Committee forwards Gabrielle Denae nomination amid questions about CMH seat labeling and terms

The Ottawa County Appointment and Alignment Committee on Dec. 9 voted to forward the nomination of Gabrielle Denae to the Community Action Agency Advisory Board’s consumer sector seat, while devoting substantial discussion to how mental-health board seats are labeled, posted and timed.

Chair (Speaker 1) read the committee’s suggested motion to accept and forward the nomination for a term beginning Dec. 18, 2025 and ending Dec. 17, 2028; Speaker 3 moved to accept the nomination and the committee registered motion and support. The nomination was approved by roll-call after the committee polled members Kires, Zaylestra, Miedema and Brueger, each of whom answered “yes.”

The vote came after a series of questions from members and members of the public about the county’s online vacancy postings and the internal process for filling Community Mental Health (CMH) advisory-board seats. A public commenter (Speaker 2) had urged the county to publicize CMH openings and said listings lacked sector labels that would help applicants determine eligibility. The commenter also flagged what they said were incorrect start and end dates for three commission appointments.

Committee members sought to reconcile three elements: a staff legal view, county bylaws, and how CMH has been administering seat labels. Staff (Speaker 4) said she had checked state statute and community-action law and that there is no state requirement to have governing-board approval for the consumer-sector seat; however, she said the county’s own bylaws currently say the governing board has final say. “So right now there’s a disconnect and that may be intentional,” Speaker 1 said, describing the difference between the statute and the county-created bylaws.

Members said CMH vacancy listings had moved from sector names to letter codes (examples referenced as C A, C B), which has confused applicants. Several members urged adding clear sector criteria to vacancy postings so prospective applicants can tell whether they are preliminarily qualified. "When people are applying, how do they know if they qualify or not? They don't know what target they're shooting at," the public commenter said.

Committee discussion also focused on whether some vacancies shown online reflected accurate expiration dates. Doug (Speaker 5) cited a memo from staff (Lene) and noted that the county website showed expirations of Dec. 31, 2025 for seats that, by committee practice, end in March. Members said one seat (Jordan’s) had been extended to March 2029 by board vote and that other seats (Sylvia and Kendra) were extended to March 2026; they asked staff to correct posted dates if they are inaccurate.

Members debated who should decide whether commissioners continue to occupy a set number of CMH public seats going forward — the appointment committee, the full Board of Commissioners or the chair — and whether the county had already settled that question in a January meeting. Some members said January’s discussion effectively shifted appointment authority to the committee; others asked to review January minutes to confirm the committee should exercise that authority before changing posting or appointment practices.

The committee recorded several next steps: staff will review and (if appropriate) update vacancy postings to include sector criteria; staff will check and correct term dates posted online; and the committee will revisit bylaws and January minutes to clarify who makes appointment decisions for commissioner-occupied seats. The nomination of Gabrielle Denae will be forwarded to the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners for final action.

The committee ended the meeting with a second call for public comment and signaled that bylaw review and clarifications would be prioritized in early 2026.