BERRIEN COUNTY COMMISSION UPDATE

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent

ST. JOSEPH – Updates on a number of much discussed county projects were reported at last week’s Berrien County Board of Commissioners meeting.

The first project update was about plans for a new juvenile center.

County Commissioner and Administration Committee Chairman Jim Curran said that Berrien County Chief Trial Judge Mabel Mayfield and Trial Court Administrator Carrie Smietanka-Haney told his committee about progress on the juvenile center project.

They said work sessions with county officials and others were scheduled for last Thursday and Friday to brainstorm and develop a vision for the center and juvenile court facilities. The firms hired to do the study then kickoffed three days or work on Monday to detail the scope of the work and what the new center/court campus might look like.

Commissioner Ezra Scott asked that the status of the entire county-owned property on Napier Avenue in Benton Harbor as well as adjoining properties be evaluated as part of the discussion.

Dissette told commissioners in July that the current juvenile center building in Berrien Township has reached the end of its life. Commissioners earlier this year concluded that it would be best to build a new center on county owned property on Napier Avenue in Benton Township rather than invest in the current site.

The county purchased the Napier Avenue land several years ago and it is already home to the Berrien County Health Department and Animal Control. There has been some talk about creating a county campus of services at that location.

The current juvenile center opened in 1974 and has a capacity of 42 beds for detention and residential programs for justice involved youth. A study commissioned by the county earlier this year identified short and long term capital needs totaling $5 million. That study recommended demolishing the existing center and building a new facility.

Commissioners in early August took the first step in the process of relocating the center by hiring Wightman & Associates along with the DLR firm to do site planning and design for the new center at the Napier location. That contract called for the county to pay the two firms $100,000 or more to pre-design and other work.

The juvenile center discussion expanded last month to talk about finding a new home for residential treatment programs currently housed in the former Berrien General Hospital next to the Juvenile Center in Berrien Township.

Spectrum Health Lakeland President Dr. Loren Hamel told commissioners last month that Spectrum currently leases space to and supports the Sacred Heart/Serenity Hills treatment program in the former Berrien General Hospital facility.

“The Berrien General building is at the end of its life,” Hamel said. “We can’t return it to a useful shape without tearing it down and rebuilding … I want to alert you that we’re at a critical juncture, we need to find another home for them to have them continue.”

He said that a feasibility study has shown that Serenity Hills needs a 14,000 square foot building that would cost $5.5 million to build. The new building would have space for detoxification, residential and outpatient services. He noted that such residential programs are not available in many parts of the state and the country.

Dissette assured commissioners last week that efforts are moving forward on both the juvenile center/court project as well as on expanding broadband opportunities. He reported that mapping efforts to detail county broadband needs are largely complete.

“It will give us a very clear idea of what is needed,” he said. “The mapping shows the gaps in coverage and clear evidence of which areas need the most help. We are now pushing into the next step of applying for state and federal funding.”

He said the county’s BC Bit taskforce will meet Sept. 29 with local leaders to discuss the next steps in expanding broadband in rural areas. He anticipates submitting applications to the state and federal governments to fund those projects by the end of the year.

In other business last week, commissioners received the annual audit report from auditor Nate Baldermann of the Rehmann Robson auditing firm. He said the county received a clean, unmodified opinion for the audit of the 2021 fiscal year.

Commissioners approved grants for the “Baby’s Own Bed” program and the Public Defender’s Office. The county is receiving $2,000 from the United Way for the “Baby’s Own Bed” program and $4.6 million from the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission for the operation of the Public Defender’s Office in 2023. The county’s share in the latter case is $579,000.

Commissioners also approved appointing Berrien County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Dave Albers to be a delegate from the county to the 5th Region Homeland Security Advisory Committee. He serves on that committee along with Capt. Rockey Adams.

One item scheduled to be on last week’s agenda ended up being pulled. Action on a new salary study recommending pay scale modifications for non-union county employees was put off for at least a week.

Dissette and County Board Chairman McKinley Elliott said the new salary study is now scheduled to be discussed at this week’s Committee of the Whole meeting with action possibly coming at that day’s county board meeting.

The resolution pulled last week noted that the county board had hired a company to conduct the “classification and compensation” study in 2019 and received the report back last year. Since then, Dissette and county department heads have been looking over the recommendations and how they should be implemented.

The report recommended that certain non-union job classifications receive a grade modification. While no details were discussed at last week’s meeting, salary studies are usually conducted to make sure that competitive wages and benefits are being offered. The county has had a number of vacant positions since the pandemic and is looking at ways to be more competitive.

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