Committee fixes Land Bank term errors, appoints township representative through 2029

The Appointment and Alignment Committee on May 13 approved a series of term-date corrections for seats on the Ottawa County Land Bank Authority and recommended the appointment of Thomas Anck to a township representative vacancy, with the appointee’s term set to end Dec. 31, 2029.

Committee members said the changes correct historical errors in how some terms were recorded and restore the intended staggered schedule for six-year Land Bank Authority terms. The motion to change several seat end dates passed after members discussed specific corrections and amended a typographical error in the draft (an incorrect “2023” that should read “2030”).

Committee chair and staff said that when a seat is filled midterm the replacement serves only the remainder of that term; the realignment clarifies those partial-term calculations so future appointments will start from the corrected cycle. The committee’s materials noted some partial terms resulted from members leaving midterm or township officials losing office.

The committee then approved and forwarded a recommendation to appoint Thomas Anck to the township representative vacancy for the seat ending Dec. 31, 2029; members said Anck was the only qualified applicant at the time and that the Land Bank had endorsed the recommendation.

Members discussed whether township representatives apply or are appointed; staff and committee members clarified that applicants apply and the board makes appointments. The committee voted to forward both the term corrections and the appointment to the full Board of Commissioners.

No monetary approvals were part of the motion. Committee members asked staff to circulate a corrected seat-history document and to monitor vacancies created by township elections so future openings are posted in a timely way.