BERRIEN COUNTY COMMISSION UPDATE

By DEBRA HAIGHT 
BCR Correspondent 

ST. JOSEPH – Last week’s Berrien County Board of Commissioner meetings featured discussion and action in a number of areas. Commissioners heard reports on the Berrien County Juvenile Center and the Berrien County Prosecutor’s Office and took action on a variety of items.

        In addition, County Administrator Brian Dissette told commissioners last week to be prepared to hear lengthy presentations on the subject at their Feb. 17 and March 3 committee of the whole meetings. Those meetings start at 8:35 each day and are livestreamed on the county’s YouTube channel. 

        Dissette noted earlier this year that the assessment of county facilities will be a priority in the first half of the year. He said last week that the work being done by an area planning firm is still underway but that preliminary results will be presented at the Feb.17 meeting and final conclusions will be offered at the March 3 meeting. 

        One of the county facilities being assessed is the Berrien County Juvenile Center and the whole complex of county owned buildings on Dean’s Hill Road in Berrien Township. Commissioners heard about a study done on the Juvenile Center at their Committee of the Whole meeting last week. 

Court officials including Berrien County Trial Court Chief Judge Mabel Mayfield, Chief Family Division Judge Brian Berger, Family Division Administrator Elvin Gonzalez and Trial Court Administrator Carrie Smietanka-Haney attended the meeting along with consultant Jim Moeser of the National Partnership for Juvenile Services.  

        Moeser presented the findings from his study over the last few months. “Issues have converged together and this is the optimal time to look at the center with discussions about regionalization and the future of facilities,” he said. “The center is clearly a resource for the county and the region.” 

        He said that while the center remains a functional, workable facility, it has been around a while and reaching the end of its life cycle. As with many organizations, he said staffing including the retention of employees and the recruitment of new people has been an issue during the pandemic. 

        The other Committee of the Whole presentation came from Berrien County Prosecutor Steve Pierangeli. Pierangeli is starting his second year as prosecutor and gave a review of 2021 accomplishments as well as his goals for 2022. 

        Pierangeli said his office handled over 4,300 felony complaints and over 4,400 misdemeanor complaints that came in from law enforcement last year. He noted that over 2,000 charges were denied after his office investigated and didn’t see enough evidence to continue. “We don’t rubber stamp complaints, we take a critical look at cases,” he said. 

        He also addressed a number of issues that came up in 2021 including the increase in school threats after the Oxford, Mich. school shooting and keeping courthouses open and operating during the pandemic to new laws allowing juvenile diversion programs and expungements of past crimes. 

        He pointed out that he’s conducted workshops on expungements in the community as well as on other topics such as sexting, cyberbullying and threats. He’s also proud of the new sexual assault response team he created in the prosecutor’s office. 

        For 2022, he said he plans to continue to work with area schools on everything from gun violence to truancy. He also has goals of improving drug lab proficiency and creating a dashboard for the prosecutor’s office so people can follow the progress of cases. 

Public comments once again focused primarily on pandemic related issues, this time on the county’s plan to share some of its $30 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds with local townships for broadband projects. The county board last week approved the application local townships can fill out to apply for funds. 

        Hagar Township Trustee Peter Colovos told commissioners last week that he thinks the system they’ve put in place to give ARPA funds to local townships for broadband projects is flawed. He said he would have preferred the county develop a plan that has a countywide comprehensive strategy in terms of getting broadband out to all parts of the county. 

        He said he thinks the money set aside for broadband projects, somewhere between $6 million and $8 million, will be snapped up quickly with the county essentially picking winners and losers. “You need to be fair and equitable across the county,” he told commissioners. 

        The county board’s regular meeting last week featured action on a number of items including resolutions honoring the retirement of K-9 officer “Mika” and Circuit Court Clerk Manager Sheila Beckmann. Beckmann is retiring after 46 years. 

Mika will be purchased by his handler, Dep. Jason Haskins, for $1 to live with his family after six years of service. The dog has been instrumental in serving the department in finding lost children and apprehending criminals. 

        Also last week, commissioners approved selling a Berrien County Sheriff Department vehicle to the village of Galien for $1 and increasing disc golf fees at Madeline Bertrand County Park.