Fitch hopes to ‘be a part of county growth’

Ann Fitch is one of three candidates vying for the District 3 seat on the Waseca County board of commissioners this year. Fitch, 43, is a native of Waseca, having graduated from Waseca High School in 1998. She is employed as the Executive Director of the Waseca Area Chamber of Commerce, a position she has held for five years.

Fitch is currently attending Waldorf University online to obtain her bachelor degree in Organizational Leadership and lives in Waseca with her husband. In her free time, she enjoys watching basketball. Her other hobbies, she says, are supporting and serving Waseca. When Fitch was a child, her father was chief of police while her mother ran the Neighborhood Service Center, both providing examples of the importance of serving your community.

“That’s why I do what I do in getting involved in my community, because that’s what my parents did,” Fitch said.

Fitch described her decision to run for community commissioner as “the most tragic of opportunities” due to the sudden passing of former commissioner Blair Nelson.

“I would rather not be in this position - I would rather Blair be here,” she said.

Her experience on the city council, where she held a seat for almost six years, along with serving on the economic development authority (EDA) and with Discover Waseca Tourism, has prepared her for a role as county commissioner, Fitch said.

“I know I have the experience and the wherewithal to do this,” she said. “I enjoy serving my community. I’ve had people ask me if I would run, and having that community confidence was very helpful in making my decision.

“I want to be a part of the growth of the entire county. Since being the director of the Waseca Area Chamber of Commerce, I’ve gotten to know people in the other communities, so it’s nice to be able to expand my leadership in my county.”

If elected, Fitch says she plans to focus on public transparency, accessibility, and sound decision making for Waseca County and District 3.

“The nice thing about the current county board is that they are a very functional board,” she said. “I want to keep that functionality going. I want to pick up right where Blair left off.”

She explained that at times, county government can be daunting to understand due to its numerous facets. Fitch hopes to make that aspect more accessible and transparent for the citizens of Waseca County. During her time on the city council, she was very active on Facebook, which allowed her to hear from citizens firsthand - and obtaining that public input is something she would continue if elected.

“Something I’d like to add to the county board where I think they might be lacking is a little public transparency,” she said. “Not to say that the county board is hiding anything, but I think there is some accessibility that is missing. I want to be approachable and communicate with citizens of the third district and Waseca County as to what’s going on in county government.”

When asked about the situation regarding the future of the jail in Waseca County, Fitch questioned the sustainability of keeping the jail due to the low daily population and the cost not only of housing inmates but making the necessary upgrades required by the Department of Corrections (DOC) to keep the jail functional as it is.

“Based on the information that I have, it sounds like we’re the second oldest jail in the state,” she said. “Our prisoner population here is low on average. I don’t know if it’s sustainable to continue to have a jail. Having court services, a courtroom, a probation office - absolutely, we have to have those.”

Moving forward with a jail and a justice center, said Fitch, would cost about $40-$45 million. Eliminating the jail aspect of that would cut the price tag in half.

“That would be an annual savings of about $600,000 per year for our residents,” she said. “Those net savings for our residents and still being able to serve our population - I think it might be worth it to not have a jail, but still have those court services.”

Fitch also talked about the possibility of losing jobs with the jail staff, which she said would be unfortunate. However, she stated, some of those jobs could be moved to whatever county Waseca County decides to contract with, if they so choose, meaning not all jobs would be lost - just moved to different areas, such as transport.

“We need to think about what’s financially sound, and that $20 million price tag - we can bond for that and not have it affect the taxpayers, based on the information I have,” Fitch said, referring to the cost of constructing a justice center without a jail.

Other issues Fitch is focused on for Waseca County include workforce and economic development - namely the Workforce Development Engineering Center for Excellence, a project started by the city and the Chamber of Commerce in 2019. The project was then passed to the county to be a grant writer/holder, and the county has partnered with MSU on the project.

“I think that is a program that needs to come to fruition,” Fitch said. “It is a focus on the trades - not only getting students ready for jobs in the trades with hands-on training, but also to help businesses work on innovation so they can develop new product lines and training for their employees.”

Access to broadband for the county, particularly the rural areas, is also something Fitch believes is important. She noted a project with Bevcomm that would bring broadband coverage to a large portion of the rural area, stressing the need for coverage for the whole county.

“That’s going to affect all of our residents,” she said. “Broadband is no longer a luxury; it’s a utility. In our more rural areas, about 75 percent of our county is unserved. That’s unacceptable. We need to increase coverage - it’s not about having the internet and streaming movies. It’s about telehealth, staying connected with family, applying for a job. It’s an absolute necessity to live.”

Growth of Waseca and the county as a whole is also something Fitch cares about, though she said that it is difficult for a county to lead economic development.

“When a business comes to town or they want to relocate, they typically don’t come to a county first - they come to city hall first,” she said. “As long as a county is always willing to be a partner to whatever city is leading the way, that’s exactly what they should be doing. And the county has always been a willing partner with Waseca as well as other cities and townships.”

What sets her apart from other candidates, Fitch says, is her reliability, preparedness, and dedication to the public and the county.

“I do my homework, and I am an elected official who always shows up,” she said. “I go into a meeting knowing the subject matter, trusting staff, trusting the experts, yet knowing enough to ask questions that need to be asked.”

She noted she has a strong attendance record as an elected official, stating that she shows up for the citizens she represents. She also makes decisions for the long-term future, thinking about the next ten and twenty years for Waseca County rather than only the immediate future.

“I believe in what former commissioner Nelson would always say - as far as Waseca goes, so goes the county. What is good for Waseca will be good for the county as well,” she said. “I’m very approachable, and people know that I am here to listen. I will always tell them the truth about what is going on. They may not like the truth, but it will be the facts. If I don’t know something, I’m going to go and learn it. This is not a part-time job; I would have two full-time jobs, essentially.”

When asked why people should vote for her, Fitch stated her constituents will get a very dedicated public servant.

“They will not get a placeholder,” she said. “They will not get someone who is just there to show up to some meetings sometimes. They will get someone who is here to represent them and the citizens of Waseca County.”