Manhattan ? In just over a month, 21-year-old K-State student Ben Wilson will be sworn in as the newest Riley County commissioner.

The music major beat out incumbent Dave Lewis by 66 votes in the August primary for the 1st District seat, The Manhattan Mercury reported.

Wilson, who had been attending county commission meetings even before he officially won his election earlier this month, said he’s been doing his homework.

“I’ve been talking with county department heads and other people in the community,” Wilson said from his home near Ogden. “I’ve been asking the department heads what they do and what their issues are and what the county deals with.”

Wilson said he joined commissioners and attended the 40th- annual Kansas Association of Counties Conference in Wichita. So far, Wilson said the commission’s interest in a Public Building Commission has come up frequently in his conversations with residents.

“I think a lot of people are opposed to that,” he said. “And I agree with them that we need stronger accountability measures for government spending projects.”

He said he’s also heard a lot from residents about flood insurance worries.

Commissioner Ron Wells, who represents the 3rd District, has a few years on Wilson. Well, more than a few.

The 69-year-old retiree said he was at first nervous about the thought of that much youth in a county commissioner seat — and in some ways he still is — but he’s been impressed by Wilson’s work ethic.

“He started attending meetings even before the general election,” Wells said.

“I think he’s done very well and attended the different seminars at the KAC conference in Wichita, so I think he’s done a very good job of preparing himself.

“Initially when he was elected, I thought at that age there would be a lot of lack of experience, a lot of lack of the knowledge of running a business and things like that, but I talked to the people who voted for him, and they said they felt he might bring a fresh perspective to the county commission.

“I’m still a little reserved on age,” Wells said. “I always think that life experience adds to that, plus if you’ve operated a business, it gives you a little more of an idea about the bottom line and those sort of things. However, I think Ben’s done a good job of preparing himself.”

Wilson said he’ll only be taking six credits at K-State this spring and will graduate in May with his degree in music.

And that’s a good thing, too.

Wells, who was born and raised in Riley County and retired after numerous years in the construction business, said one of the first aspects of the job that he underestimated when he began his first term in 2012 was how big the workload can be.

“I was going to run four years before I actually did,” he said. “I saw it was going to be more than I wanted to do, running a business and being a commissioner, so I waited (to run) till after I retired for that reason.

“There’s a lot of hours we put in. There’s a lot of meetings and committees. We’re on the law board and the county board of health. There’s a lot of time that goes into it.”

In the preparation Wilson has done getting ready for the county commission, he said he’s aware of the challenges ahead, such as the fact the county’s budget will be $1 million tighter when the mortgage registration fee gradually disappears completely in five years.

“I’ve learned a lot about how the decisions at the state level are restricting counties,” he said.

“But I think we always need to be open with other government entities, especially with the state government and also at the federal level for some things, such as flood insurance.”

Wilson said the advice he’s been given leading up to his swearing-in has been about being open himself.

“(Everyone’s) been very helpful and informative,” he said. “One of the big things that’s stuck with me is the advice to listen and get as much input as you can about issues, from a wide variety of people, too. That’s one of most important things in making good decisions.”

Wilson, who is a violin and piano player, among other instruments, plans to continue teaching music lessons after he graduates.