2025-10-26T20:08:29-04:00August 29th, 2025|

HIGHLIGHTS from August 26, 2025 Board of Commissioner Meeting and VOTE EXPLANATIONS:
Commissioner Rhodea pulled Ratification of Contracts to be discussed and voted on in Action Items.
All other Consent items passed 11-0.
Action Items
* Board Ratification of Contracts – Commissioner Rhodea shared concerns regarding the vendor Flourish and Thrive Labs that the Health Department was desiring to work with. Flourish and Thrive Labs has been publicly working with state and local public health department employees to subvert President Trump’s Executive Orders and the RFK and HHS Administration.
The Board voted to continue working with Flourish and Thrive Labs with a 7-4 vote (Commissioners Rhodea, Wenzel, Moss and Miedema voted against).
For more detailed information, Simply American provides a detailed account of this part of the meeting: https://simplyamerican.com/meeting-highlights-board…
It can also be listened to from minute 43:10 – 1:02:23.
* The Board voted 11-0 to approve the 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Plan.
* Administrator Search – Next, each commissioner shared qualities and criteria they personally would be looking for as they considered applicants. Listen in from 1:04:00 – 1:19:06.
Some of the thoughts I personally shared:
“As I reviewed candidates, I noticed that those who understand and appreciate the uniqueness of our region and Ottawa County’s conservative values began to rise to the top of my list.
I’m looking for a candidate to have excellent leadership skills including various tasks and responsibilities that would lend themselves well to working in the role as our next CA.
High level of ethics including absolute honesty, respect, courage, integrity, duty, a can do it attitude, an active listener, servant’s heart, hard work ethic, respects and reflects our county’s values, ability to care for one self as well as ability to bring out the best in others, work with a variety of people and work towards goals together.
Good communication skills – in this case, I took into account the written answers to questions in the applications.
A candidate that understands county government, the roles involved, and the community it seeks to serve by providing justice to its citizens. This also recognizes the
importance of county employees.
A candidate should respect that the money belongs to the taxpayers for the benefit of the community – budget precisely and spend judicially.
Enjoys the challenge of new opportunities to learn and grow while fostering that same energy in those around them. Seeks to inspire.
I also chose candidates that not only provided thorough answers to questions given them, but left me wanting to get to know them more. And I pictured each of them individually sitting at the table with us today.”
* Closed Session – The Board voted 5-6 to enter closed session to review and consider the content of applications. This motion failed as it need 2/3 vote to enter closed session. Voting against Closed Session (Commissioners Zylstra, Moss, Rhodea, Wenzel, and Miedema).
* Voting for Candidates: Interim Deputy Administrator Ron Frantz explained the process. The County Clerk would provide each commissioner with a ballot.
Commissioners would choose up to eight candidates which were assigned a number to preserve confidentiality. A spreadsheet was projected for all to see as commissioner choices were entered and tallied. Five finalists and two alternatives were selected. (Listen in at 1:19:46-1:56:10.)
As of this writing, it’s my understanding that each candidate has been contacted and County Administration is working to determine when finalists are announced. If you feel led, please continue to pray for our next County Administrator. Once finalists are announced, I look forward to again hearing your feedback.
Grateful to serve,
Allison Miedema