Ottawa County committee debates appointments process, posts Materials Management seat and schedules interviews

At a meeting of the Ottawa County Appointment and Alignment Committee, members voted to post a vacancy on the Materials Management Planning Committee for one week, approved a five-commissioner interview panel to review multiple board and commission applications and set a March interview timetable, and discussed whether bylaws or state statute should govern appointments.

The committee’s discussion centered on aligning Ottawa County bylaws and internal practice with state law and clearing a backlog of open seats on advisory bodies. Committee members also debated whether applicants should undergo background checks and how to reduce the Groundwater Board’s current at-large membership from 16 to 15.

Why it matters: the committee shapes who sits on dozens of county advisory boards and commissions that affect parks, groundwater policy, mental health services and environmental appeals. How the county recruits, vets and approves volunteers determines which technical experts and community members advise Ottawa County administrators and the full Board of Commissioners.

Votes, motions and next steps

- The committee voted to post the Materials Management Planning Committee seat for a one-week application window. The committee chair moved to open the posting and members voted in favor; the item will be posted and applications accepted for one week before interviews are scheduled.

- The committee approved keeping all five committee members on the review panel (an amendment to a motion that initially proposed appointing three). Members voted to leave the panel at five commissioners to provide scheduling flexibility for interviews; the motion carried.

- The committee directed the deputy county administrator to review Parks and Recreation Commission bylaws and relevant state statutes to identify alignment issues and return recommendations to the committee. That motion carried on a voice vote.

- A motion to remove an agenda discussion item (item 4) from this committee’s agenda failed after a roll-call vote. The roll call recorded Commissioner Allison Miedema voting yes and several other named commissioners voting no (listed in the meeting roll call as: Kyers — no; Zielstra — no; Ruger — no); the motion failed and the discussion remained on the agenda.

Elections and administrative actions

- The committee nominated and approved Jordan Jortsma to serve as vice chair by voice vote.

Groundwater Board membership

Committee members and county staff reviewed recent changes and bylaws for the Groundwater Board, which staff said the board has adjusted internally and at its October meeting recommended expanding certain voting seats. A county staff member said the groundwater board’s most recent bylaw work set a proposed total of 19 voting members to add technical expertise and to make two county positions (water resources commissioner and parks director) voting members.

At the same time, committee members noted the county currently has 16 at-large members on the Groundwater Board and needs to reduce that number to 15 to match bylaws and board expectations. The committee agreed to ask affected at-large members if one of them is willing to step down voluntarily and to contact Roger Belknap and David Kraker (both identified in packet materials as at-large members) as possible first contacts. Committee staff said they will reach out to the Groundwater Board and report back.

Appointments, talent recruitment and bylaws

Committee members debated whether some appointments should be routed through the county’s talent-recruitment process or handled directly by the board chair under state law. Several commissioners said the talent-recruitment process provides a more inclusive, interview-based approach; others said state statute vests appointment authority in the chair and that the chair can lawfully appoint without a recruitment interview if he chooses.

“While state law gives the chair appointment authority, we believe the talent-recruitment process adds value and transparency,” a committee member said during debate. Committee members asked county administration and legal counsel to review where bylaws, county ordinance and state statute overlap or conflict and to return recommended clarifications.

Vacancies and scheduling

Rachel from the clerk’s office reported five current open seats: Lakeshore Regional Entity Substance Use Disorder oversight board (one seat), Ottawa County Community Corrections Advisory Board (one seat), Workforce Investment Board seat (one seat), two seats on the Ottawa County Community Mental Health (CMH) Board (terms begin April 1) and two general seats on the Environmental Health Appeals Board.

Clerk staff said applications for the CMH vacancies close Feb. 28; the committee set a timeline to complete interviews and deliberate in public ahead of the full Board of Commissioners meeting on March 25. The committee scheduled a tentative meeting to deliberate and make appointment recommendations at 9 a.m. on March 20, to allow time for staff to prepare the full-board packet.

Open Meetings Act and recommendation process

Committee members discussed a recent state supreme-court ruling (discussed with legal counsel during the meeting) that may classify subgroups that make recommendations as public bodies when they deliberate and vote on recommended appointees. To address that, committee members said they will either convene a public A&A (appointments and alignment) meeting to deliberate and vote on recommendations or schedule those votes as separate, noticed meetings so deliberations occur in public.

Background checks

County members and staff opened a policy-level discussion about performing background checks on volunteer applicants. County HR staff and the chair noted that while staff employment typically includes background screening, volunteer-appointee practice historically has varied. Committee members asked staff to return with options and legal guidance, including whether background-check results should be housed confidentially with HR and not shared broadly with commissioners.

Public comment and corrections

Resident Sheila Dutloff of Holland Township spoke in public comment and urged fair, impartial appointment practices; she praised Commissioner Jordan Jortsma’s work and said he had shown “the ability to make fair and impartial decisions.”

Commissioner Allison Miedema publicly apologized for misstating an applicant’s status in a previous meeting packet and read a written apology on the record: “I am sorry for the error on my part.”

What the committee will do next

Staff will: (1) post the Materials Management Committee seat for one week; (2) assemble applicant packets; (3) schedule interviews in March; (4) contact Groundwater Board at-large members about voluntarily vacating surplus seats; and (5) return with recommended bylaw/statute alignments and a legal opinion on whether subcommittee deliberations that recommend appointees are subject to open-meetings rules. The committee also asked HR to provide options and costs for criminal-history checks for applicants.

Ending

The committee set a tentative public deliberation meeting for 9 a.m. March 20 to finalize recommendations for the CMH board and other vacancies; if interviews and deliberations are completed earlier and properly noticed, the committee may cancel the March 20 meeting and instead use a sooner, properly noticed session to record recommendations for the full Board of Commissioners.