Greetings from the Administrator

This year, like it seems every other year, has flown by. It seems like just yesterday that we were ushering in 2022. As we prepare for the holidays and upcoming year, I want to express my sincere gratitude for the hard work and dedication by the employees of Ottawa County. Even though our biannual Citizen Surveys show high satisfaction by residents with the services they receive, our employees do not receive nearly enough credit and thanks for the hard work that goes into providing first-class services to the residents of Ottawa County. We look forward to 2023.

John Shay | County Administrator

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Offices will be closed on
Friday, December 23, Monday, December 26, and Monday, January 2.

Welcome Judge Paul F. Kraus

On Friday, December 9, 2022, Judge-elect Paul F. Kraus will took the oath of office to become Ottawa County's fifth Circuit Court Judge and will serve an eight-year term. In February of this year, with the support of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners, Rep. Luke Meerman and Sen. Roger Victory, Governor Whitmer signed legislation adding a fifth judgeship to the 20th Judicial Circuit Court.

"I am humbled by the opportunity to serve the citizens of Ottawa County. I look forward to using my training, experience, and judgment to help the children and families that come before me. I am grateful to all who assisted in bringing a new judgeship to our community," said Judge Paul Kraus

Help County verify FCC broadband internet information

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently released an updated National Broadband Map. This database displays location-level high-speed internet service information collected from internet service providers (ISPs) and is used to target funding and broadband improvements nationwide.

Although this newest map is expected to be a major improvement over previous iterations, the FCC expects there will be inaccuracies. That's where the public comes in - the FCC and the state is asking residents and businesses to visit broadbandmap.fcc.gov by January 13 to check the new data ahead of 2023 grant distributions.

How to Check

To check, type in your address to see if what is displayed is right. If something is incorrect on the map you can submit a challenge. If the address is missing, click "Challenge Location". If the internet service information is incorrect, click "Availability Challenge."

Videos explaining how to do this are available below:

• Availability Challenge demo (on a mobile browser)
• Location Challenge demo (on mobile browser)
• Availability and Location Challenge demo (on a computer browser)

January 3 Board of Commissioners Meeting

The first Board of Commissioners meeting of 2023 will be held on January 3, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. This meeting is known as the Organizational Meeting and the board will be sworn in and details such as committee assignments and meeting schedules will be determined. The meeting takes place in the Board Room at 12220 Fillmore Street, West Olive and is open to the public. The meeting opens and closes with an opportunity for the public to comment. Comments can also be submitted online at miOttawa.org. The meeting can also be watched on YouTube.

Community Mental Health Round Table Discussions

Community Mental Health of Ottawa County will be holding a series of round table discussions to provide an update on services, answer questions, and listen to concerns.

• January 19, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Community Mental Health, 1111 Fulton, Grand Haven
• February 14, 1:00-2:00 p.m., County Building, 3100 Port Sheldon, Hudsonville