Meeting Notes 2-16-23
Meeting Notes from the February 16, 2023 Meeting of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners.
Meeting Packet: https://www.miottawa.org/Calendar/viewDoc.do?docId=Calendar/Meetings/2023/02/1676481601286-packet.PDF
Meeting Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wVeMhsDsTc
Sentinel Roundup: https://www.hollandsentinel.com/story/news/politics/county/2023/02/16/ottawa-county-extends-kallman-contract-adds-just-cause-provision/69908141007/
Clean Sweep Grant Agreement from MDARD: The Board approved the Clean Sweep Grant application from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Clean Sweep reimburses for the disposal cost, transportation, and labor-related cost to dispose of Pesticides. This reduces the cost of the household hazardous waste portion of the services provided at the Environmental Sustainability Centers
Native Landscape Design and Services Agreement: The Board approved an Agreement with Native Edge LLC for professional design, implementation, and maintenance services to Ottawa County for the native landscape design and services project at a total cost of $95,000.
A significant amount of groundwater is consumed to maintain traditional turf-style landscapes by residents and businesses on wells. Due to strains on Ottawa County's Marshall Sandstone aquifer, the Department of Strategic Impact (DSI) is working to promote landscaping alternatives that require little supplemental watering and maintenance to help relieve stress on the aquifer system. As part of this initiative, the County has decided to lead by example to transform the turf grass environment on select County-owned facilities to water-conscious landscapes. By taking the initiative to move away from traditional turf lawns, the County hopes to bring more awareness to the groundwater issue and encourage business and residents to follow suit. Educational outreach and interpretive signage will also be utilized throughout the development of this project to teach visitors how to incorporate turf alternative landscaping into their own outdoor spaces, as well as to promote its many benefits. The various landscapes will be publicly accessible and promoted as demonstration sites featuring educational signage.
The Department of Strategic Impact has evaluated several experienced and qualified vendors through the RFP process to design and implement a landscaping plan at the Fillmore Administration and Hudsonville Courthouse Campuses, and has found Native Edge, LLC. to be the most qualified and fitting for the project scope. It is expected that Native Edge would be responsible for creating a professional landscape design for both campuses, implementing plantings, hardscapes, and signage, and further maintaining the project for one year after planting. By showcasing the process for transforming turf into various alternative landscaping techniques, visitors to the County's campus may feel more informed and thus inclined to adopt similar techniques to help alleviate the pressures on the aquifer system.
Additional benefits will include County savings on watering, mowing, and additional maintenance associated with turfgrass care. During the first year after the new landscaping has become established, the project will save an estimated $16,000 per year in fuel (mowing) and water costs, and save over 5.1 million gallons of water. After 15 years, the accumulated savings of money and water will be more than $240,000 and over 76.5 million gallons, respectively.
Kallman Legal Services: The Board approved the above amendment to the Kallman Legal Group, PLLC’s contract for County Corporation legal services to extend the contract from two to three years, ending January 1, 2026 and to move them from At Will to Just Cause.
I was disappointed that my motion to strike the ‘Just Cause’ provision in the extension for the Kallman Legal Group contract failed. I do not see how Ottawa County residents benefit from having this provision from their Corporate Counsel provider as it will drastically lower the Board’s future flexibility with regards to our legal representation.
Contract for Roof Repairs at Three County Buildings: The Board approved the contract with Weatherproofing Technologies Inc. to repair and resurface the roofs at 1111 Fulton Street, DHHS and A buildings at the James Street Campus for a total cost of $959,820.44.
This is a rehab process of the roofs at these designated buildings versus a full replacement.The process involves replacing wet insulation, patching the rubber membranes and applying a bonded fluid coating to the entire roof. This process gives the roof a 20year warranty. Additionally included in these contracts are placing OSHA approved safety railings in proper places to maintain compliance with industry standards. A lockable safety ladder is included at 1111 Fulton Street to access the buildings roof.
Pioneer Resources Transportation Contract: The Board approved the Specialized Services Public Transportation Subcontract Agreement with Pioneer Resources. This contract is for a pass-through grant. Ottawa County receives a Michigan Department of Transportation (MOOT) grant, which is then paid to our two third-party transportation vendors (Georgetown Senior Center and Pioneer Resouces). The fully executed MOOT Master Agreement and FY2023 Project Authorization are also included in the packet.
MSHDA Grant Funding Amendments: The Board approved the funding amendments to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) Rental Assistance and Homeless Solutions grants totalling $1,657,536
Innovation and Technology Personnel Request: The Board approved the request from IT to add one, 1.0 FTE full-time, benefited Network Administrator position at universal paygrade 15 for a total cost of $131,738. IT operations continues to grow as the organization evolves (improved security, working remote, leveraging new software solutions/frameworks/SaaS, and operating with a multi-cloud architecture). Over the past three years the number of servers supported by IT has grown by 43% (currently 491 servers). The number of active users has also grown over the past three years by 25% (currently 1328 users).
IT operations currently has three (3) full-time professionally certified Network Administrators - engineers who administer and maintain the network and servers. We are requesting a fourth FTE to assist with growth, access control responsibilities (AD/ACC), and daily administrative patching/security/upgrade responsibilities.
2024 Budget Calendar: The Board approved the 2024 Budget Calendar, as shown below:
FY2023 Budget Adjustments: The Board approved the 2023 budget adjustments per the schedulebelow .
