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Road Commission chair urges county oversight and careful hiring of next managing director
Summary
Gerald Walter, chairman of the Muskegon County Road Commission, praised outgoing managing director Ken Hoka and told the board the commission needs strong leadership, citing governance concerns including a board member's year-long absence and asking county appointees to attend meetings periodically.
Gerald Walter, who identified himself as chairman of the Muskegon County Road Commission, used his public-comment time to urge the county board to prioritize hiring a capable replacement for outgoing managing director Ken Hoka and to increase county oversight presence at Road Commission meetings. "He's leaving us," Walter said of Hoka and praised his handling of recent funding and procurement decisions.
Walter told commissioners the Road Commission must hire "somebody really, really good," and raised governance concerns about the commission's functioning. He said one board member had "not been physically present at a meeting for an entire year," which he said hampered board operations. "Extremely important, the road commission, if we don't have roles, nothing in this town in the other one," Walter added, urging county representatives to attend some Road Commission meetings and to assist in the hiring process.
Board members thanked Walter for his leadership and offered to follow up. No formal county action or vote on Road Commission governance occurred during the meeting; Walter said interested commissioners could meet with him after the session to discuss scheduling and process for replacing the managing director.
