HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Ottawa County Board of Commissioners is set to meet at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 27, 2021.
Among the items on the agenda are discussing the Holland Charter Township water line easement, as well as a resolution to support the Stepping Up initiative, which aims at reducing the number of people with mental illnesses in in the county jail.
Another resolution, if adopted, would restrict surveillance of county properties, including the use of drones in county parks, around the jail and courthouse areas, as well as on any other county-owned property. This would prohibit anyone from unauthorized video or audio recording in a work area or a person or proceedings inside a county building– with the exceptions being public meetings or situations authorized by the chief judge of a court proceeding. If approved the resolution would prohibit drone usage within 500 feet of the jail or juvenile detention center and twenty feet from courthouses in Grand Haven, Holland, and Hudsonville, as well as outside any county-owned properties. That includes parks.
This resolution notes that the county was recently sued by a drone-use advocacy groups regarding limits set on drones in county parks and the permit requirement currently in effect.
The commission’s legal counsel has suggested a resolution limiting the commissioners’ powers to sponsor resolutions. Commissioner Doug Zylstera tweeted a screenshot of the resolution, noting he would vote against it, writing, “I will be voting no, as I believe it not only impinges on our right to speak, but more importantly, takes away our ability to lead on issues of importance to the Ottawa community.”
The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners is set to meet at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in the board chambers at 12220 Fillmore St, West Olive, but people can attend via Zoom. The agenda and meeting packet are online: miottawa.org/appImages/Calendar/1627314569665-packet.PDF.
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