An oft-overlooked elected position is shaping up to be one of this fall’s most competitive races in Leelanau County.

Following the March resignation of former county drain commissioner Tim O’Non – as well as controversy around the county’s handling of the Lake Bluffs Drain in Solon Township – all eyes are on this November’s three candidate race for drain commissioner. The winner will serve out the remainder of O’Non’s term, which runs through December 31, 2028.

The Ticker sent a brief questionnaire to the candidates – Democrat Kristy Burns, Republican Melinda Lautner, and independent hopeful Tim Lodge.

Kristy Burns, Democrat

Profile: A 37-year resident of Leelanau County, Burns spent 34 of those years working as a physical therapist for Northwest Educational Services (formerly Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District).

“In addition to my expertise as a doctor of physical therapy, this job required ongoing listening and communicating with families,” she says. “My professional life provided a strong foundation for the listening, communication, and collaboration necessary to be an effective Drain Commissioner in Leelanau County.”

Burns says she would seek “nonpartisan collaboration between Leelanau County property owners, county staff, hired consultants, and agencies such as Michigan’s Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Program (SESC) and Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy (EGLE) to provide solutions to any issues relating to a drain commissioner’s responsibilities.”

Reason for running: “Because of drainage issues on the private road I have lived on for 33 years, I have dealt with four different drain commissioners in the last 26 years,” Burns says. “I am a resident living within the Lake Bluffs Drain District, the first completed drain project in this county, and was involved in the project from preliminary stages, to the Board of Determination review, through the planning and construction of the drain and subsequent maintenance issues.”

Burns says her experience with the Lake Bluffs drain has motivated her to seek office.

“I want others to experience a more transparent and collaborative relationship with the drain commission than I have experienced,” she tells The Ticker.

Priorities: Transparency is Burns’ top goal, including “clear notice, public input opportunities, and detailed financial breakdowns on all proposed drain maintenance projects, any initial drain construction, or the potential abandonment of any existing drain districts.” She also plans to “modernize the office to be more digitally savvy, using the website to provide more clear communication from and about the drain commission.”

Burns acknowledges that her history with the Lake Bluffs Drain has been characterized by some as a conflict of interest, but disputes the claim. While Burns has been part of a campaign urging Leelanau commissioners to to spend $35,000 (or more) in county funds to repair the drain, she says she's open to alternatives.

“The drain commission has two other proposals to replace the smart ditch, one for $6,800 and one for $13,362,” she says of the Lake Bluffs drain, before adding that she supports “any evidence-based and fiscally responsible solutions” to the problem.

Melinda Lautner, Republican

Editor’s note: Lautner did not respond to the Leelanau Ticker’s questionnaire.

Profile: A long-time Leelanau County resident from a long-time Leelanau dynasty – her family has been here since the 1860s, and her children are the fifth generation to run the Lautner family farm – Lautner is best known for the 19 years she spent as the District 7 representative on the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners, from 1995 to 2024. (She lost a primary race that year to current board chair Steve Yoder.)

At a League of Women Voters (LWV) forum held last month, Lautner said she began sounding alarm bells during her board tenure about transparency and spending issues in the drain commissioner’s office, specifically with the Lake Bluffs drain.

“As a commissioner, I had grave concerns about what was coming to us with the Lake Bluffs District,” Lautner said. “I ask a lot of question [and] we were told things that just simply were not true, over and over and over again… My concerns were dead on, and here we are today with a big problem. At the time, I actually asked the accounting department to run a separate tally of the amount of money we were spending on this out-of-town engineering firm, and it was unbelievable.”

Reason for running: Lautner said she saw the vacancy as "an opportunity to come in" and get some of her concerns about the department "smoothed out." She added that Interim Drain Commissioner Chet Janik, appointed in March to serve in O’Non’s stead until this November’s election, has “already done a couple of the first things I had on my list to check off,” and that she will “maybe just continue what he’s beginning to get done there.”

Priorities: “I was asked to run for this position because of what I can bring to this office for efficiency, transparency, and communication,” Lautner shared at the LMV event. She said those qualities have been “lacking in this office as some of these districts have been created,” and indicated she would like to downsize the department.

“When I became a county commissioner in the ‘90s, we had one drain; we had a part-time drain commissioner; we didn’t even have a computer for her at the time,” Lautner explained. “So, it has grown, but my concern is that it has grown much too large than what Leelanau County needs as an answer to our issues.”

Tim Lodge, Independent

Profile: Best known locally as the longtime city engineer for the City of Traverse City – he served from 2003 to 2023 – Lodge carries a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Michigan Tech and has been a licensed engineer for nearly 40 years.

“I understand that effective water management protects public health, prevents flooding, preserves property and water quality, and supports responsible investment for future generations,” Lodge says, citing the “more than $200 million in infrastructure, including drains” he managed in Traverse City. “As drain commissioner, I will bring professionalism, transparency, technical expertise, collaboration, and accountability to every decision.”

Reason for running: An applicant for the interim drain commissioner position earlier this year – a panel of county officials selected Janik instead – Lodge says the experience got him to pay closer attention to the affairs of county drain districts.

“After learning more about the drain commissioner’s office and the delay implementing projects for several years, hearing the frustrations from taxpayers within the drainage districts, and seeing issues with the recently completed Lake Bluffs drain, I was compelled to run as a non-partisan candidate,” he says. Lodge feels his “technical expertise and project experience for drain projects” will cut down on the department’s “reliance on out-of-town consultants.”

Priorities: Lodge pledges to be a collaborative and transparent drain commissioner who will “listen, communicate clearly, and work with property owners and applicable agencies to achieve cost-effective outcomes for drain issues.” He also promises “fiscal responsibility and accountability,” including by prioritizing projects “according to need,” proactively maintaining drainage infrastructure throughout the county, and implementing a “sound capital planning” strategy to “reduce emergencies and save taxpayers money.”

Finally, Lodge says he will “protect property and water resources to reduce flooding risks,” noting that “changing weather patterns” are requiring more “resilient drainage solutions” than ever before. “I will develop cost-effective projects that reduce flooding, protect property, improve water quality, and protect the environment,” he says.

Regarding the Lake Bluffs drain, Lodge says he wants an inspection done ASAP “by a competent person appointed by the drain commissioner,” with “written findings and recommendations” to inform subsequent plans. Based on those recommendations, Lodge says he would “prepare a plan of repair and remediation” in accordance with state drain code, and explore “dispute resolution with the contractor or consultant or gross negligence of the drain commissioner” that played parts in the design and construction of the failing drain.

Pictured (left to right): Burns, Lautner, Lodge