The Hastings Banner — Thursday, November 18, 2021 — Page 3Small Business Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021
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Help Wanted: County seeks ways to compete in a challenging job pool
Rebecca Pierce
Editor
The need to compete for talent in the job
market is fueling a change in Barry County
hiring policies – at least temporarily.
County Administrator Michael Brown
advised commissioners Tuesday during their
Committee of the Whole meeting that the
county is facing significant challenges in
seeking new hires, among them an equaliza-
tion director and a deputy court administrator.
“We try to recruit,” Brown said. “We’ve
got some positions, particularly in areas
where we’re looking for experience ... We’re
coming to that point, as we attempt to recruit
for talent, seasoned talent, we’re finding it
difficult.”
Old hiring policies, which required, in
some circumstances, consulting with the
county’s personnel committee, don’t apply,
he said, since the county no longer has a per-
sonnel committee. Any consultation with
regard to hiring would occur with the board,
he said.
But, given the current challenges in finding
experienced job candidates, Brown asked
commissioners for a temporary change in
policies pertaining to entrance salaries, hospi-
tal and medical insurance benefits and vaca-
tion.
Under his proposal, department heads and
elected officials who are recruiting would be
allowed to offer an entrance salary rate up to,
and including, the county’s four-year step.
Also, they would be allowed to begin hos-
pital and medical insurance for newly hired
department heads and non-represented
employees at the time of employment so
there would be no lapse in coverage or neces-
sity for the new employee to cover part of the
cost for it.
Brown also asked that they be allowed to
offer maximum vacation time, based on the
new recruit’s years of experience and service
with a previous employer.
Chairman Ben Geiger asked for an exam-
ple of the county’s current policy vs. the
policy Brown is proposing to implement as
part of this recruitment effort.Brown pointed out that the county is cur-
rently seeking an equalization director. The
county’s proximity to Kent and Kalamazoo
counties create a challenge, he said. “As we
try to recruit, we have a very limited labor
pool.”The county also has a vacant position for
deputy court administrator, so Court
Administrator Ines Straube is facing a similar
issue, he said.
“We’re really talking about upper mid-man-
agement positions,” Brown told them. “We’re
talking about bringing in talent that is sea-
soned, that has experience.”
The county’s dilemma in bringing in new
recruits to pick up where an experienced pre-
decessor left off is that they can’t recruit an
experienced mid-management employee to
come in for a starting wage and benefits.
“If we want to continue that and replace
people ... what that comes with ... they have
already built up a wage level and an expecta-
tion of vacation and some other things. It’s
not necessarily that they’re expecting more.
But you can’t expect them to go backwards.”
Straube said the deputy court administrator
post has been open for several months and
they have only received four applications.
Commissioner Jon Smelker said the expec-
tation would be that these experienced hires
would “hit the ground running.”
Brown said that new hires with experience
should be able to adjust quickly.
“What’s the fiscal impact of these adjust-
ments?” Geiger asked.
Brown said the answer to that question
varies, depending on the position and at what
level a new employee is hired in.
“It may require a budget amendment,” he
said. “But folks that are leading (a depart-
ment) are at the top of their scale.”
Brown emphasized that the greater concern
for the county are the implications of not
hiring qualified quality and seasoned people.“I’m confident I can handle the budget end
of it. My concern is – can the organization
handle it if we don’t replace with seasoned
people.
The budget impact would be immediately
felt, he acknowledged, but the impact of a
weak hire would be felt later – and in much
more substantive ways.
“We’ve been very fortunate that we’ve
had a lot of stability,” Brown said. “As
you look around our organization, there’s
a lot of talent that’s been here for a lot of
years.“If we like and value where we’re at, this
is a step that’s necessary.”
In other action, commissioners approved:- recommending a grant agreement with
the state through the Emergency Management
Performance Grant American Rescue Plan
Act for fiscal year 2021. These are federal
pass-through funds intended for the adminis-
tration and oversight of an approved emer-
gency management program in the county.
The grant will pay an additional $21,566 of
the county’s Emergency Management
Coordinator Jim Yarger’s salary and benefits.
COVID cases
keep going up
Taylor Owens
Staff Writer
There were 367 cases of COVID-19 in Barry County
on Tuesday, according to the Barry-Eaton District
Health Department.
Two more people are reported to have died from the
disease, with a total of 95 deaths since the pandemic
began in March of 2020.
The most recent seven-day average for the number of
COVID-19 tests which were positive was 27.55 percent.
Barry County set a new record for single-day positiv-
ity rate on Nov. 6. According to the state, 35.37 percent
of the 164 tests that were conducted that day came back
positive.
According to the state reporting, Spectrum Health
Pennock currently had eight COVID patients in the hos-
pital on Monday, with two in the intensive care unity.
