Drozdalski named to trustee's post.

The Suttons Bay Township Board has appointed a new trustee to replace a trustee who was forced to step down only a few days after he replaced longtime trustee Dick Catton, who resigned in August.

During a special meeting last Wednesday, Oct. 24, the board voted 3-0 to appoint William Drozdalski to the vacant trustee’s seat.

Drozdalski is a retired Ford Motor Company facility manager with a bachelor of science degree in manufacturing technology from Kent State University. He has owned a home in Suttons Bay since 1989, and has been a fulltime resident since 2003.

Drozdalski has been serving as an appointed member of the Suttons Bay Township Parks and Recreation committee, and as a member of the Leelanau County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. To retain his seat as an appointed Township Board trustee, Drozdalski will need to run for election in November 2008, when Catton’s term was to have expired.

Retired school administrator Tom Nixon temporarily replaced Catton last month, but was forced to relinquish his seat on the township board after a check of state law showed that he holds an “incompatible office.” Nixon serves as a member of the Suttons Bay Public Schools Board of Education.

The two offices are considered “incompatible” because the township has a contract to collect taxes for the school district, and the school district has a contract to administer youth recreation programs for the township.

The board had also considered appointing township planning commission chairman Jerry Bergman to fill the vacant trustee’s seat. Bergman had indicated, however, that he might be out of the area during winter months and unavailable to attend meetings. Drozdalski is a year-round resident.

“We’re fortunate that we’ve had some excellent candidates to choose from,” said township supervisor Rich Bahle. “I’m confident we would have been well served no matter what decision we made,” he said.

Absent from the Oct. 24 Suttons Bay Township Board meeting was trustee Ron Send, who has indicated that he, too, may consider stepping down from his seat sometime in the coming months.