The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners approved another grant application from the county’s Energy Futures Task Force at their June 18 regular session.
This time around, the county is applying for $19,080 through theDepartmentof Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), which would be used to conduct a “county-wide energy survey.”
County commissioner and task force member Kama Ross presented this item at the county board’s May sessions, where the county board approved the task force’s request to write a Community Energy Management Program application.
Ross said that if EGLE approves their application, this county would be reimbursed for costs associated with the survey. The grant would cover the costs of contracting a five-graduate student team, printed materials, community conferences, and travel.
Ross said they would recruit graduate students from the University of Michigan’s Environment and Sustainability College to survey Leelanau County residents on renewable energy-related activities. She said that this information would be gathered and displayed publicly.
According to the grant application in the June executive session’s e-packet, Leelanau County is looking to fill a need for “up to date, accurate and granular data” on community energy use, provisions in planning and zoning ordinances, and the current citizen attitudes, behaviors, and choices.
Likely as a response to public comments at the May meeting – where some speakers accused the task force of violating the county’s conflict of interest policy for listing two members in the budget narrative of a separate grant application back in February – the board’s executive documents stress that task force members will not receive compensation if the grant is approved.
This county board approved sending the application by a 6-1 vote after little discussion at the June regular session, with only Commissioner Melinda Lautner voting no.
At the same meeting, the county board approved the submission of the 13th Circuit Court’s yearly plans and services grant application to the Michigan Department of Corrections/ Office of Community Corrections. The grant is for one year, starting October 2024, in the amount of $321,000.
They also amended a previously submitted Crime Victim Rights grant application, which listed Catherine Hartesvelt as finance director in the certification/ contacts information section, changing her title to interim finance director. Hartesvelt has been interim finance director since the last permanent department head, Sean Cowan, left the county in October 2023.
And as previously reported, the board signed an amended employment agreement with Interim Administrator Richard Lewis, extending his term through Dec. 31 “or before in the event a new administrator/ CFO is hired by the county.” His work schedule was also extended from 20 to 25 hours per week at the Tuesday meeting.
