Lapeer County commissioners approve parks plan, grants, contracts and equipment purchases

The Lapeer County Board of Commissioners on March 26 approved a package of routine but consequential items including a multi‑municipal parks plan, several grants and software and vehicle purchases.

Chairman Gary Howell opened the meeting at 9:00 a.m. and the board quickly moved through the agenda. The board voted unanimously to accept the 5‑Year Joint Multi‑Municipal Parks Plan, which includes Elba, Goodland, Lapeer and Oregon townships and the City of Lapeer, and authorized staff to submit the plan to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for consideration (Motion 74‑2026). Commissioner C. Ian Kempf moved the action and Commissioner Kevin Knisely supported it.

The board accepted a $4,000 MALPH LHD Staff Wellbeing mini‑grant for the Health Department (Motion 75‑2026) and approved a Health Department budget amendment (Motion 76‑2026). It also approved a $10,000 one‑time Karpel Software External Agency Portal purchase plus a $2,000 annual maintenance fee for the Prosecuting Attorney’s office (Motion 77‑2026) and authorized payment of $7,665 to Solid Circle for drain ledger support and hosting (Motion 78‑2026).

Community Mental Health actions included authorization to renew a three‑year DocuSign subscription for $30,697.57 for 15 users (Motion 79‑2026), approval of the FY25 Community Mental Health Annual Needs Assessment (Motion 80‑2026), and a transfer of $149,256.67 representing the second installment toward the annual allocation of $447,770 (Motion 81‑2026).

Several personnel and budget motions were approved: updated procedural guidelines for the Senior Programs Advisory Board (Motion 82‑2026), issuance of a county credit card for Senior Programs Director Andrea Pomerantz (Motion 83‑2026), a Senior Programs budget amendment (Motion 84‑2026) and an $85,500 Sharrerd Drain special assessment prepayment (Motion 85‑2026).

The board accepted $8,700 in FY25 Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) funds at no local match (Motion 86‑2026) and approved a $11,630.32 increase to Prosecutor Fund 205 for fiscal year 2026 (Motion 87‑2026).

For fleet and equipment, the board authorized the Sheriff’s Office to proceed with purchase and upfit of a 2026 Ford Transit van and related equipment and camera system, with a total project cap not to exceed $100,000 to be paid from line 207‑301‑977.000 (Motion 88‑2026). The board also authorized the Senior Programs director and Building & Grounds/Parks director to purchase a front‑wheel Pacifica Select for $41,982 to be paid from the Senior Millage (Motion 89‑2026).

Facilities actions included approval of three‑year elevator maintenance agreements with MEI Total Elevator Solutions covering multiple county buildings with annual costs detailed in the motion (Motion 90‑2026). The courts were authorized to fill a Friend of the Court vacancy with an internal candidate at Step 4 at no additional cost to the general fund (Motion 91‑2026), and the board amended the Table of Organization to create a full‑time Facility & Capital Projects Supervisor position (Motion 92‑2026).

Audit motions for March 6 and 20, 2026 and Road Commission disbursement audits for March 5 and 19, 2026 were entered into the record (Motion 93‑2026). The board also filled four vacancies on the Community Mental Health Services Board by unanimous ballot (Motion 94‑2026). Emil Joseph III, Friend of the Court, provided a departmental update and announced he will leave the position to pursue private legal practice.

The meeting closed with routine commissioner reports and adjournment at 9:29 a.m. (Motion 96‑2026).

Votes at a glance: every motion recorded in the minutes carried as presented; the minutes list movers and supporters for each motion but do not include roll‑call tallies.