HOLLAND, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – Now that the General Election for 2018 is in the history books, it’s time to get back to the regular business of government.
That means, in the City of Holland, a scheduled biweekly City Council meeting in Chambers at City Hall this evening. Besides a couple of tax abatement plans involving BluJay Solutions and Coastal, Inc., the panel will look a proposed rezoning of two East 8th Street properties to single-family residences, and consider contracting with the Outdoor Discovery Network to manage operations at DeGraaf Nature Center following the October 31st retirement of DNC Director Rob Venner. This deal with ODC would come “at no cost to the City of Holland,” according to City Manager Keith Van Beek, and would save approximately 100 thousand dollars in current costs. Current DeGraaf staffers would be given an opportunity to work for the new operators.
The pre-council review at 5:30, ahead of the 7 PM business meeting, includes a closed-door special session to review Van Beek’s performance, as requested by the City Manager, as well as to discuss litigation filed by Shelly DeVries against the City over her dismissal a year ago as the former City Greenhouse Operator after she raised safety concerns over the Central Avenue facility.