The hospital was at 95-percent bed occupancy.
The health department is continuing to offer free
rapid COVID testing at its Hastings office at 330 West
Woodlawn Avenue in Hastings.
Tests are conducted every Monday, Wednesday and
Thursday from 10:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. until Nov. 29,
with no testing done on Thanksgiving. Appointments
are available at barryeatonhealth.org/test.
COVID vaccine clinics, including booster shots,
doses for kids age five to 11 and sensory friendly clin-
ics also are available for appointments at barryeaton-
helaht.org.
At least 29,590 Barry County residents have received
their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, which is 59.
percent of all residents age 12 and up.
The goal is to vaccinate at least 70 percent of resi-
dents, officials have said.Lafey defense seeks to
block video during trial
Taylor Owens
Staff Writer
Andrew Lafey’s defense lawyer, James
Kinney, will try to prevent the video of
Gracyn Brickley’s death from being shown
during his trial.
Lafey, 22, of Nashville, is charged with
the torture and murder of Brickley, 18, of
Ionia County.
Barry County Sheriff’s Detective Sergeant
Janette Maki testified Lafey told her he shot
Brickley behind the house he was staying at
on Guy Road in Maple Grove Township on
Feb. 16.
After she fell to the ground, Lafey
recorded an 11-minute video as he kickedher in the head and torso until she died. He
then buried her under a few inches of snow,
went back to the house, and showed his
friends the video.
During a pre-trial hearing Wednesday,
Kinney said he plans to file a motion to
prevent the video from being shown. He
also will seek to dismiss some of the state-
ments Lafey made to police before he was
read his Miranda rights, which advise a
suspect of his right to remain silent.
Lafey appeared at the hearing via video-
conference from the Barry County Jail.
Judge Michael Schipper will act on the
motions during a hearing scheduled to take
place Jan. 12.TK superintendent’s
medical leave extended
Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
A medical leave of absence for Thornapple Kellogg Schools
Superintendent Dan Remenap has been extended indefinitely.
TK school board president Matt Powers informed district staff of the
extension in an email message.
“Superintendent Remenap will remain on leave for an undetermined
period of time,” Powers wrote in the email. “Craig McCarthy will contin-
ue to serve as interim superintendent until further notice. Staff are asked
to respect Mr. Remenap’s privacy and avoid any speculation or rumors
during this time.
“The administration and Board appreciates your dedication and service
to Thornapple Kellogg and trust that you will continue to provide an out-
standing education to all of our students.”
McCarthy last week had sent an email to The Banner, indicating
Remenap would return to his superintendent duties on Nov. 10.
Remenap went on leave Sept. 2. At the time, then-board president
Kristen Cove said Remenap was expected to be on leave for about eight
to 10 weeks.
At the TK board meeting, all indications were that Remenap would
return this week, and McCarthy alluded to it in his report to the board.
“I just want to thank you all for the opportunity to fill in, and your confi-
dence in my abilities,” McCarthy said at the meeting. “I always strive to
return things in better condition than I took them. Hopefully, that happened
this time. At least the ship is still floating.”
“You’ve given us a lot of confidence,” Powers said to McCarthy.
In a Sept. 3 interview, Remenap said he took the leave at the recommen-
dation of his doctor, citing ulcers and losing 30 pounds since the April
death of his brother, Kevin, an assistant principal at Thornapple Kellogg
High School.
Remenap, 49, was hired in November 2020 to be TK’s superintendent,
succeeding Rob Blitchok, who had retired at the end of September 2020
after two years in the post.
Before that, Remenap was superintendent of the Hastings Area School
System for about a year and a half. Prior to coming to Hastings, he
worked for 10 years as principal at Allendale High School in Ottawa
County.
Some in Rutland fret over marijuana regulations
Trustee concerned about ‘marijuana mile’ along highway
Benjamin Simon
Staff Writer
Rutland Charter Township officials have
spent more than a year working on marijuana
ordinances. But as that draft reaches its final
stages, Trustee Gene Hall still has a concern.
“Are we going to have a stretch along
M-37 that has seven marijuana businesses
side by side?” Hall asked during the Nov. 10
township board meeting.
The board discussed the most recent drafts
of the marijuana business zoning and regula-
tory ordinances. McKenna Planning consul-
tant Rebecca Harvey wrote the text, and
attorney Craig Rolfe provided feedback on
the most recent draft.
By the end of its meeting, the board unan-
imously agreed to set a public hearing for 7
p.m. Jan. 19, 2022, to solicit feedback from
the community on the regulatory ordinance.
Although the ordinances are near imple-
mentation, disagreement has continued over
whether to limit the number of marijuana
businesses in the township.
