. We’ve got to take care of these buildings,” said Flohrs.

Belgard also said he believes the reclassification of all of the jobs and wages was another significant move that benefits not just the county employees but citizens as well.

“It cost us a lot of money to do it but we think we have established a fair pay scale,” Belgard said.

Flohrs added that they’re competitive with other counties in the region.

He also said he is proud of the various county parks and how they have been maintained and added to over the years.

“Kevin Peyman has really done a lot with the roads and we support him totally. The roads out in my district are second to none,” Flohrs said.

Speaking on the challenges they’ve faced over the last decade, Belgard said Covid was probably the most significant event.

“I was chair during 2020 and my birthday is March 23. My kids called me up and said, ‘what did you today, dad?’ And I said, ‘well, I shut a county down.’ That was tough,” Flohrs said.

While there were a lot of challenges to navigate during that time, some positives came out of the situation. Belgard said they got really proficient at holding virtual meetings.

“We found out a lot of groups that we’re on have people traveling all of the time and you don’t need to do that. We can save a lot of travel money,” Belgard said. “That’s maybe the good thing that came out of it.”

He said another positive that came out of the pandemic was that the state and federal government granted money to cities, schools and counties.

“We did a lot of stuff. They gave us money to do it and we probably wouldn’t have done it without that money,” Belgard said.

As with any government job or elected position, the commissioners have often been under public scrutiny and criticized for decisions they’ve made.

“It’s not a job that everyone wants. You’re putting yourself out there,” Flohrs said.

Belgard added that social media has made it much worse. In recent years, a hot topic has been the pursuit of a new jail and the board of commissioners have recently committed to it.

“It’s been nine years of hard stuff but I think we got the new board to a good place to make some decisions in the coming year and I’m pretty proud of that,” Smith said.

Belgard, Flohrs and Smith all made the individual decisions not to run for another term and their reasons were all fairly similar as they want spend more time with family and focus on other hobbies.

“Someone asked me how many elections I’ve been in. It’s 13 and I was 13-0 and I thought that was better than 13-1,” Belgard said with a laugh.

He and Flohrs said they didn’t think they would have a hard time watching the new board make decisions without them.

“You just have to let someone else do it. Maybe you look at it and go, ‘I think I could have done that better,’ or maybe you go, ‘They did do it right.’ I won’t worry about it,” Belgard said.

He said he was okay with the incoming board members calling him with questions.

“I reflect back on what I knew when I got on this board and what I know now and it’s hard to remember how little I knew,” Belgard said.

He pointed out that no one really knows what a county commissioner does except for a county commissioner. One thing the general public may not be aware of is the number of meetings a commissioner goes to. In addition to their bi-monthly board meetings, each commissioner sits on roughly a dozen other boards and committees and spends hours each week in those meetings.

“You have to go to the meetings because if you don’t, you’re not informed and then you can’t make good decisions so it’s important that you put the time in to go to the meetings,” Smith said.

They all agreed that they have enjoyed working with not only the county staff, but for the citizens of the county.

“Working with the constituents on this level have been really satisfying and gratifying for me,” Smith said.

She said it was a positive experience and said she would do it all over again.

“We’ve done a lot of stuff over the years and met a lot of people. A lot of good, hard-working people who want to help,” Flohrs said.

Speaking about the Martin County employees, Smith said, “I’m so impressed with them everyday and their knowledge and willingness to do what they need to do for the goodness of the people.”

A retirement reception was held for the commissioners on Friday, Dec. 13 at the Martin County Courthouse and they were also recognized at their last board meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 17. The new incoming commissioners, Billeye Rabbe, Kevin Kristenson and Joe Loughmiller, will be sworn in on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.