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Montcalm County adopts new parks ordinance after public hearing
Summary
After a public hearing that included calls to explicitly preserve public access to roadside parks, the Montcalm County Board of Commissioners adopted the Montcalm County Parks Ordinance of 2026 by a 5–2 roll-call vote.
The Montcalm County Board of Commissioners voted to adopt the Montcalm County Parks Ordinance of 2026 on Feb. 23, approving the measure after a public hearing and discussion about whether lease language could inadvertently close county parks to the public.
During the public hearing, an audience member urged the board to add a single sentence to the ordinance to make clear that "At no time shall the leasing of part or all the elements of Montcalm County roadside parks cause the parks to be closed to the public," arguing that explicit language would eliminate confusion and ensure transparency. Penny Simonez of Greenville also spoke, saying parks should remain open for community events and that "fear should not be the motivation" for closing public access.
Commissioners debated whether such a guarantee belonged in the ordinance itself or in administratively adjustable park rules. One commissioner noted that the park rules already state that county parks "shall be open to the public during hours established by the county and posted at each park," while others said the rules do not explicitly prohibit renting every pavilion or a whole park and then restricting public access. Several members characterized the distinction as largely semantic and preferred to keep operational hours and related details in the park rules so edits could be made without changing the ordinance.
After discussion the board moved to adopt the ordinance "as submitted." A roll-call vote recorded Alexander (yes), Johnston (no), Maher (yes), Murray (yes), Johnson (yes), Peterson (yes) and Carr (no). The motion carried 5–2.
The adoption concludes the committee-driven drafting process the board authorized earlier and places the new ordinance into effect as the county’s governing policy for parks. The county did not adopt the public commenter’s proposed single-sentence amendment during this meeting; commissioners said they would rely on park rules to clarify hours and operational details going forward.
