BERRIEN COUNTY COMMISSION UPDATE

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
ST. JOSEPH – Berrien County Commissioners ended the 2023 year with action on a couple of items that have been on their radar for over a year as well as the presentation of lifesaving awards.
Work is moving forward with the construction of a new emergency radio communications tower in the south county. Commissioners have approved a lease with Buchanan Township for the tower.
County Commissioner and Administration Committee Chairman Jim Curran reported that the county and township have agreed to a 20 year renewable lease for a portion of land located behind the Buchanan Township fire station on North Main Street. He represents Bertrand and Niles Townships on the board.
Curran read the resolution into the record and also showed fellow commissioners a diagram of where the tower will be located near the township fire station and township hall as well as 400 feet from the former AEP building the county has purchased to house a number of county offices.
The lease agreement which County Administrator Brian Dissette is authorized to sign brings to an end an effort that began more than a year ago to find a south county site for the new tower. County officials initially hoped to locate the tower right on the AEP site until Native American artifacts were found there.
Berrien County received a $5 million state grant two years ago to help pay for the new communications tower which is expected to improve emergency and other communications along the state line and get rid of any “dead spots” in that area. The entire project is expected to cost $7.8 million.
With broadband, the county board approved the broadband grant subrecipient agreement with Midwest Energy and Communications (MEC). MEC received a state ROBIN grant earlier this fall to help pay for broadband expansion in Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties.
The agreement approved by the board outlines the company’s obligations in connection with the ROBIN grant and promises the county will put $3.22 million of its American Rescue Plan Act finds toward the project. The agreement states that the maximum connection fee MEC can charge homeowners is $100 no matter how far homes are from roadways.
Dissette and County Commissioner Teri Freehling noted that similar agreements with MEC are being approved by area townships this month. County officials hosted a meeting Nov. 28 where MEC officials could update townships on their broadband expansion plans and then meet individually with township supervisors.
Freehling noted that MEC is already working hard to get the project moving forward in the face of December 2026 deadlines for the county and townships to spend their ARPA funds. Townships have also pledged their ARPA dollars to the broadband project.
She reported that preliminary work in terms of route evaluation has been done already in some south county townships such as Niles, Bertrand and Galien. Ground is expected to be broken in Bertrand in the second quarter of 2024, for example.
Commissioners also approved an early voting grant for the County Clerk’s office. County Clerk Sharon Tyler had asked the county board and area municipalities to support the early voting grant application earlier this fall and recently received news that funding will in fact be coming.
The county has been informed that the state will likely cover the costs of equipment and staffing needed to provide early voting in the county, a cost expected to be an estimated $493,842.36. There is no local match required to get the funding.
The passage of Proposal 2 last November requires that counties and municipalities offer early voting to residents. Proposal 2 added new election provisions to the state constitution including requiring nine days of early voting be offered to people in advance of state and federal elections.
Tyler told commissioners that people will still have the opportunity to vote in person or vote absentee, but will now be able to vote early before a state or federal election. Most municipalities in the county have signed agreements to send their residents to early voting sites in the north and south county rather than offering early voting themselves.
Lifesaving awards were handed down by outgoing Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey in one of his last acts before retirement. He is retiring at the end of the month after four decades in law enforcement and 23 years as sheriff and will be succeeded by Undersheriff Chuck Heit.
One lieutenant and three sheriff’s deputies were given life saving awards for their actions on Oct. 6 to save the life of a female inmate who had overdosed on fentanyl. Their rapid response and intervention resulted in the woman’s life being saved. The four honored were Lt. Brandon Dipert and Deputies Alyssa Carl, Ashton Howard and Kendra Warman.