By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
ST. JOSEPH, MI – Berrien County Commissioners approved a number of items at their meeting last week including approving a measure that should help area developers to finance construction and remodeling.
Commissioners also took up other items including selling land to the village of Three Oaks and establishing a 911 apprenticeship program at Berrien Springs High School. Commissioners are expected this week to vote on establishing a countywide transportation authority.
Berrien County Community Development Director Dan Fette said that joining the PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program will help area developers with little if any cost to the county. The program allows developers to finance projects at lower interest rates by working with both the county and private lenders.
Projects eligible for this program include remodeling construction, HVAC, solar, water and electric improvements, and asbestos abatement, he said. “Normally, developers would have to get financing with higher interest rates,” he said.
“With this, they can go borrow money and have a special assessment attached to the property that requires an annual payment,” Fette told commissioners. “The advantage is that it’s additional security to the lenders who know they will be paid so they are more likely to extend funds at lower rates and for a longer period of time.”
“Improvements financed to this program provide an additional and immediate cash flow to the developer and makes the actual redevelopment of sites cheaper in the long run,” he added.
Fette said that this program comes out of a 2010 state law and is designed to finance upgrades to commercial, industrial, agricultural, and larger residential developments. He noted that over 60 counties in Michigan are already using the program.
“Developers in other counties have seen cost savings of $3 to $5 million on projects,” he said. “The cash savings to developers are pretty enormous.”
He told commissioners that the program offers “absolutely no risk” to the county. The only county department to be involved will be the treasurer’s office who will make an irrevocable assignment of payment collection rights to the private lender. If there is a delinquency, the treasurer would follow normal procedures.
Fette said he already knows of developers interested in participating in the PACE program and the county’s action to be part of the program will make them eligible. The program caps eligible costs at up to 25 percent of the market value of the property.
Fette said he would report back to commissioners periodically on how the program is going and what the results have been.
With the Three Oaks matter, commissioners voted to authorize the sale of part of the Schwark Drainage District property on U.S. 12 to the village of Three Oaks for $105. The county had already sold most of the land to a private developer who is starting a residential development.
The land being sold back to the village totals around 21 acres and was found not suitable for development. Administration Committee Chairman Jim Curran said that the county and the village have been talking since the first of the year about this matter. He said the land the village is getting is adjacent to a village park.
The 911 apprenticeship program has been in the works for at least a year. The county’s 911 Dispatch Center has partnered with Berrien RESA and Berrien Springs schools to start the program. It was available on a limited basis since 2024, training students initially on how the Law Enforcement Information Network operates.
The resolution approved last week transitions the program already started in 2024 to a one-year structured apprenticeship in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor. The agreement provides a more clearly defined progression of classroom instruction, supervised on-the-job learning, mentorship, competency development and career advancement.
The resolution also noted that the partnership with RESA will make available additional funding and resources to enhance the program and support the students as well as Berrien County 911. The apprenticeship will be housed at Berrien Springs but will be open to high school students from throughout the county through the RESA Career Technical Education program.
911 Dispatch Director Caitlin Sampsell has reported in recent years that the county has been struggling with staffing shortages. She noted that the new apprenticeship program could supply her center with young people interested in pursuing dispatching as a career.
Last week, Curran reported on another law enforcement tool that is being implemented. He said the new mobile CAD program is in the process of being implemented for area police, fire and emergency services. He said that 16 of 30 municipalities and entities in the county have received training. Everything is expected to be up and running Oct. 1.
Commissioners will take up the county transportation authority issue at their meeting this week. The authority would merge the current transportation programs in Niles and Benton Harbor with Berrien Bus. The goal will be to establish an 11 person board to govern the new authority.