BROOKINGS Mike Bartleys time on the Brookings County Commission has come to an end his last meeting was Dec. 30 but he parts with eight years worth of great experiences: Key projects accomplished and, most importantly, warm memories of the people he worked with and alongside of.
We have a really good functioning county commission right now, and I hope it continues, I really do. Everyone is dedicated to their jobs, everyone goes the extra mile, he told the Brookings Register in an interview. Thats kind of unusual to find in some county commissions there are some that are just at each others throats. If you voted for that, Im voting against it.
Generally speaking, its more peaceable in Brookings County. I totally enjoyed it. I will miss it, no doubt, Bartley said.
His praise for county employees runs deep, including Equalization Department Director Jacob Brehmer, Commission Department Director Stacy Steffensen and Emergency Manager Bob Hill.
Stacy does a great job for us, she really does. If she ever retires, the commission will miss her, he said. Bob Hill is Bob Hill. Emergency management is his thing.
Equalization pretty much runs itself, Bartley noted. Brehmer does a great job there. Tough job; I wouldnt want it. But hes fair and he does a good job with the public explaining how he is evaluating their properties so that they dont come hollering. We dont get a lot of appraisals at equalization hearings, very few.
Managing changes
A lot happened during his tenure, including an expansion at the Brookings County Detention Center, the countys acquisition of the Brookings County Outdoor Adventure Center and the COVID-19 pandemic that, among other things, led to a surge in federal dollars into the county via the American Rescue Plan Act.
The (one Im) most proud of is probably the (detention center). It took us several years to get through that project, but it was well worth it, Bartley said. The effort, I think it benefitted not only the county, but the communities in the county, including Brookings.
He also spoke favorably of the BCOAC being under county ownership after it failed to thrive as a private business.
Thats functioned well. I was proud of the fact that we bought that, Bartley said, adding that it has benefited a number of programs, including 4-H. It took some work and some time to accomplish but, yeah, that one worked well.
Bartley is also proud of serving on the board not once, but twice for Brookings Behavioral Health & Wellness, which is currently building an expansion that will greatly increase its capabilities. He made sure to heap praise on then-Commissioner Angela Boersma, who served on the board following Bartleys first stint. He said she did a great job at getting the ball rolling on the facilitys eventual expansion.
When she left, Bartley resumed his board involvement. He said they initially raised money for the expansion through a grant opportunity from the Governors Office of Economic Development.
That grant was for $1,020,000 That certainly puts the project on the front burner and you can get it started (you can) build a building without having to have a mortgage, Bartley said.
The GOED grant for the Brookings Behavioral Health & Wellness effort was part of an overall funding package that, in time, included other grants. Some of those funds originated via ARPA $1.2 million, to be specific, regarding the countys contribution.
Might-have-beens
For all of the achievements that Bartley and his colleagues oversaw during the last eight years, there was a singular disappointment that stood out: A new location for the highway departments main site, which is currently on Western Avenue in Brookings.
We couldnt get the land purchased anywhere. We had several different people we talked to, but nothing seemed to come to fruition right away, he said. Those things I know take time, so it was kind of my project I was going to look forward to if I got re-elected.
Bartley was defeated in a three-way race for two county commission seats in the Republican primary in June, which served as the general election since no other parties fielded candidates. The winners Dave Miller and Doug Post replaced Bartley and retiring commissioner Ryan Krogman and were sworn in on Jan. 7.
On a more positive note, he said the county has a great highway department, and it shows in the countys roads, which are the envy of other counties.
You can tell (when) youve driven out of Brookings County, he said. Weve spent our money really wisely there.
People first
Bartleys approach to public service which includes a previous six-year stint on the Brookings City Council centers on ensuring that constituents, and not politicians, are heard first and foremost.
Im not there to show you what I think. Youre here to tell me what you think. I should absorb it, he explained. The next person up might tell the opposite of what you said, but I should absorb it. At some point in time, I make a decision based on that information.
Bartley said hes preached that hands-off, neutral approach at state-level meetings involving officials from other counties in South Dakota. Some of those officials would get into arguments with people, which generally resulted in the entire meeting becoming an acrimonious and unneighborly affair.
