SPARTA — The Monroe County Board of Supervisors filled two vacancies on the Highway Committee during Tuesday’s regular monthly meeting at the county courthouse.

Supervisors Dan Olson and John Powell were elected to the Highway Committee and will join members Chuck Bluske, Julie Radke and Carroll Wallerman. Unlike other committees, which are appointed by the board chair, state law requires the Highway Committee to be elected by the full board.

Highway Committee members are elected to two-year terms. The last election took place in April 2008.

The vacancies were created when Supervisors Jim Kuhn and Simon Wells were defeated in recall elections last month.

Committee members were elected by roll-call vote after a discussion over the election procedure. The committee had been elected by secret ballot in years past, but Radke said state law prohibits the practice. Radke’s view was supported by Corporation Counsel Kerry Sullivan-Flock.

“The only time you can use a secret ballot is when you elect your officers,” Sullivan-Flock said. “There is no identification of Highway Committee members being officers of this group any more so than any other committee member.”

The vacancies were decided by roll call rather than written ballots.

Olson was elected on the first ballot after winning a majority with 12 of 23 votes. Nodji Van Wychen, Jim Rice and Jim Schroeder were also nominated.

“No one is more qualified than Dan Olson,” said Supervisor Bruce Humphrey, citing Olson’s experience in the trucking business.

Powell was elected after two ballots. Van Wychen, Rice and Schroeder were also nominated. After one vote in which Van Wychen received eight votes, Rice six, Powell five and Schroeder four, Rice withdrew his name. Powell was elected on the following ballot with 12 votes to Van Wychen’s nine.

Supervisor Rob Retzlaff was absent, leaving just 12 votes necessary for an absolute majority.

In other business, the board passed resolutions to:

* Authorize a transfer from the 2009 contingency fund to the dispatch department to cover an increase in salary and fringe benefits following a recent arbitration award. The resolution authorized a transfer of $11,078.

* Spend $5,000 from the Farm Education Account for new metal gates needed for the livestock barn at the Monroe County Fairgrounds.

* Approve a request for law enforcement aid for the Wisconsin Ho-Chunk Nation population. The resolution authorized continued law enforcement services on reservation land.

* Authorize a contingency fund disbursement to replace mobile and portable radios for the Sheriff’s Department and Emergency Management Department, as well as continuing participation in the Justice Assistance Grant Program. The disbursement for the radios would be $84,769. The Justice Assistance grant program administered by the State of Wisconsin will reimburse $59,546 to the county for the radios, leaving the county with a final expenditure for purchase and replacement of the radio equipment of $25,223.

* Approve slight changes to county flood plain maps. Without the changes, the county wouldn’t be eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency dollars.