BERRIEN COUNTY COMMISSION UPDATE

By DEBRA HAIGHT

ST. JOSEPH – Last week’s Berrien County Board of Commissioners meeting featured lifesaving awards presented to several sheriff’s deputies as well as news about upcoming road projects and a new communications tower for the south county. Meanwhile, charges have been filed against the man who shot a Michigan State Trooper in Niles earlier this month.

Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey and his top officers presented lifesaving awards to four deputies, one in connection with a Chikaming Township house fire this summer and three in connection with an August shooting in Niles.

Deputy Brittany Garza along with Sgt. Russ Tillery of the New Buffalo Police Department were the initial responders to calls about a fire in a Chikaming Township home June 30. They searched the home and found the homeowner and assisted him out of the house. He was later airlifted to a Kalamazoo hospital with third-degree burns.

Undersheriff Chuck Heit reported that Garza and Tillery has already been recognized for their efforts by New Buffalo area officials.

The other three deputies, Michael Pellerito, Cody Utt and Micah Carlson, responded to the scene of a shooting in Niles on Aug. 9. Upon arriving on the scene, they located a 15 year old boy who had been shot in the right arm and chest.

The deputies immediately began to administer first aid, utilizing “quick clot and gauze” to control the bleeding until paramedics arrived on the scene and took over the lifesaving efforts. The 15 year old was transported to the hospital and has successfully recovered from his injuries.

Doctors reported later that the trio’s initial efforts were instrumental in controlling the bleeding and prevented potential life ending injuries to the victim.

In addition to saving the victim, the deputies were also to obtain information from him and other witnesses which resulted in law enforcement being able to arrest a suspect.

In other law enforcement news, Berrien County Prosecutor Steve Pierangeli reported last week that charges have been filed against the man who shot a Michigan State Police trooper in early October in downtown Niles.

Isaac Ntabaazi, 24, of Niles has been charged with multiple felonies including assault with intent to murder the state trooper, felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon in an automobile, possession of a firearm with altered identification marks, resisting a police officer causing serious impairment and three counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Those charges carry a variety of penalties, from life or any term of years for the assault with intent to murder charge to two years for the four of the firearms charges.

The incident occurred Oct. 6 on East Main Street near Ninth Street in Niles. Ntabaazi was a passenger in a vehicle stopped by the trooper. The trooper placed the driver of the car in custody and then asked Ntabaazi to step out of the car and a struggle ensued when he exited the car. Ntabaazi pulled out a pistol and shot the trooper in the leg. The trooper returned fire and struck Ntabaazi in the head. Both were taken to the hospital.

No court dates have been set for Ntabaazi. The trooper who has not been named has been released from the hospital.

The lifesaving awards presentation was made at the county board’s Committee of the Whole meeting before the regular board meeting Thursday morning. Commissioners also heard from Berrien County Road Department officials during the Committee of the Whole meeting.

Road Department officials reported on plans to change a section of Fairplain Avenue in Benton Township from five lanes to three lanes as well as next year’s vehicle and equipment purchases. Both matters will come back to the county board in coming weeks.

In news from the county board meeting, County Commissioner Jim Curran and County Administrator Brian Dissette spoke about plans to build a new communications tower in the south county.

The project is expected to cost $7.8 million with $5 million coming from a state grant secured by State Sen. Kim LaSata. “This new tower will help will provide additional support to law enforcement and other first responders across Berrien County,” LaSata said in a press release about the funding last month.

The new 800 MHz frequency communications tower is needed to improve communications in the southern part of the county and on both sides of the Indiana-Michigan state line. The new tower will replace one at Bertrand Crossing.

Curran and County Administrator Brian Dissette praised LaSata for securing the funding in the new state budget. “I want to commend Sen. LaSata, she hit a home run,” Dissette said. Curran agreed, saying “it’s awesome we got this, now we can make it happen.”

Curran told fellow commissioners last week that the cost estimate for the new tower has gone up. County officials previously anticipated that the cost of the new tower would be $6 million, he said now they believe that it will cost $7.8 million.

Taking into consideration the $5 million the county will get from the state, Curran said they now have to decide how to come up with the extra $2.8 million to cover the total cost. He said county officials are looking now at either using part of the $30 million the county is getting in American Rescue Plan Act funds or raising fees.

“I don’t want to raise fees for this,” Curran said. “We may have to raise those fees for other expenses coming up. This is probably a discussion we need to have as a full board about using ARPA funds for the $2.8 million.”

He said that Berrien County 9-1-1 Director Caitlin Sampsell has told the county board’s administration committee that it’s important to move ahead with preliminary work on the project now even though actual construction is months away.

Dissette agreed, noting current supply chain issues throughout the country. “I will get Caitlin to present at a future committee-of-the-whole meeting to address how supply chain issues are affecting everything,” he said.

He noted that the Motorola company is the county’s only option to do the project and spoke about the next steps. After the committee-of-the-whole presentation, he said the matter will go to the board’s finance committee and the full county board for a waiver to go with Motorola as the single source and contract with them.

Dissette described the lead time on design and construction of the project as “pretty lengthy”. “It will be a year to a year and a half before this project is completed if we act this month,” he said.