Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Operations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Van Buren County supervisors send notice to end recycling operator contract, approve HIPAA vendor and decline 99-year tower buyout
Summary
At its Sept. 27 meeting the Van Buren County Board voted to send termination notice for the county's recycling-center operator, approved a one-year HIPAA Select engagement with a compliance vendor, and signaled it will keep existing tower arrangements rather than accept a 99-year buyout offer; the board also approved an equipment-operator hire and the payment of bills.
Van Buren County's Board of Supervisors on Sept. 27 voted on a cluster of operational items, approving staff recommendations to notify the county's recycling-center operator that the county intends to terminate the current contract and taking several other administrative actions.
During public business, the board discussed the recycling-center lease and the county attorney's advice that the contract continues unless formal notice is given. "You have to give notice by December 31, and then it will terminate effective July 1," a staff member said. Supervisor 3 moved "that we go ahead and send notice that we will terminate the 06/30/2026," the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote; the chair was authorized to sign the notice.
The board also completed procurement action on HIPAA and data-privacy services. After reviewing the vendor proposals, indemnification language and service levels, the board approved the vendor's HIPAA Select package. County staff summarized that the Select option provides more one-on-one time and assisted customization of policies; the Select price of $16,500 was reduced to $15,037.50 after an ISAC prorated credit. A remote consultant advising the county recommended the Select package for initial setup and later scaling back if desired.
The board reviewed an unsolicited 99-year, prepaid ground-lease buyout offer for the county's radio tower. A TowerCo liaison (who identified herself as a Tower Alliance representative) told the board the buyer would pay $500,000 to acquire the lease. County members raised two concerns: (1) incomplete records on existing subleases (the county's contract says the county receives 50% of sublease revenue but the board did not have current sublease details), and (2) preserving county equipment positions and emergency-communications rights on the structure. After debate the board moved and voted to maintain the status quo and request the current sublease documents for review.
Other routine actions included approval of a pending hire: the board approved the appointment of Wyatt Aplara as an equipment operator, with a starting wage at step 1 ($24.92/hour) and an Oct. 6 start date. The board also voted to pay bills and claims.
Why it matters: the recycling-center notice begins a formal process that could allow the county to rebid operations and change service arrangements going into the next fiscal year. The HIPAA vote commits the county to a year-long engagement intended to reduce compliance risk and establish policies and training; the board recorded concerns about indemnification language and implementation responsibilities in the contract. The decision not to accept the TowerCo buyout preserves the county's current revenue stream and bargaining position while staff collect sublease records for further review.
What's next: staff will send the contract-notice letter, circulate the HIPAA engagement and indemnification documents for signature, and retrieve sublease documents for the tower site. The board said it will take follow-up action if the sublease review changes the county's assessment of the buyout offer.
