Board interviews retired colonel Michael Tremblay for Ottawa County administrator

The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners interviewed Michael Tremblay on June 12 for the county administrator position, hearing about his 30-year military career, leadership approach and emergency-response experience.

Tremblay, who identified himself as a Michigander and said his official title is "colonel," said he would "work for the board of commissioners" and emphasized building a high-performing, accountable team. "If you surround yourself with great people, you build an organization that doesn't know how to fail," Tremblay said. He described using a "common operating picture" of metrics to guide decisions and cited an example of early quarantine procedures he implemented on a military installation to keep schools and services running.

Mitch, who led the interview, told commissioners the questions had been pulled from prior administrator interviews and the chair's list and asked commissioners to keep follow-ups brief so the session could stay on schedule. The chair reminded the board that the interview was informational only and that there was "no vote" or deliberation scheduled for this meeting. "Let's get through the interview," the chair said, asking the board to give the candidate the courtesy of being heard.

The board recessed after the interview to discuss next steps and agreed to follow up with staff on how to proceed with the remaining candidate pool. No hiring action was taken at the June 12 meeting.