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Residents press commissioners on FOC building, livestreaming and election allegations at Barry County meeting
Summary
Public commenters at the June 7, 2022 Barry County Committee of the Whole meeting urged action on the former FOC building, criticized lack of livestreaming for a workshop, and leveled allegations about election-related activity involving the sheriff and a commissioner.
Multiple members of the public used the Committee of the Whole public comment period on June 7, 2022 to press the Barry County Board of Commissioners on transparency and county property decisions.
Michele Peltier asked the county to commission a business analysis to determine a long-term use for the former FOC building and to present those findings to the public. Mike Snyder said he supported keeping the FOC building, while Gary White urged the commissioners to either sell, lease or rent the property; White also asked whether the county was following the Master Facility Plan and suggested building a new jail on the current jail site and tearing down the old structure.
Lorraine Zorbo, speaking on behalf of Advisa Care Home Health Care Services, said the agency currently cares for five Barry County patients and requested county support in passing a resolution and placing the issue on a future agenda.
During later public comment, residents raised concerns about meeting access and transparency. Gary White and Adam Heikkila said a recent Special Workshop was not livestreamed and that the agenda did not provide for public comment; Heikkila also accused Commissioner Ben Geiger of lying about extenuating circumstances for people not attending and referenced the presence of an "armed guard" at the meeting.
Scott Savage accused the county sheriff of promoting election fraud and asked whether the county would be reimbursed for Freedom of Information Act requests, whether the county is named in a recent lawsuit, and whether the county attorney should be involved; Savage said a forensic audit or a recall campaign could be remedies.
Several commenters thanked staff for work on grants and other items; Jim Brown distributed materials to commissioners and thanked Rachel Frantz for the recycling grant work. No formal committee action was taken in response to the allegations recorded in the minutes.
