Meeting Notes 10-26-21
Meeting Notes from the October 26 Meeting of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners.
Meeting Packet: https://www.miottawa.org/appImages/Calendar/1634928721353-packet.PDF
Meeting Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl7v9vBfwPg
Sentinel Roundup: https://www.hollandsentinel.com/story/news/politics/government/2021/10/26/ottawa-county-resolution-oppose-osha-covid-19-vaccine-mandate/8556229002/
Resolution on Vaccine Mandate: The board voted 6 to 4 to approve a Resolution directed to President Biden opposing his administrations proposed Federal Vaccine Mandates.
I voted no for two reasons:
One, I believe the current resolution violates our policy on Resolutions. I am in favor of reversing our policy on Resolutions, and was the only no vote on our Policy back in July, but I do not believe we can pass policies that we then ignore when we deem them inconvenient.
Two, I believe that Resolution sets a strongly negative example for other area employers, who were not included in this Resolution, and who will be subject to the likely future mandate.
Livestreaming of Committee Meetings: The Board approved the livestreaming of meetings of the Planning & Policy, Finance & Administration, Health & Human Services, and Talent & Recruitment committees while requiring all public comments at committee meetings to be submitted in-person.
Summary:
In an effort to increase the transparency of County government, the Planning & Policy Committee is recommending that the following committees be livestreamed in order to allow the public to watch the meetings from a remote location:
Planning & Policy Committee
Finance & Administration Committee
Health & Human Services Committee
Talent & Recruitment Committee
The Planning & Policy Committee is recommending that all public comments at committee meetings be submitted in-person.
Semi-Annual County Newsletter: The Board approved the issuance of a semi-annual newsletter that would be mailed to all households in Ottawa County at an approximate cost of $92,800
Summary:
The Planning & Policy Committee is recommending that the County develop and mail a semi-annual newsletter to all households in the County (117,192 households) in an effort to better inform residents of the activities of Ottawa County government. While the County provides an enormous amount of information on its website, social media channels, the news media and through its GovDelivery email notification system, the committee feels that some County residents may benefit from information from more traditional means, such as through the mail.
Based on an:
--estimated printing of 8-page newsletter
--mail preparation
--postage cost
--address list purchase
It is estimated that mailing out a newsletter once per year to be $46,400. Twice per year would cost approximately $92,800 per year. Graphic design would be completed in-house.
2021 Budget Adjustments: The Board voted to approve the 2021 budget adjustments per the above schedule.
2021 Ottawa County Apportionment Report: The Board approved the 2021 Ottawa County Apportionment Report. This report, directs the spread of taxes in terms of millage to be levied as they relate to County, Townships, Village, Cities, Local School Districts, State Education Tax, Intermediate School Districts, Community Colleges, District Libraries and Authorities.
2020 Administrative and IT Cost Allocation Plans Item: The Board voted to approve the 2020 Cost Allocation Plan and 2020 Innovation and Technology Department Allocation Plan for implementation in the 2022 budget. The IT Allocation Plan is used as the basis for the recovery of Innovation and Technology costs from benefiting departments.
Purchase of Tek84 Body Scanner for use at the Adult Detention Center: The Board voted to approve and forward to the Board of Commissioners the purchase of a Tek84 Intercept body scanner, including delivery, installation, and training at a cost of $146,500 ($139,000 scanner, delivery, install, training and $7,500 first-year annual maintenance).
Summary:
The Tek84 Intercept is a security image x-ray scanner to detect contraband prior to entering the jail facility. The implementation of this equipment would eliminate the pat-down approach of inmates and allow for the least restrictive, socially distant manner upon booking and intake.
2021 Water System Improvement Bond Issue and Refunding: The Board voted to approve the Resolution to Authorize the Issuance of Not to Exceed $5,300,000 of Water Supply Bonds and Not to Exceed $1,750,000 of Water Supply Refunding Bonds for the Wyoming Water System.
Summary:
The City of Wyoming, which provides water to several local units of government in Ottawa County, is planning a project to construct yard piping, valves, pipe gallery improvements, cathodic protection and new dehumidification equipment in the water treatment plant at a cost of $10,752,506. Since the local units of government in Ottawa County have 43% beneficial ownership in the water system, they are responsible for 43% of the cost of these improvements. This will result in $4,780,000 in bonds being issues to finance this project.
In addition, Ottawa County sold $4.5 million in bonds in 2009 for a previous water project, which can now be refunded in order to take advantage of lower interest rates. This will save over $213,000 in interest costs.
All nine local units of government that will benefit from this project have approved the issuance of these bonds and the bond refunding. While the County will be issuing the bonds, it will be the responsibility of the local units of government to make the principal and interest payments.
FY 2022 Agreement for MSU Extension Services: The Board voted to approve the FY 2022 Agreement for Extension Services between Ottawa County and MSU Extension at a cost of $256,925.00. MSU Extension helps imporove the lives of Ottawa County residents by bringing the resources of MSU to individuals, commumnities and businesses.
Contract for Website Management Services: The Board voted to approve a three year contract with WebTecs for managemnet of MiOttawa.org for a total of $934,032
Community Mental Health Personnel Request: The Board voted to approve the request from CMH to add 4 full-time, benefited positions at a total cost of $593,181 to be paid for with Medicaid and grant dollars.
