[0:14] Bay County Board of Commissioners
meeting on Tuesday, February 17th, 2026
[0:19] at 4:00 p.m. to order. Madam clerk, roll
call, please.
[0:24] » Here,
>> here.
[0:26] » Bon
>> here.
[0:27] » Rob
>> here.
[0:28] » Do
[0:31] » thank you. Please rise for the
invocation and the pledge of allegiance.
[0:36] Almighty God, we ask that you will guide
and give leadership to every member of
[0:40] this board of commissioners. And we ask
that you will give them knowledge and
[0:43] understanding so that the decisions made
today and always will benefit every
[0:46] citizen of this community. Amen.
>> Amen.
[0:49] » Amen.
>> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[0:52] United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation
[0:58] under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
[1:08] I need a motion on the minutes of 129,
1216, and 1226.
[1:13] » Support motion to main support. Is there
any discussion, corrections?
[1:18] » See none. All in favor?
>> I oppose. Motion carries.
[1:23] Is there any changes to the agenda
approval?
[1:26] See none.
>> I'll move the agenda. Support.
[1:29] » Any discussion? See none. All in favor?
>> I post. See none. Motion carries. At
[1:35] this time is for public input. Is there
anyone wishing to address the
[1:38] commission? Please come forward.
[1:43] Going once.
Going twice. Public input is closed at
[1:48] this time.
Petitions with communications.
[1:52] Number eight. Presentation. Region 7
area agent agent CEO Dana Alum.
[2:00] Did I get that right? Yes, you did.
Thank you.
[2:05] » Good afternoon, commissioners. Thank you
for having me today. Um, I'm sure that
[2:09] at one point we will get to meet each
other more personally, but today's a
[2:12] great start hopefully to um kick off
this relationship. So, I'm the new CEO
[2:18] of Region 7 Area Agency on Aging. I'm
sure that most of you know what Region 7
[2:22] does, but just to make sure in case you
have anyone new who does not, I'd like
[2:25] to give you a brief uh explanation of
the agency. We are designated uh
[2:31] federally designated under the older
Americans act and we receive state and
[2:36] federal funds to distribute out to our
counties that we serve. We serve 10, one
[2:42] of them of course being bay and also to
provide services ourselves. Some of
[2:47] those services we provide directly.
Our collaboration for aging services is
[2:53] very important as you know and I look
forward to working with you on uh
[2:58] finding out what base county needs. I
know that you already have a lot of
[3:02] support but I look forward to jumping
into that and and taking part and moving
[3:07] the county uh aging services forward uh
with the momentum they already have and
[3:12] uh going from there.
Also, our joint efforts
[3:18] reduce strains
on
[3:22] uh reduce strains on other community
resources, right, like law enforcement
[3:27] and health care and emergency services.
So, uh it's not just the services we're
[3:32] providing directly to older adults in
Bay County. It's also the strain that
[3:38] we're reducing on the other services so
that they can operate effectively as
[3:42] well and not be un um overwhelmed by by
the need
[3:48] funding. This is not the full ROI that
you're used to receiving. We'll do that
[3:53] in a few months. Um but I did want to
talk briefly about funding. Region 7
[3:57] distributes approximately $700,000
annually to Bay County for the following
[4:03] services. Senior services, congregate
nutrition and home delivered meals, case
[4:08] coordination and support, caregiver case
management, homemaking, personal care,
[4:15] respbit care, adult daycare, and
caregiver training. Additionally, on
[4:20] average, about $1 million in services
and supports is accessed by
[4:26] approximately 300 Bay County older
adults
[4:31] through the My Choice Waiver program
delivered by Region 7 Area Agency on
[4:35] Aging.
Advocacy, one of the many important
[4:40] parts of our our relationship, right? So
there are uh many ways that region 7
[4:46] advocates both locally, statewide, and
nationally for aging services. So we
[4:53] want to be an extension of what you're
already doing. I hope that we can
[4:56] continue to do so.
[5:01] Awareness. I have a little bit of an ask
if that's what we will call it anyway.
[5:06] um to serve Bay County most effectively.
