Prior to voting to approve and forward requests to the Board for funding, the commissioners listened to updates on three park projects as presented by Parks & Recreation Director Jason Shamblin.

• The Greenway Trailhead is one of the main paved trails of the Ottawa County Parks system and is popular with mountain bikers.

• The Trailhead connects to the new trail along the Macatawa River that runs from Hawthorn Pond Natural Area.

• The restrooms will have modern features plus changing rooms and showers, as has been requested for bikers.

• The Land and Water Conservation grant funds 50% of the money needed and already has been budgeted.

The motion passed unanimously.

Yes votes: Commissioners: John Teeples, Joe Moss, Jim Barry, Jacob Bonnema, Doug Zylstra, Kendra Wenzel, Allison Miedema, Jordan Jorritsma, Josh Brugger, and Phil Kuyers.

Commissioner Sylvia Rhodea was absent.

• These are two of the county’s oldest parks.

• Tunnel Park will have the stairway replaced that faces the park and runs alongside the dune.

• Kirk Park will receive a new stairway down to the lake, renovations to a stairway deck, and repairs to an area of boardwalk and stairs that was damaged a few years ago by high water.

• The renovations to Tunnel Park and Kirk Park will begin after Labor Day and finish by May 2026. The parks will remain open, but visitors will need to use alternate stairways that aren’t under construction.

The motion passed unanimously.

Yes votes: Commissioners: John Teeples, Joe Moss, Jim Barry, Jacob Bonnema, Doug Zylstra, Kendra Wenzel, Allison Miedema, Jordan Jorritsma, Josh Brugger, and Phil Kuyers.

Commissioner Sylvia Rhodea was absent.

Jennifer Brozowski, Program Director for Community Action Agency, shared upcoming events where residents can either support or find out more about the Utility Assistance program. She also provided an update on expansion plans.

• Thursday, August 14, 5–7 pm, there will be an OAISD open house at the Allendale Ottawa Area Center.

• Thursday, August 21, 4–8pm, there will be a fundraiser at Noodles and Co. For anyone who mentions Community Action Agency, the restaurant will apply 25% of the sale to support the Walk for Warmth Utility Assistance fund.

• Thursday, September 18, 10–2pm, at the Veterans Resource Fair in Grand Haven, Community Action Agency will be handing out resources.

• The Utility Assistance program will be expanding to the Zeeland area and offering residents energy education.

Kendra Spanjer, Director for Ottawa County DHHS, shared updates from the Department of Health and Human Services.

• Food assistance program: In 2024, there were 9,303 cases where food assistance was provided. As of June 2025, there have been 9,137 cases, which comes out to 17,646 individuals receiving food assistance. This number is higher than the number of cases in 2023 but lower than the number in 2024.

• Child daycare assistance: In 2024, 375 families received daycare assistance whereas currently there are 418 families receiving care—which represents 682 children.

• Medicaid: Between the two Medicaid programs, there are over 40,000 individuals in Ottawa County being served. This universal case load does not impact child welfare.

• Child Protective Services (CPS): Since January of 2025, CPS has seen a significant increase in calls, 2169 calls to date. However, there has been a decline in the number of kids coming into care. 2024 averaged 97 kids in daycare. For the first half of 2025, that number has dropped to 76 kids. The reason for the decrease is that there are more precautionary measures in place, more options for homeless cases, and more engagement and solutions offered by the MDHHS staff.

Interim County Administrator Gary Rosema and Interim Deputy Director Ron Frantz provided an update on the search.

• The application acceptance window now has closed.

• There are 57 applicants, 24 of which are original Double Hall Solutions candidates.

• The next step will be to provide interview packets to the commissioners by August 19.

During the meeting only a couple of items garnered discussion.

• Statement of Review: Commission Doug Zylstra commented that the Statement of Review is incomplete in that the only commissioner expense that is included is mileage. There was conversation on whether there should be individual budgets for commissioners rather than having them draw from a pool. It was decided to bring up the matter at the next planning committee meeting.

• Budget Process: Fiscal Services Director Karen Karasinski went over the next steps for the budget.
o The public hearing notice, which makes the budget available to the public, will be posted on August 19.

o The Capital Improvement Plan will be on the agenda of the August 26, 2025 Board of Commissioners meeting. Any outstanding questions will be addressed at that meeting.

o Members of the Insurance Authority Board also will be meeting at that time to appropriate their budget.

o As long as both budgets move forward, September 2 will be the public hearing on the budget. Residents will have an opportunity to provide input. The Board will then consider the comments and may or may not take additional action.

o The budget proposal then will be brought to the Finance Committee for the actual resolution. There will be a Resolution and Appropriations Act which will formalize the budget. The Board can request changes anywhere along the way in the process, even after the public hearing. There will then be a request to approve and forward the budget to the Board for a vote in September.

o If the proposal is adopted by the Board in September, the budget will be put in place on October 1.

o Commissioner Allison Miedema asked if in the future the Board would consider setting the hearing as an evening meeting so that more of the public could attend.

August 12, 2025 Ottawa County Board of Commissioner Finance & Administration Committee meeting.

Ottawa County Board of Commissioners
Planning & Policy and Finance Committee Meetings
August 12, 2025

Ottawa County Administration Building
12220 Fillmore Street
West Olive, MI 49460