by Bryan Kolk Chairman of the Newaygo County Board of Commissioners It seems to be the season to announce the state of our governmental entities. I listened to a State of the State report, a State of the Union report and of course rebuttals to each of them. I looked around to see which television stations would like to hear a State of Newaygo County report. Crickets. Probably best since most of the time they are interested in Newaygo County, it’s uncomfortable to speak with them. I decided I need to rely on our trusted local news reporters. I am happy to report that Newaygo County is doing very well. We are in a solid standing with our budget having a very reliable fund balance due in great part to our Treasurer's office who invests the pennies well so the dollars can grow. Because of that one-time funding, we have had the opportunity to make sure our infrastructure is being kept up. We either have or are in the process of doing some maintenance in areas that need it with that one-time funding, such as a remodeling of our Central Dispatch to be ADA compliant and giving it the ability to host trainings which saves money in training fees and travel expenses. Some upgrades in the Courthouse and Prosecutors office which have seen 25 years of wear and tear including adding security upgrades are also part of this. Investing in maintenance/upgrades to the heating and cooling systems throughout the county campus hoping that this keeps the equipment in better condition and avoiding a need for very expensive replacements. Our Drain Commissioner acts as the Chair of our Board of Public Works who keeps us going in our Recycling program to keep still useful material out of the landfills. Our parks department has done some great work updating our parks and giving them more attractions for people to come in and use them for the day such as Pickleball and Disk Golf. Our county partnered with Mecosta County and Consumers Energy some years ago to build a 47 mile, non-motorized trail around the backwaters of Hardy Dam known as the Dragon Trail. This trail is on schedule to be completed this year and was featured in a national bike trail magazine which is bringing in users from places even outside of the United States enhancing our tourism draw. We have worked with the Sheriff on changes to our recruiting for both Road Patrol Deputies and Corrections Officer Deputies bringing us closer to being “fully staffed” status. This is better than most of the counties around us. The Board of Commissioners addressed the economic prosperity in Newaygo County by enhancing our partnership with “The Right Place”. We have worked for years and we now have staff dedicated to Newaygo County that attracts outside businesses to locate here and make new jobs and also assists local businesses in growing their business and retaining employees. Along that line of economic development the Board partnered with the Fremont Area Community Foundation to support and entice the building of housing for working class citizens. Since we are bringing in new businesses and employees, they will need a place to live. This has resulted in the start of over 100 new homes. Following up on this, we partnered with the Promise Zone to assist the well deserving students of Newaygo County in being able to afford College and Trade School. The goal is to train our young people, have jobs for them after training, and have a place for them to live and prosper within Newaygo County. Security of records has been at the front of the Boards focus. We are nearing the end of a project from the Register of Deeds where a fireproof vault will be constructed to keep our hundreds of years of records safe and secure while remaining on site. This is important to so many local businesses and individuals with things like title searches and copies of deeds. This year we also sat down with the County Clerk and townships looking at implementing the new early voting law. Newaygo County was able to provide an alternative for all 30 precincts on the 9 days of early voting. We are very proud of the partnership we could offer to all 30 of those precincts as these new laws are being implemented. I would love to say that all is rosy but we do have some significant challenges from beyond Newaygo County. About 8 years ago there was a court case that jeopardized the funding of the courts in Michigan. Fortunately the State Legislature stepped in and gave us a temporary fix for about two years. It is due to expire for the third time this May, and there is still no permanent fix ready to be in place. They linger on with the short term fix for two more years. Should they fail this time or next, there would be a huge burden put on our citizens to fund the courts. Additionally, the State Legislature continues to attempt to eliminate the local bodies governing abilities (Counties, Cities and Townships) deciding what is best for our area. An example is a statewide septic bill forcing everyone to have their septic systems inspected every five years at a huge expense to each of us. This is being proposed by legislators that live in urban areas with municipal sewer systems and no thought to those of us that do not live in a city. The legislature has also taken over dictating where new solar farms and wind turbine farms are located. Instead of the local Township and County Boards who know the desire of the people living here being able to decide where those fields of reflectors and turbines fit. Instead, it will now be decided and dictated by three Governor-appointed people that may not even know where Newaygo County is or how to spell it. We are not happy about Big Brother wanting to govern us from the metropolitan areas and not understanding about rural life. We continue to partner with other groups such as the Michigan Association of Counties, Michigan Township Association and the City Management Associations to keep our local control and the rural feel we all love about Newaygo County. In closing, I wish myself and the Board of Commissioners (Paul Mellema, Charles Trapp, James Maike Jr., Kenneth DeLaat, Brenda Bird and Michael Kruithoff) could take full credit for the good work and leadership of Newaygo County but that would be leaving out the other elected officials (Sheriff Robert Mendham, County Clerk Jason VanderStelt, County Treasurer Jason O’Connell, Register of Deeds Stewart Sanders, Drain Commissioner Dale Twing, Circuit Judge Robert Springstead, Prosecutor Ellsworth Stay, District Judge H. Kevin Drake and Probate Judge Melissa Dykman) as well as the approximately 250 county employees that work every day to make sure Newaygo County is the #1 County in the State of Michigan (and maybe beyond).
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October 2024
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