Why do you engage them? Bartley said he asked of those officials. Its not your position. Your position is take their testimony, take their presentation. Dont ask questions. If they ask you questions, dont answer, because now youre interacting. Dont do that. Just take the information, take it from whoever wants to give it on any particular subject and then analyze it. Use common sense to make a decision. Thats how I operated.
He said his advice made a difference. A compliment I got from a couple of counties out west, (the) county chairmen of commissions called and said, Best advice we ever got. It ended right then and there.
Bartley finished, You want to ask them questions outside (the) office or (the) public hearing, go ahead. You dont show your cards here. Thats my advice, OK? Incoming commissioners or anybody else listen to everybody and make your decisions.
People can make a difference, he said, noting that everybody, including elected officials, has a position on just about every subject matter imaginable. Those stances can be malleable if the right testimony is heard so much so that Bartley said hes had his mind changed, too, from time to time. What it comes down to is this: Just because an official has a great poker face doesnt mean their position is inflexible.
I tried to do my best. I tried to listen to all sides. I tried to use common sense in every one of my decisions, he said. Sometimes I go back to What would my father say? That guy had a lot of common sense. The process he used to work through things. How respectful he was of all sides. We just dont see that anymore.
I thought I was respectful. I hope that I was, Bartley added. I enjoyed my service to the public. My civic duty has been reached.
Its a calling
Seeking public office can be a challenge. All of the campaigning. Shaking hands. Kissing babies. Oh, and getting to know policy, too. It all adds up, but Bartley nonetheless encourages people to make a run at it, especially if they have one thing at the top of their mind.
First of all, public service is a calling. If you have that calling, youll do a good job. If you think youre just going to go do it for the insurance and the check every month, dont do it, he said. When you get done with all your meetings and all your responsibilities, you dont make much on it. Nobody does it to make money, lets put it that way. I mean, they shouldnt be doing it to make money.
Bartley continued, They need to do it because they have a concern about how government is its transparent and open and reacts to the people to a certain degree, but use common sense. If youve got common sense, go ahead and run. If youve got an agenda, dont do it. Thats my best advice. If youve got a lot common sense and you think you can help direct the future of the county, do it.
He said its critically important that young people step up to the plate as well, something thats lacking right now.
We need new people to do it. I mean, younger people than me. I just like to see more young people get involved in leadership roles and in politics than what weve had, so to speak, Bartley said. Hell turn 73 in February. You look at leadership (events) that the (Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce) put on and you go back through their roster of participants and you go back eight, 10, 12 years, (only a) handful of them have moved into any elected positions or ran for office which kind of disappoints me.
You have to have a basic want to do civic duty, Bartley said. I was never wealthy enough to write a check for anything. But I can donate my time and hopefully do some good. I think I have. I dont know. You tell me.
Family man
A veteran of the U.S. Army, into which he was drafted and served as a squad leader whilst specializing in the optical field, Bartleys time in Brookings began in 1974. It was then he came with his family from Minneapolis, where hed been working at in a lab at Walman Optical, to work with the now-retired with Dr. Ronold Tesch in getting a new practice up and running.
The practice started in the Brookings Clinic now Access Health & Avera Medical Group in Brookings before moving into the then-newly built Yorkshire Building in the 1980-81 timeframe. Bartley eventually bought out the optical portion from Tesch, and his businesss name was M.D. Bartley Opticians. Some years after that, Brookings Health System purchased the Yorkshire Building, and now construction has started on the buildings replacement.
Today, Bartley continues his involvement in health care as a licensed hearing aid dispenser at Brookings Hearing Associates, which he owns and operates in a rented portion of a building just north of the railroad tracks on 22nd Avenue.
He hasnt been alone all these years, either. Family and friends are important to all of us, and its no different with Bartley, who cherishes his wife Bobbe and their three adult children: Kelli, Jenni and Matt; and 6 grandchildren.
Public service, private-sector work and family. Add it all up, and Bartley sees achievements, success and love and not just for him.
Its a beautiful town, beautiful county, Bartley said of Brookings and the surrounding area. We got a lot of things going for us, we really do.
Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
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