This edition of the Digest has informative updates and a call to action. We are commencing the broadband survey and would love to see Kent County eclipse the participation numbers of all other counties in Michigan who have completed a similar survey!

The Board of Commissioners assigned preference rankings to the more than 300 ARPA proposals in a four hour work session Friday morning. The results are posted on kentcountyarpa.com.

As reported last week, we received 486 applications for 61 vacancies to our various boards, commissions, and committees this year. Comparatively, we received 150 applications for 42 vacancies in 2021. A 224% increase in applications! We made several changes to the application process this year and the results clearly demonstrate successful project improvement. Special thank you to Lisa Ampulski who spent many hours leading the appointment process this year!

I’d like to give a shout out to Katie VanHevel, Senior Administrative Specialist in the Administrator’s Office, who ran in the Detroit Free Press Marathon on Sunday, eclipsing her previous marathon time by more than 16 minutes! 

As is typical, I welcome your ideas for Digest articles, submissions and comments for improvement!

-Al Vanderberg 

Congratulations to New Friend of the Court Traci Schenkel!

(Andy Thalhammer, Circuit Court)

Please join me in congratulating Traci Schenkel as she has been selected to fill the role of Friend of the Court (FOC) for Kent County. Traci was officially promoted to this role from Assistant Friend of the Court on October 17. She came to FOC in 2014 as a mediator/evaluator and was quickly promoted to Casework Supervisor in 2015. 

Traci has a law degree and a graduate teaching certificate in English and Math. She also serves on many local committees and boards, including, but not limited to Alternative Dispute Oversight Committee, Cultural Insight Committee, Legal Assistance Center, and Healthy Dads County Coalition. Traci also has trained and presented at a local and statewide level in many areas, again, to name a few: Michigan Judicial Institute, Michigan Parenting Time Guideline Advisory group, Michigan Family Support Council, and the Safe & Together Institute.

Traci has demonstrated strong leadership and complete awareness of the office in day to day operations and in the overarching purpose of FOC. We are very excited to have her in this role.

Kent County Secures 67 acres of Farmland in Grattan Township

(Matthew Channing, Agricultural Preservation Specialist)

On October 17, Kent County purchased a conservation easement for 67 acres of farmland in Grattan Township. This permanent easement guarantees that the property will remain farmland in perpetuity. The purchase for the farm’s development rights was made possible by donations from Grattan Township, the Wege Foundation, the USDA, and the landowners, Scott and Melissa Sieracki.

In 2018, the Sieracki Application ranked 1 out of 11 applications for the east part of Kent County, the Parnell Corridor. Now, as the 28^th property preserved in Kent County since the Purchase of Development Rights program was authorized in 2002, the program has preserved approximately 2,800 acres. Farmland in Grattan accounts for 800 acres, or just about a quarter of all preserved farmland in the county. The Agricultural Preservation Board selected this farm because of its abundance of prime and unique soils, allowing for a broad diversity of agricultural production and its proximity to other protected parcels.

To learn more about agricultural preservation and the Purchase of Development Rights program, click here.  

John Ball Zoo Partners with Local Organizations to Help Conserve Michigan’s Rare Turtles

(Peter D'Arienzo, John Ball Zoo) 

John Ball Zoo has partnered with Grand Valley State University (GVSU) and the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute to “head start” Eastern Box Turtles and protect them from predators.

Head starting is a conservation practice in which young turtles are hatched and raised with human intervention and then released into the wild when they are less susceptible to predators. A universal problem for Michigan’s turtles is the skyrocketing raccoon population, which preys on baby turtles and turtle nests.

A grant from John Ball Zoo supports the field work of a GVSU graduate student, which includes studying the efficacy of head starting, as well as the ecology of the head-started turtles. The Zoo has hatched, raised and released 44 turtles throughout the last three seasons and currently 12 baby turtles are getting their head start at the Zoo.

(Steve Farber, DPW)

A pilot program by the Kent County Department of Public Works (DPW) and the City of Rockford helps residents divert resources away from landfills by placing their waste materials into the right bin.

The DPW’s Separate Out Trash Recycling (S.O.R.T.) program helps guide where waste should go using colored bins that separate recycling and trash. After a successful temporary pilot program in 2021using the branded bins at the Rockford Outdoor Refreshment Area, the city is installing permanent S.O.R.T. bins in all municipal buildings and parks.

By utilizing the S.O.R.T. bins, users are helping reduce landfilled waste and bring Kent County closer to its goal of reducing landfill waste by 90% by 2030. The DPW is hoping to expand the use of S.O.R.T. bins to other communities using the blueprint of the Rockford pilot program.

Anyone interested in using S.O.R.T. bins in their office, business, school, place of worship or upcoming social event can visit the DPW’s website to submit a request for materials to set up the bins. The DPW offers a sign maker tool and vinyl wraps to place on waste bins that let people know what waste should go in each bin. The DPW will provide input on options available in your community for organics, recycling, and trash collection.

The Kent County Department of Public Works provides municipal solid waste disposal services to ensure the effective removal, storage, and disposal of residential and commercial solid waste through various facilities and programs, including Waste-to-Energy, Recycling and Education Center, North Kent Transfer Station and South Kent Landfill.

GIANT Awards and Banquet

(Teresa Branson, Chief Inclusion Officer) 

On Saturday, October 1, several Kent County employees came out to support the 39th Annual GIANT Awards and Banquet. Since 1983, Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) has hosted this award ceremony to recognize exceptional leaders who shape the local community’s history, quality of life, and culture. With each award named after a historical local “giant,” their community contributions and legacies are memorialized throughout the work of the honorees. This year, Kevin Clemens, Juvenile Probation Officer with the 17^th Judicial Circuit Court and TPOAM President was presented with the Martha Reynolds Labor Award. 

Learn more about the GIANT Awards and Banquet and read the digital article by Grand Rapids Community College now. Congratulations Kevin!