The current drafts of the zoning and reg-
ulatory ordinances do not place a cap on
how many retail businesses could operate in
the township. They are only permissible in
the mixed-use district that stretches along
M-37/M-43 from Walmart near Cook Road
to the hospital property just west of Tanner
Lake Road.
That district could include marijuana retail
businesses, medical marijuana and marijuana
processors, medical marijuana provisioning
centers, marijuana micro-businesses, marijua-
na secure transporters and medical marijuana
secure transporter compliance facilities.
Hall said he continues to worry about the
possibility of marijuana businesses flocking
to the area.
“I just don’t want to see that stretch turn
into marijuana mile,” he said during the
meeting, suggesting the township prohibit
these businesses from operating within 1,
feet of one another.
But other board members pushed back,
noting they should not restrict the distance
between marijuana businesses if they do not
do so for other businesses.
“You can’t point your finger at one busi-
ness and say, ‘You have to follow these rules,
but everybody else doesn’t,’” Clerk Robin
Hawthorne said.
Rolfe had advised the board that imple-
menting such a law could open the township
to a lawsuit, she said.
Zoning Administrator Les Raymond, who
attended the meeting, said they have had sim-
ilar conversations at the planning commis-
sion level.
“We felt that the industry could regulate
the number of businesses rather than the
township regulate,” Raymond said.
Supervisor Larry Watson agreed.
“These people govern themselves,” Watson
said. “They don’t stack on top of one another.”
In the audience, Steve Storrs, an attorney,
said he was visiting on behalf of a client who
is interested in opening a marijuana business
in Rutland Township. He noted that most
townships limit the number of retailers, and
said that he did not think Rutland would be
susceptible to a lawsuit if it put restrictions on
the number of businesses.
“You have several people there that have
been very interested as soon as the ordinance
passed,” he said.
Following the meeting, Hawthorne said
she does not think the board will cap the
number of marijuana businesses or imple-
ment any major changes to the ordinances.
“We’ve talked it over quite a bit and we’ve
taken quite a few months of discussion and
talking and hearing from experts and people
coming in and talking to us,” she said. “Idon’t foresee [the ordinances changing]. But
that’s just my opinion. I think it’ll probably
go through as it is.”
Numerous steps still remain. The board
will have to host January’s public hearing
and, throughout the winter, complete two
formal readings of the final ordinances.
Hawthorne estimated that provisions for
these businesses won’t go into effect until
sometime in the spring of 2022. But, after
months of discussing the ordinances, she said
the end feels close.
“It seems so nice to almost be at the end
because I’m so tired,” she said. “I’ve got so
many files in my office just crammed full of
paper, it’s been so long. We’ve really done a
lot of research and a long process on this. It’s
not been a rapid decision by any means.
“We worked really hard to get it right – as
right as you can get it.”
In other business, the board:- Discussed bids to redesign its website.
The township received five bids and decided
to do more research on two of the companies,
LIAA of Traverse City and Pixelvine of
Freeport. - Accepted a cemetery ordinance for sec-
ond reading. - Held a public hearing for its 2022 budget.
The resolution to approve the spending plan
won’t take place until next month. - Adopted the second reading of the master
plan. - Gave Step 1 approval to a 36-unit hous-
ing development that will be located across
from the Barry County fairgrounds. This
action means that the developer, Carl Algera,
has all of his paperwork correctly and ade-
quately filed with the township. Algera must
proceed through a three-step process, includ-
ing putting down the infrastructure, connect-
ing the septic and building the roads, before
he can start constructing the housing units.
Lakewood staff member investigated
for sexual misconduct
Taylor Owens
Staff Writer
The Michigan State Police are investigating a
female Lakewood high school staff member
about allegations she engaged in inappropriate
sexual conduct with a 16-year-old male student.
According to a letter to parents from
Lakewood Public Schools Superintendent
Steven Skalka, the alleged incident reported-
ly occurred off school property, but during
school hours.
The staff member who is being investigat-
ed is not a teacher, Skalka said.
After district officials learned of the allega-
tions, Michigan State Police were contacted
and the staff member was placed on paid
administrative leave.“All members of the Lakewood community,
including students and parents, are encouraged
to report any concerns regarding inappropriate
behavior between adults and students to an
appropriate school administrator,” Skalka said
in the letter. “All district employees are
required to immediately report any allegations
of misconduct involving students to an admin-
istrator. I commend our employees for prompt-
ly reporting this matter to school administra-
tors per our policies and procedures.
“Ensuring our students’ safety, security
and well-being remains our top priority, and
we will keep our school community informed
about this investigation,” he concluded.
Skalka declined to make any further com-
ment to The Banner Tuesday.Barry County Equalization Director Tim
Vandermark, who has served in that role
for nine years, will be stepping down at the
end of the year. (Photo by Rebecca Pierce)