The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners had the following items scheduled on its Aug. 20 consent agenda. Per the request of Commissioner Melinda Lautner, all these items were considered and discussed individually. They were all approved unanimously by the county board. They included:
• Allowing the sheriff’s office to purchase a 2025 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor SUV and equip it to replace one lost in a July 11 accident, for a total cost, after insurance reimbursement, not to exceed $4,470. According to Sheriff Mike Borkovich, a deputy was responding to an accident and was hit by an unrelated motorist, leading to the total loss of his vehicle.
• Applying for 2024-2025 fiscal year Secondary Road Patrol Grant through the Michigan Office of Highway Safety. According to executive documents, the projected amount to be received through the grant for this fiscal year is $77,216.
• An amendment of agreement with Midway Electronics, Inc., for the construction of the Leelanau Township communications tower. The contract was initially approved in June 2023 and set to expire in August 2024. This amendment extends the agreement between the county and Midway and ensures the project will be completed under the terms established last year.
• Authorizing Finance Director Cathy Hartesvelt to apply for and obtain a VISA credit card in her name and social security number, to facilitate authorized credit card purchases on behalf of the county, through State Savings Bank in Suttons Bay.
• Committing the remaining balance of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)-allotted funds, including interest earned, toward the unfunded balance of the Point Broadband contract in the amount of $1.8 million, to be transferred as invoices are presented for payment. Local governments must obligate all ARPA funds by Dec. 31, 2024, and spend them by Dec. 31, 2026, or return the monies to the U.S. Department of Treasury.
• Approving a salary adjustment for the I.T. Director Liana Wilson, to include a retroactive $4,382.86 lump sum salary adjustment payment. Wilson was promoted Jan. 1, 2024. The 2024 budget used the 2022 nonunion salary rate range without recalculation for the 2022 costof- living adjustment, or the 2023 and 2024 increases to base salaries afforded to all other positions on the pay scale.
“For some unknown reason, the salary that was committed at a 2022 rate. Any increase to that particular line item and salaries was frozen at the 2022 rate, so there was no increase from 2023 or 2024,” Interim Administrator Richard Lewis said at the Aug. 13 executive session. “I would recommend we unfreeze it and put it where it’s supposed to be.”
• Approving a one-year contract extension with Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency (NMCAA) for housing rehab services for county residents, in the amount of $34,147.30, pending review by corporate counsel. NMCAA has been doing this work in Leelanau County for three years.
• A one-time bridge loan not to exceed $400,000 to the county land bank authority (LBA) for a blight elimination project at the former Leelanau Memorial Hospital on 201 High St. in Northport. According to executive documents, this will help the LBA complete the project in time to receive reimbursements from the state, which will be used to pay back the county by the end of the year.
• Approving the requests for proposals for electrical inspection, repair, and certification for all circuit breaker panels and transformers on the government center campus in Suttons Bay.
• Approving the requests for proposals from qualified firms of certified public accountants to audit the county’s financial statements for the fiscal years ending in 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027, and to request the county’s current firm, Rehmann, to submit a one-year contract extension for consideration.
• 2% grant contracts awarded by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians to the Inland Seas Education Association in the amount of $15,000; Housing North in the amount of $50,000; and the Leelanau County Historical Preservation Society in the amount of $3,680.
• Appointments of Elmwood Township Zoning Administrator Sarah Clarren, Bingham Township Zoning Administrator Steve Patmore, and a representative of Solon Township to the Northwest Regional Airport Authority’s Joint Airport Zoning Board.
• Dissolution of the county’s finance and personnel committees, which were created in October 2023 but have not met in the last six months.
• Extending the contact with Interim Administrator Richard Lewis through May 2025 or until a new administrator is hired. Lewis, a former mayor of Traverse City, was hired as interim administrator in March, and he started in April after Allen’s resignation went into effect.
