OLIVE TWP., MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Feb. 26, 2025) – It was a lengthy Ottawa County Board meeting on Tuesday.
Ten members of the 11-member governing panel went over a number of issues during the three-plus hour session, with District 8 Commissioner Sylvia Rhodea absent. One was a resolution of support for delaying the slated May 31st closing of the Campbell Plant in Port Sheldon Township, as Consumers Energy looks to shutter the coal-fired electric generating facility as part of the utility’s effort to cut down on its fossil fuel energy portfolio. That measure passed on a 9-1 vote, and while it may be nothing more than symbolic at this point, District 4 Commissioner Jacob Bonnema felt that the board needed to make a statement.
Another was authorizing legal action to rescind an agreement between the county and Chester Township for the care, management and maintenance of Grose County Park off of Crockery Lake, to the tune of over $563,000 from the county’s general fund. The previous board had approved the deal last November, but a legal opinion from the Plunkett Cooney law firm states that any such agreement, which is 100 percent of the entire projected cost of a planned improvement project, must be made through the county’s Parks Commission and not the county Board. That measure passed on a 7-3 vote.
Finally, speaking of legal opinions, the board approved, on a 6-4 vote, a voluntary termination of services by the Kallman Legal Group after two-plus years. In the terms of the agreement, the county wishes to return to an employee model of Corporation Counsel. The board approved, on a 7-3 vote, retaining Ron Bultje and Dickinson Wright as interim Corporation Council until a permanent replacement is hired.
The Ottawa County Board met in the county’s administration building (12220 Fillmore St., West Olive). An online link to the agenda and supporting documents is here.
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