Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


The Genoa Township Board of Trustees has named its newest member.

The board met Monday night and voted to appoint Jodie Valenti to the open seat. It became vacant with the resignation of Trustee Rick Soucy. He was appointed to the Clerk position following the resignation of Janene Deaton.

A total of six applicants were interviewed during Monday’s lengthy meeting, which lasted 3 ½ hours. It was stated there were 12 extremely qualified candidates with different backgrounds who applied and were all willing to step up. The large number and high caliber of those candidates was further noted.

Valenti works for Brighton Area Schools and is the director of the Senior Center and Enrichment. She’s a 21-year Genoa resident. In her application, Valenti stated she believes the most important issues facing the township are balancing continued growth, preserving the rural character of the community, and meeting the needs of the aging population. Valenti clarified during questioning that she is not a politician, and has a very vested interest in the community.

All applications and interviews can be viewed online in the board packet and video. That link is provided.

The interview process was debated for a bit during the meeting, prior to the actual interviews. There was a numbered ranking system, without any names initially disclosed, to make sure the process was not biased.

It was stated that Trustee Bill Rieber submitted his three candidate nominations late beyond the required deadline for board members, but they were still included.

Further concerns were raised about potential violations of the Open Meetings Act by Rieber as he directly contacted references of applicants ahead of the meeting. The attorney stated it “raised red flags” but Reiber maintained while not permitted, it was “not prohibited”. Clerk Soucy questioned why Rieber would contact a reference not knowing the candidate names, which “makes it even kind of weird”. Rieber asserted it is common practice in the hiring world and questioned why references were even provided if they weren’t to contact them.

It was stated there was lots of information included on the candidate questionnaires and interviews must be done in open session at a public board meeting so everyone has the same information and everything is transparent. Public vs. private was noted.

As to why references were included; staff stated they wanted the board to see they were provided, but there was clear direction about the process and there was no reason to believe members would actually be contacting them.

Treasurer Robin Hunt made the motion to appoint Valenti, saying she felt her strong community involvement will serve the township well as she’s an excellent team player.

The lone opposed vote was Soucy, who spoke well of Valenti and her qualifications but said he had another candidate he favored more.