A member of the public and a commissioner-led exchange framed longer-term strategic work: a commenter proposed the commission assemble a study on retention of recent high school and college graduates — which he said could show up to 40% of high school graduates and more than 50% of college graduates leaving the county — and suggested a mix of compiled existing data and fresh qualitative outreach (college surveys, Frost Center or Grand Valley inputs).

Commission members and staff discussed sequencing: staff proposed a February strategic planning session for commissioners and county staff to inform the board of commissioners’ March planning; commissioners proposed stakeholder-targeted workshops (employers, civic organizations, nonprofit partners) followed by commissioners-only sessions to synthesize input. Participants noted workforce development partners (Careerline Tech Center, Lakeshore Advantage, West Michigan Works) and local employers could be essential stakeholders for an employer-focused strategy.

Staff committed to drafting a facilitation plan and to circulating it for review at the January meeting. The commission signaled interest in using the housing commission’s meetings and a series of smaller stakeholder sessions to pull existing data together and produce a cohesive report that could be transmitted to the board of commissioners.