Summary:
Community Mental Health of Ottawa County has received $8 million in additional grant funding over the course of the last year. These grants have resulted in new program implementation which has added additional staff as well as increased data and reporting responsibilities. In order to meet these increased program needs, CMH is requesting the addition of three program coordinator positions and one program supervisor position. These roles will help ensure that the program implementation and outcome measurement is managed effectively.
All four of these positions will be funded fully by Medicaid and grant dollars.
To fulfill the CMH program and reporting needs, CMH is requesting the following additional positions:
1. Add 1 Compliance Program Coordinator at a 1.0 FTE
2. Add 1 IT Program Coordinator at a 1.0 FTE
3. Add 1 I/DD Supports Coordinator at a 1.0 FTE
4. Add 1 Program Supervisor for Integrated Care and Community Development at a 1.0 FTE
Public Health Personnel Request: The Board voted to approve the request from the Public Health Department to increase one Health Educator from a temporary, non-benefited position to a part-time, benefited position at a cost of $27,153 paid for by a Covid-19 Supplemental Block Grant.
Summary:
The Ottawa County Public Health Department has received funding from the Lakeshore Regional Entity, as part of a Covid-19 Supplemental Block Grant, to increase the hours for one part-time, temporary Health Educator position from 19.5 hours to 24.5 hour per week. As substance use disorder prevalence rates rise in Ottawa County, specifically in alcohol, marijuana, and vaping use, it is imperative that prevention resources are available to meet the increased needs in the community. This funding will allow for the time to facilitate additional Prime for Life classes and other evidence-based services for schools and community members interested in receiving these services.
This increase in hours is planned for the period of November 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022. These additional hours for the Health Educator position will decrease when the grant funding is complete.
Declaration of Intent to Enter into a Contract of Lease with the Ottawa County Building Authority: The Board voted 9 to 1 to approve the resolution of intent to enter into a contract of lease with the Ottawa County Building Authority for the Family Justice Center in an amount not to exceed $30 million.
Summary:
This resolution authorizes publication of a notice to enter into a Contract of Lease with the Building Authority, and delegating to the Interim County Administrator certain tasks related to the issuance of the Bonds, for the County as the bond resolution itself will eventually be adopted by the Building Authority.
I voted no, as I have on prior multiple occasions, because I feel that the overall cost is too high and that we can accomplish many of the new Courthouse’s goals, especially those related to privacy and safety, through a smaller scale, more strategic build that would also imply reduced annual staffing and maintenance costs. Additionally, I feel that, while there is no requirement that Building Authority Bonds to be approved by a vote of the public, I do believe that a vote of the public on a bond issuance of $30 million for a single project is warrented.
Sub-recipient Monitoring Policy: The Board approved the Sub-recipient Monitoring Policy for review and comment. Ottawa County is responsible for monitoring the programmatic and financial activities of award sub- recipients to ensure proper stewardship of federal and state funds and will evaluate each sub-recipient’s risk of noncompliance in order to determine the appropriate monitoring level, monitor the activities of sub-recipient organizations to ensure that the sub award is in compliance with applicable Federal statutes and regulations.
Statutory Requirements for Local Unit of Government Zoning Changes: The Board voted to waive the statutory requirements for local units of government to submit proposed township zoning ordinances, proposed zoning text changes, and rezoning requests per Sec. 307 of the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act.
Summary:
Pursuant to the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act, local units of government are required to submit zoning amendments to the County Planning Commission. In 2010, the County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution waiving this requirement. This resolution included a five-year sunset provision, followed by a subsequent resolution in 2015 which included a three-year sunset provision.
The resolutions were adopted for the following reasons:
1. The majority of local units of governments requested that Ottawa County waive this statutory requirement because local units are statutorily able to disregard the County's recommendations and comments related to submitted zoning amendment reviews. Thus, requiring such submittals and reviews is an inefficient process for both local units and the County;
2. Local units could be open to litigation if the review process was not precisely followed pursuant to statute;
As noted above, past resolutions included sunset provisions in order to provide an opportunity to study the impact of the resolutions before adopting a successor resolution. Over the past three years since the adoption of the 2018 successor resolution, the Department has not noted any negative consequences of adopting the resolution to maintain the waiver.
Specialized Services Master Agreement & Resolution: The Board voted to approve the Master Agreement No. 2022-0121 with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and sign the Resolution authorizing the current and future office-holders of the Chairperson of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners and the Ottawa County Clerk/Register to execute contracts under Master Agreement No. 2022-0121 with MDOT on behalf of Ottawa County.
Summary:
Every five years, Ottawa County enters into into a Master Agreement with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to fund public transportation studies as well as transit services for the elderly and disabled.
MDOT also requires that a Certified Signature Resolution be passed to confirm that officials who sign each agreement are authorized by the County Board of Commissioners to do so. The Department of Strategic Impact has drafted a resolution that is valid for all agreements with MDOT for fiscal years 2022 through 2026.
Each year, a Project Authorization Agreement with MDOT will still have to be separately executed by the County Board of Commissioners. However, this Resolution will eliminate the need to pass a separate resolution each time an agreement is required by the State.
