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The Week in Review: April 19, 2024

Kent County, Michigan sent this bulletin at 04/19/2024 05:35 PM EDT

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

April 19, 2024

Al Vanderberg, County Administrator

Good afternoon Chair Stek and Commissioners,

Image of Governor Gretchen Whitmer speaking to a group

It feels great to be back in the office, diving into the important issues once again. My wife and I had an incredible vacation in Hawaii; it was so relaxing, filled with unforgettable moments and adventures.

On Monday, I attended an event with Governor Whitmer, Speaker of the House Joe Tate, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, Congresswoman Hillary Scholten, Representative John Fitzgerald, among other local elected officials and stakeholders. The purpose of the event was to highlight the economic benefits of a new law that could potentially generate new revenue for projects such as the amphitheater, the soccer stadium, and potential aquarium. Our informational meetings on this topic have raised a lot of good questions and dialogue. However, please reach out to Josh or me with any questions.

I hope to see you at Monday's Quadrant meeting in Caledonia. Have a great weekend!

AAA Bond Rating Affirmed By Rating Agencies

Last week, S&P Global and Moody’s Investors Service reaffirmed our Triple-A (AAA) credit ratings, marking the 26th consecutive year we have received the highest credit rating possible from both agencies. These ratings reflect our strong financial position and ability to meet our obligations.

Office of the Public Defender

Over the course of the last three weeks, there has been a lot of dialogue and questions raised about my recommendation to implement an internal Office of the Public Defender, replacing the non-profit Kent County Office of the Defender. I wanted to provide additional materials for your review.

Updated FAQs: This document compiles the questions asked to date about the proposed implementation of the Office of the Public Defender.
Map Showing the Public Service Delivery Model Across Michigan: This resource offers a comparative analysis of public service delivery models across the state.
National Association for Public Defense Study, originally sent on on March 19, 2024.
National Association for Public Defense Study Executive Summary, originally sent on March 18, 2024.

The last informational meeting is scheduled on Monday (April 22) at 9:30 a.m. Please feel to reach out to me with any questions.

Issues on the Horizon

During the May 2nd Board meeting, our auditors will be presenting the Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR). If you have any questions on the report, please contact Jeff Dood.
The Finance Committee will be reviewing the draft opioid settlement spending plan on May 21. If you have any questions on the plan, please contact
Rachel Jantz or Jenny James.

Broadband Map Challenge

Please continue to encourage your constituents to participate in the statewide Map Challenge. The state extended the deadline to April 30 so there’s more time to participate. We ask households, businesses and other entities to enter their address at https://challenge.merit.edu and confirm that the information about high speed internet access at their property is correct. Kent County has had good response so far and we look forward to even more participation in the final weeks of the challenge. Your support in spreading the word is appreciated!

Legislative Updates

On Thursday, April 18, the Michigan House passed legislation to extend the sunset to allow courts to impose reasonable costs on defendants to help cover operational expenses. If the sunset is not extended by May 1, our courts would be prohibited from imposing costs which would have significant financial implications for the County.
On April 5, Rep. John Moolenaar sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency urging it to reconsider its proposed Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards and inquired about the residual risk analysis.
The Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, along with other business organizations, recently issued a statement opposing the proposed tipping fee included in the Governor's Executive Budget recommendations.

Situational Awareness - Avian Influenza

Since February of 2022, there has been a strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) affecting wild birds and some poultry flocks across the US. Those poultry infections have primarily happened in southern states, but there have also been bird cases identified in a number of Michigan counties (not Kent, as of yet).

In recent months, some cattle in southwest states have been infected. Within the past week or so, HPAI has been found at a very limited number of farms in West Michigan (Ionia, Montcalm, and Ottawa). The Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD) is not releasing the names of the farms. They are working with the affected poultry farms to humanely euthanize the flock(s), and with the cattle farm(s) to isolate and provide care & monitoring of affected cattle.

All novel strains of influenza are of concern to public health because they mutate readily and jump species. The CDC currently states that HPAI is of low risk to human health. At this point, the role of the Health Department is to support if/when farms in Kent County are impacted. We would be involved, alongside Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, with monitoring the health status of persons residing/working on the farm(s). They would also likely distribute Tamiflu as needed. Please contact Adam London if you have any questions on this issue.

Weatherization Program Update

Gustavo and the Community Action's Weatherization team spent most of 2023 looking at ways to improve the Weatherization program process and to build capacity. As of April 18, 2024, the program has the following work in progress:

30 applications with the intake team to review eligibility and gather required documents,
35 applications are in the pre-inspection phase to understand the property condition and needs,
just over 50 units are ready for an energy audit, and
21 units are with a contractor making the energy efficiency improvements.

This is the most volume we have ever seen at any given time. With the anticipation that some units may not qualify for the service and barring any unforeseen setbacks, we project completing about 115 units this year. To further increase program capacity going forward, two of our team members are going to take their State certification exam this month and another is taking their BPI (Building Performance Institute) certification exam next month. We thank them for their hard work to prepare and wish them well.

Communication Team Change

Last week, Steve Kelso shared with us his decision to move on to new endeavors. Steve, who joined the County just over nine years ago and was only the second person to hold such a role, has been an invaluable member of our team. While we will miss him, we're eager to hear about his new role as Chief Domestic Officer and the opportunities that lie ahead for him. His last day is May 23.

Kent County, Michigan
300 Monroe Avenue NW
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503

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