Barry County commissioners approve partial release of parcel under PA 116 farmland agreement

The Barry County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on May 13, 2025, to adopt Resolution 25-16 authorizing a partial termination of a Farmland Development Rights Agreement under PA 116 of 1974 for a parcel in Johnstown Township. The board’s action, taken during a regularly scheduled meeting at the Commission Chambers, was moved by Commissioner Marsha Bassett and seconded by Vice Chair David Hatfield.

According to the resolution text filed with the minutes, the county certified that at least one structure on the described parcel existed before the original farmland agreement was executed and found the request for release acceptable. The resolution describes the affected area as containing approximately 0.50 acres and directs the county clerk to transmit certified, sealed copies of the resolution to the person who requested the release and to the Farmland Unit of the Michigan Department of Agriculture. The motion record and the published resolution text contain differing parcel identifiers (see clarifying details); the clerk’s office will transmit the certified resolution to the state as recorded.

The motion passed on a roll-call vote with all eight commissioners present voting yes: Marsha Bassett, Mike Callton, Bruce Campbell, Catherine Getty, David Hatfield, David Jackson, Jon Smelker and Bob Teunessen. No discussion or public comment on the item is recorded in the provided transcript segments.

Next steps: the clerk is to send certified copies of the adopted resolution to the Farmland Unit of the Michigan Department of Agriculture as required under the resolution language. If property-record identifiers are needed for recording, county staff should confirm which parcel number is correct because the transcript contains inconsistent identifiers for the affected parcel.