By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
ST. JOSEPH – 2020 continues to be a year of change in Berrien County government with several county leaders announcing decisions to leave or retire.
The latest to make the decision to retire is County Parks Director Brian Bailey. He announced last week that he will be leaving his
post May 15 after 30 years with the county.
He began as an assistant manager at Madeline Bertrand County Park near Niles in 1990 and then became the manager of the Silver Beach County Park in 1993. He became the county parks director in 2008.
Bailey can count many accomplishments during his tenure including the addition of the 1839 Courthouse History Square in Berrien Springs into the county park system as well as additions and renovations at existing county parks and the opening of new county parks.
Currently, the county’s parks are Rocky Gap north of Benton Harbor, Silver Beach in St. Joseph, Love Creek in Berrien Township, Madeline Bertrand south of Niles, Paw Paw River near Watervliet, the Historic Courthouse Square in Berrien Springs and Galien River near New Buffalo.
When contacted last week, he mentioned several projects completed over the last decade. They include opening Galien River County Park in 2014, making improvements at Silver Beach in 2015 and remodeling Rocky Gap County Park in 2016.
Other accomplishments he’s proud of include acquiring 24 acres to expand Love Creek County Park in 2017, opening Paw Paw River County Park in 2018 and then adding another 12 acres at Love Creek last year in 2019.
Bailey noted that all of the above mentioned projects were made possible through grants from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund as well as local contributions.
He’s also proud of the county’s recent approval of the parks department’s new 2020-24 year plan. That plan was developed after a series of open houses in 2019 to gather public input about the future of the county parks.
The county had to have a new plan in place prior to Feb. 1 in order for the county to be able to qualify for grants from the Natural Resources Trust Fund and other state grant program.
While the basics of the plan stay the same over the years, each five year update lists new projects the county wants to tackle. New items in this plan include developing a linear park/trail along Lake Michigan.
As for existing parks, projects listed in the plan include acquiring property, renovations at the Historic Courthouse Square, remodeling the River Shelter at Madeline Bertrand and a new concession building at Silver Beach; all with help from state grants and local contributions.
The county currently levies one-tenth of a mill to fund park department operations and county commissioners are considering raising that millage to two-tenths of a mill in 2020 to fund some maintenance projects. The county can levy up to .25 mill without a public vote.
Other county officials leaving this year include County Administrator William Wolf who is retiring in June, County Prosecutor Michael Sepic who is not seeking re-election in November, County Treasurer Bret Witkowski who is leaving in April, Corporate Counsel James McGovern who is leaving in mid-March and Chief Public Defender Christopher Renna who is also leaving this month.
County Commissioners have already started the process of finding Wolf’s successor. Applications were accepted through Feb. 21 and commissioners will now consider the applicants and conduct interviews.
Commissioners did fill one of the vacancies at their meeting last 
week, hiring Paul Jancha, Jr. as the new Chief Public Defender after conducting interviews over the last several weeks. Jancha will start his new duties March 20 and have an annual salary of $102,569.
Jancha is no stranger to the county, He had a private practice in the area for several years before being appointed Chief Assistant Public Defender nearly a year ago. In that position, he supervised and trained other members of the indigent defense office and hired new employees while still practicing as a defense attorney.
“The responsibility of ensuring that the most vulnerable of our community are provided with compassion and zealous representation is one that I have understood since I began my legal career,” Jancha wrote to the board. “…It would be my mission to continue and to build upon the great work of this office and ensure a voice for the voiceless in our community.”
Jancha is the county’s third public defender and the first from Berrien County. Carl Macpherson started the office in 2017 and came to the area from the West Coast. He resigned in 2018 to take a job in Portland, Oregon. Renna worked as a federal public defender as well as an assistant public defender in Washtenaw County before coming here. He’s leaving here to take a position in Kalamazoo County.
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