WEST OLIVE, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Sept. 5, 2025) – Five finalists with links to the Lakeshore or West Michigan will vie for the vacant Ottawa County Administrator position.
On Friday, county officials announced that Kurt Dykstra, Matthew Farrar, Chris Kukulski, Paul Sachs, and Patrick Waterman will go through two sets of interviews next week. They emerged from 58 applicants whose credentials were reviewed by county board members on August 26th for the operational leadership position that has been vacant since John Gibbs was relieved of his duties on February 29th of last year.
Here’s a brief sketch of the finalists:
- Dykstra is a one-time Holland City Councilman and Mayor
- Farrar is the current Deputy Administrator for Muskegon County
- Kukulski is a Western Michigan University graduate who is the current City Administrator in Billings, Montana
- Sachs is the Ottawa County Director of Strategic Impact
- Waterman is the Deputy City Manager in the Grand Rapids suburb of Wyoming, and is a one-time Ottawa County Deputy Administrator
The five finalists will be queried by a group of municipal professionals and community partners on Monday at 9 AM in Conference Room H of the County Administration Building in West Olive (12220 Fillmore St.), before being interviewed by the commissioners in a special 9 AM meeting on Wednesday in the Board Room of the Fillmore Street Complex. These interviews will be available through a live stream from the county’s website.
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