By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
ST. JOSEPH – In one of last public acts as Berrien County Prosecutor, Steve Pierangeli spoke at last week’s Berrien County Board of Commissioners meeting. Pierangeli announced in April that he is resigning June 3 to take a position with an area law firm.
Pierangeli has been a member of the Berrien County Prosecutor’s Office for 20 years, primarily as an assistant prosecutor before being elected county prosecutor in 2020. He is leaving to join the Passaro, Kahne, Taylor, DeFrancesco & Thompson Law Offices in Benton Harbor.
“Obviously everyone has probably heard the news that I will be stepping down as prosecutor June 3,” he told commissioners. “I want to personally thank you as the board for your support for law enforcement and for the prosecutor’s office over the years.”
“We’ve been blessed to have that support for the prosecutor’s office which has allowed us the resources to evolve as an office and stay in the forefront of offices in Michigan,” he added. “You guys have allowed us to evolve to serve the community; that’s why we’re all here and that’s so important to me.”
“I also personally want to thank you,” he said. “It’s been very important to me to collaborate with you and you have been very gracious listening to me and hearing me out. I know you don’t always agree with me but that’s fine but it’s always been respectful and that’s what important … I can assure you I always have had best interests of Berrien County and really put my heart and soul into this job.”
Pierangeli said he will miss the relationships he’s had with others in the prosecutor’s office and in the county but noted that he’s staying in the community. “I will be local, starting over, and I’m looking forward to that,” he said. “I want to make sure you knew from me personally how much I appreciate each and every one of you for collaborating with our office and keeping it what I think is a really great office.”
County Board Chairman McKinley Elliott said Pierangeli is the latest in a long line of outstanding prosecutors in Berrien County. “My dealings with your office go back to John Smietanka who was appointed by President Reagan as a U.S. attorney,” Elliott said. “Then there was Paul Maloney who is now on the federal bench, then Dennis Wiley, Angela Pasula, Jim Cherry, Art Cotter, Mike Sepic and now you.”
“You stand shoulder to shoulder with all those gentlemen and ladies,” he told Pierangeli. “Berrien County isn’t the biggest county in the state, we are 10th, 11th or 12th in terms of population but I’ve had the opportunity to deal with a lot of prosecutors offices around the state and I never dealt with a better prosecutor’s office in the state and a lot of that has to do with who leads those offices. you deserve credit for carrying on that tradition.”
Berrien County officials are expected to set an interview schedule for the interim county prosecutor in coming days. Two people have filed to run for the county prosecutor position in November: current Assistant Prosecutor and Republican Amy Byrd and former Assistant Prosecutor, current defense attorney and Democrat Trevor Maveal.
Last week’s county board meeting also featured a virtual visit from U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg and two members of his staff. Walberg was on hand to talk about the $3 million grant his office secured for the county to help fund the renovations of the 500 Circle building in Buchanan. Commissioners voted later in the meeting to formally apply for the grant.
“We’re delighted that the $3 million grant was approved in the fiscal 2024 budget,” Walberg said. “It now moves on to FEMA and we will be glad to provide you with all information you need to fill out paperwork. You are getting $3 million for your new county facility to house the Emergency Operations Center and the 911 public safety dispatch. It’s good grant, that’s why it was approved by the appropriations committees in the House and Senate.”
“We believe the forms can be filled out quickly and then FEMA can get the funds to you posthaste,” Walberg added. “If at any time you feel like FEMA is not responding, let us know. We’re willing to be thorn in their side. Those funds are yours, it’s a matter of filling out the paperwork.”
“Thank you on behalf of the county for all the time you’ve invested in us,” County Administrator Brian Dissette said. “We want to thank you for your efforts to secure these dollars.”
Walberg said that while earmarks often get a bad name and labeled as “pork”, earmarks often serve to fund important projects around the country.
“Earmarks are not well understood by the public, [what] they think are pork barrel projects,” he said. “As I have said so often, I am willing to take that heat as a conservative in speaking on behalf of my district. What you did in putting forth this plan made it easy for us to say to the appropriation committee that we fully support this, that it meets all the criteria for what a community project is.”
“The money will be put to good use,” Elliott said. “That building will be retrofitted and rewired. It is basically going to be a data center when we get done with it. It will be the hub of our emergency operations and 911 systems and have some extra space. We look forward to putting that together to be an asset to BC community. With your help, we will be able to make that possible.”
Berrien County Commissioners also got good news from Berrien County Parks Director Jill Adams. She reported that someone has donated an E.M.I.L.Y. (Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard) water rescue unit to be used at Silver Beach County Park for drowning prevention. The county board formally accepted the donation at last week’s meeting.
The water rescue device will be presented to the parks staff in June and staff is currently working on procedures for use, training and maintenance of the E.M.I.L.Y. device. Park Staff anticipate the device to be available for use by first responders from multiple agencies, which will include collaborative training to use the device.
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