Ortonville-The village council welcomed a new trustee Monday night.
At their Dec. 14 meeting, the council unanimously approved the appointment of Keith Dylus to the seat vacated by Liz Waters last month as she was appointed to the Brandon Township Board.
Dylus has been appointed to serve as a councilmember until next November’s election.
Dylus, 41, is an engineer for ABB, a robotics and automation company located in Auburn Hills. He and his family, which includes wife Linda and son Grant, 10, moved to the village a year-and-a-half ago from Brown City.
‘There are more conveniences and a better school system for our son,? he said. ‘All the people we’ve met so far have been extremely nice. We love our neighbors in Crescent Hill as well as the whole community in general.?
Dylus was joined by village resident Jane Derry-Burkett in applying for the appointment. Several councilmembers stated they were uncomfortable with appointing an individual to the council and plan to review the process. At the meeting, council asked questions of both candidates before writing their choice down on a slip of paper rather than announcing who they preferred. Council President Wayne Wills then said the council had selected Dylus, without saying the number of votes each had garnered.
Dylus said he applied for the position out of a desire to be involved in the community and help steer the direction of the village.
‘Sewers is a topic that needs to be addressed, but I wasn’t sure the direction we were going is the right one,? he said. ‘I would like to be part of those decisions in the future.?
Village voters defeated in November a proposal that would have brought a wastewater treatment system to the village. Nearly 90 percent of voters said no to the proposal.
‘I want to be involved because we plan on being here for a long time,? said Dylus. ‘I am looking forward to being part of the decision-making process for our community.?