February 26, 2026 Board of Commissioner Highlights and Vote Explanations
Board Agenda: https://boards.miottawa.org/…/01/02262026-BOC-Agenda.pdf
Board Packet: https://boards.miottawa.org/…/02262026-BOC-Agenda…
Board Proposed Meeting Minutes: not available as of this writing
Board Youtube Video: https://www.youtube.com/live/3KwOQeZ3TnI
*** Consent Agenda Items – all passed 11-0.
Of note – the 2027 Budget Calendar was approved at this meeting – feel free to add all or some of these dates to your personal calendar if you’d like to use your voice on how the county plans to spend/invest your hard-earned dollars.
Action Items:
* CMH Authority -Suggested Motion: To approve the Resolution which contains findings and enabling language that meets the requirements of Section 205 of the Mental Health Code for the incorporation of Ottawa County’s Community Mental Health Department into an Authority and the Transition Agreement referenced in the Resolution to effectuate that change.
The BOC voted 6-5 to begin the 3 year transition of moving Community Mental Health from a County Department to a County Authority.
I voted NO on this motion. Reason: While not completely opposed to the Authority Model, I do not believe that some of the important questions raised have all been answered and I have reservations on the Board of Commissioners losing some oversight and accountability of Community Mental Health. Not enough time has been spent diving into potential repercussions of not only CMH, but to the fiscal health of the entire county. CMH and the County currently share staff in IT, Human Resources, Finance, etc.
Ultimately, this is a state issue that must continue to be addressed – going up the creek so to speak and undoing the log jam that is causing the financial issues to counties.
Ultimately, I believe that Ottawa County’s CMH will continue to positively make a difference for many individuals in our county. They have a strong CEO, Dr. Michael Brashears and a current Board makeup that is excelling on working together on behalf of those who need their services.
Entire conversation can be listened to from 58:48-1:53:45.
* B. Committee Assignment Suggested Motion: To approve the Board Chairperson’s reappointment of Commissioner Jorritsma to the Lakeshore Regional Entity Oversight Policy Board for 2026.
The Board voted 11-0.
I voted YES. Commissioner Jorritsma is willing to continue serving on this Board and it fulfills a requirement.
* C. Eviction Prevention Program Suggested Motion: To approve the partnership agreement between Ottawa County and Good Samaritan Ministries and appropriate committed Fund Balance to support the Ottawa County Eviction Prevention Program with $300,000 from the Board Initiatives Fund. (The Board Initiatives Fund is remaining ARPA dollars given by the Federal government during Covid).
The Board voted 11-0.
I voted YES on this motion with the addition of two amendments to the contract.
This has been an ongoing conversation between the BOC and Good Samaritan Ministries. I shared in part yesterday that I was very pleased with the communication and great efforts to address all of the BOC questions and requests made. God created 3 spheres of governing – the family, the church, and the political governing structure. My hope is that through the careful structure of the contract, that Good Samaritan will be in a position three years from now to be fully funded by non-profits, individual donors and the faith based community – a step-down approach from being government funded.
The work that Good Samaritan Ministries is doing in our community is some of the most important work. I am thankful for them and the lives they are impacting.
Entire conversation can be listened to from 2:03:30-2:31:26.
* D. Post-Execution Contract Ratification Suggested Motion: To ratify all contracts on the Ratification Report pursuant to the County’s Contracting policy.
I made a motion to divide two contracts to be voted on separately.
Ratification of Contract 2908 passed 6-4 (Commissioner Bonnema was absent for this vote)
I voted NO. MALPH is the state level health organization of NACHO. Millions of dollars are funded into these Ngo’s. Stances of MALPH include:
* Heavy champion of DEI and health equity
* They support access to school data – they are anti child privacy.
* They allow minors to consent to health procedures without parental consent – they are supporting the trans agenda.
* They are promoters of Radical sex ed.
* They are activists for police racism and climate change.
* They are advocates for medical waivers only for vaccinations – they want to eliminate philosophical and religious exemptions for waivers.
This is not an organization that our conservative county should be playing ball with. We should be putting a moratorium in place against this org. Instead, our Board continues to fund this very concerning organization.
To note – I made a motion to table this ratification and instead consider using some of our remaining Board Initiatives to fund the staff wellbeing workshops. We could have supported our public health employees without continuing to support MALPH. This motion failed as well with a 6-4 vote.
* Ratification of Contract 2910 – Description: We are funding an after-school substance misuse prevention program this spring utilizing Epicenter’s program based on SAMHSA’s evidence-based programENGAGE.
This contract was ratified with a 9-2 vote.
I voted NO because my questions could not be answered by our Public Health Director. Anytime Public Health is going into our school systems or interacting with youth, there should be a high level of accountability from elected officials. Additionally, this is a new program our Public Health Department is piloting in Ottawa County. In order to build public trust, more communication should take place prior to work starting.
To note, during the meeting, Commissioner Rhodea recommended the BOC write a policy that provides guidance to departments of this nature going forward. The Chair of Planning and Policy, Jim Barry has agreed to take this up at a future meeting.
All other contracts were ratified 11-0.
Entire conversation can be listened to from 2:31:27-3:12:10.
Committee Reports:
A. Legislative Update; presented by Bob Devries, GCSI – can be listened to:
B. Treasurer’s Office 2025 Annual Report; presented by Cheryl Clark, Treasurer (see packet)
C. Public Health 2025 Annual Report; presented by Adeline Hambley, Public Health Officer (see packet)
D. Veteran’s Services 2025 Annual Report; presented by Jason Schenkel, Director (see packet)
Commissioner Comments
I shared a bit about my time in DC for the National Association of Counties Conference. I additionally requested that our CMH Board take a look into the Momentum Center. Our county provides a lot of tax-payer dollars each month to them and I continue to receive many concerns from constituents about how their money is being spent. I did not make this request lightly – it has come from months and even years of serious issues raised. These are a portion of the millage dollars spent. People have the right to question and to be taken seriously. Additionally, you can listen to Experi-Mentor, Barbara Lee Van Horssen make public comment from 36:47-39:54.
