Board forms Youth Sports Facility Ad Hoc Committee, names county and community appointees

The Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners voted May 20 to create an ad hoc committee to review potential sites and recommend a location for a proposed indoor youth sports facility.

The board described the committee as short term and said it would include county commissioners, representatives from local units of government and community nominees provided by Discover Kalamazoo. Commissioners said the committee will meet to finalize a recommended site before returning to the full board for approval.

Vice Chair Taylor moved to establish the ad hoc committee; the motion was supported by the Vice Chair Pro Tem Hepler and carried by voice vote. Commissioners later approved a slate of appointments from Discover Kalamazoo and designated county appointees and municipal representatives.

Appointees from Discover Kalamazoo included Jill Bland, Ann Marie Moorman, Jane Ghosh, Rich McDonald, Devisha Patel, Ryan Persky, Corey Persson and Fred Rami. County and municipal representatives appointed to the committee were Commissioner Morales and Commissioner Wheeler (county appointees), Mayor Jean Hess (City of Kalamazoo), Pat McGinnis (City of Portage), and Brooke Hovenkamp (Texas Charter Township). The board said the committee will operate under an expedited timeline and that the board had previously suspended the usual bylaws requiring lengthy interviews for such bodies.

The motion to appoint the members carried on a voice vote. Commissioners described the proposed facility as a widely supported community project and thanked Discover Kalamazoo for convening nominees.

Provenance: Motion to establish ad hoc committee (topicintro) recorded at s=11930.855-e=11944.83; appointment list and final approval (topfinish) recorded at s=12355.575-e=12450.72.