ONGOING COUNTY PROJECTS TO CARRY ON IN 2023

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
ST. JOSEPH – 2023 began in Berrien County with the election of officers for the Berrien County Board of Commissioners last week. The county board welcomed two new members at the meeting who along with the 10 returning members will serve the county for the next two years.
Commissioners will be dealing with several ongoing issues in the new year, ranging from finding ways to fund rural broadband expansion to deciding on plans for a new juvenile center.
The county board began 2022 agreeing to set aside $6 million of the nearly $30 million the county is getting in American Rescue Plan Act funds for broadband projects. The board gave $1.26 million to two townships for their projects in the spring but realized by the end of the year that the need far exceeded the amount of money they had set aside.
Berrien County Broadband Internet Taskforce members are recommending that the county defer any decision on township applications for funding until additional state and federal broadband grant programs become available. For example, the Michigan High Speed Internet Office will soon make $250 million worth of new grant opportunities available.
Another issue that commissioners will face this year is to make a final decision on a new home for the Berrien County Juvenile Center. Commissioners learned that the current juvenile center in Berrien Township is reaching the end of its useful life.
Commissioners hired two firms in 2022 to do site planning and design the new center which is expected to be built on county-owned land off Napier Avenue in Benton Township. Wightman & Associates and the DLR firm spent several days in September looking over the Napier Avenue site and meeting with staff and others on design details.
The new Napier Avenue site is on county owned land that is already home to the county’s animal control and health departments. Commissioners have talked about creating a campus there for a variety of government services.
County officials have talked for years about creating a “county campus” on Napier to house several county departments. With the juvenile center, commissioners have talked about also placing the juvenile court facilities there as well as a substance abuse treatment facility.
Other issues facing the new county board in 2023 include deciding how to spend the remaining $24 million in ARPA funds, hiring a new public defender after Paul Jancha, Jr. was elected a judge, continuing to address staffing shortages and addressing ongoing infrastructure projects.
County Clerk Sharon Tyler called the Jan. 5 meeting to order at the Berrien County Administration Center in St. Joseph and supervised the election of the board chairman. She also reminded commissioners of the changes that will be coming to the county board in 2024.
Legislation signed into law by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2021 changes the length of county commissioners’ terms from two to four years. That change takes effect with the 2024 election cycle. Commissioners elected last November still have two year terms.
Tyler noted that it’s still unclear what effect that change in commissioner terms will have on other county board business such as how the board chairman and board vice-chairman terms will be. Currently, the board chairman is elected to a two year term at the start of each new term and the vice-chairman is elected to a one year term each year.
Mac Elliott was again elected to the board chairman post, a post he has held for the last four years. Elliott represents the 10th district on the board which covers the Buchanan area.
Elliott also served as board chairman for two years more than 30 years ago, from 1991-92. He was first elected to the board in 1984 and served through 1994. He then became the county’s corporate counsel for 15 from 1995 through 2010 when he was again elected to the county board.
Teri Freehling was re-elected to the vice-chairman post. She represents the 8th district covering Baroda and Berrien Springs. She has been on the county board since 2015 when she was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the death of Neal Nitz. She has been elected to four terms since then.
After his election to the chairman post, Elliott announced committee and other assignments. He said the committee chairmen will remain the same for the administration, finance and personnel and human services committee with committee membership also remaining the same for the most part.
Jim Curran remains the chairman the administration committee, Mamie Yarbrough the chairman of the finance committee and Robert Harrison the chairman of the personnel and human services committee.
Elliott did make two changes due to the election of two new county commissioners. Alex Ott and Chokwe Pitchford were newly elected to the board in November, representing Harbor Country and Benton Township respectively.
Ott will be on the administration committee and Pitchford on the personnel and human services committee. Returning commissioner Rayonte Bell was moved from personnel and human services to finance.
Administration committee members are Curran, Dave Vollrath, Julie Wuerfel and Alex Ott. Vollrath is the vice-chairman.
Finance committee members are Yarbrough, Jon Hinkelman, Freehling and Bell. Hinkelman is the vice-chairman.
Personnel and human services committee members are Harrison, Michael Majerek and Pitchford. Majerek is the vice-chairman.
Elliott also named Curran to be sergeant-at-arms, Freehling to be the parliamentarian and Yarbrough to be the chaplain. All three have held those posts previously.
The final meeting calendar for 2023 will be approved in coming weeks. Commissioners usually hold five night meetings each year at locations around the county and was asked again last week to consider holding more night meetings to give working people a chance to come.
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