Region 7 really needs to be one of your
[5:10] best known resources for aging services,
not the best kept secret. When I started
[5:15] with region 7, I I've heard a lot of we
are the best kept secret secret. We have
[5:19] to do something about this. I agree we
have to do something about this. I also
[5:24] would say that as a leader, that is the
last thing I want to hear is that we're
[5:28] a secret, right? Especially if we're the
best kept one. We need to be the best
[5:32] known resource. And so that does not
take away from your department on aging.
[5:37] We support them. We're not a competitor
of them. Um we work in conjunction with
[5:42] them. If a referral for services comes
to region 7 and it is best served by
[5:48] your department on aging, we just pass
it over to them. A warm handoff and vice
[5:53] versa. Right? So I wanted to make sure
that was very clear. We are partners in
[5:58] this not competitors.
also your state legislators.
[6:04] Obviously, we all we all interact with
them. If you have really strong
[6:08] relationships with some of your state
legislators, I ask you to invite us to
[6:11] the table for anything that you're when
you're talking to them about aging
[6:14] services. We can be your expert and we'd
like to be. They can depend on our
[6:19] knowledge and our experience. And those
warm introductions fasttrack meaningful
[6:25] conversations to advance funding
relevance. It is so important that the
[6:32] seats that Bay County has on region 7's
board of directors and advisory council
[6:38] remain occupied.
We have Mr. Bon and Mr. McN who have
[6:45] served our boards and our council for a
very long time and I I don't expect that
[6:49] they're going anywhere anytime soon. So
that is not my concern.
[6:54] Bringing this up now is important
because sometimes things change
[6:57] unexpectedly. Maybe they decide to go
and live in Aruba. I don't know, right?
[7:02] But the point is if if something
changes, it's so important that you get
[7:06] your seats filled
as quickly as possible because them
[7:12] being on our board and our council is
how the advocacy that we do for your
[7:16] county remains relevant to your county.
Surely there are common things across
[7:21] all counties for aging services, but
there are also some uniquely different
[7:24] per county, and we want to make sure
that we remain relevant in our efforts.
[7:29] The last thing is aging population. You
may already know all of these
[7:33] statistics, but I just wanted to point
out a few things that that really stand
[7:37] out. Um, almost a quarter of Bay County
residents are 65 or older, 23.1%. So, I
[7:46] rounded up just a little. Um, those are
current statistics.
[7:51] Of that, the 85 plus population in Bay
County is expected to double by the year
[7:57] 2050.
[8:00] During the same time period, the county
is expected to lose about 20,000 people
[8:06] in overall census.
And so this is this is common throughout
[8:11] Michigan. Uh the Grand Rapids area is
actually the only area in between now
[8:15] and 2050 expected to see any amount of
significant growth. So it's not that
[8:20] anything terrible is going on in Bay
County. It's that we have less births
[8:24] and more deaths. Right? That is the
primary reason that we're seeing
[8:28] throughout Michigan.
And so given these projections, our
[8:33] collaboration, our work together is more
important than ever. I look forward to
[8:36] working with you. That will conclude my
presentation for today. and I thank you
[8:41] for your partnership.
Any questions?
[8:45] » Any questions from the board?
[8:49] » Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[8:52] » Move to receive support.
>> Yes.
[8:55] » Uh if I may ask permission to come
forward. My name is Pat. Just speak for
[9:00] just a second.
>> That's fine.
[9:02] » On region 7, Division on Aging. I'm your
>> appointee on the board there. And I come
[9:08] here to toot my horn today.
I want to tell you guys how proud I am
[9:13] to be on that board because all other
nine counties are jealous of Bay County
[9:17] because we do such a great job with our
magazine that Beth Urick has put
[9:22] together and the meals on wheels and the
things we do it. I'm I'm telling you
[9:27] this this lady Beth is my hero. You know
what I mean? I I want to tell you guys
[9:33] » Yeah.
>> I was at the last meeting and we had a
[9:36] citizen go down. They have a system all
set up. That person was taken care of
[9:41] right away. The drivers, I see our
drivers all over and I wave to them.
[9:46] They know me that deliver the meals on
wheels to homes. These people that are
[9:50] getting the meals may only see our
driver and they're doing a great job.
[9:56] And the program, you know, I I believe
all our programs be in store only runs
[10:01] on the person that's running it. If you
have a good leader, good people, it's
[10:07] perfect. So, I just wanted to toot my
horn on on Beth Gurick and her people,
[10:12] all of her people that work. They're
great. And the other counties know it
[10:16] and they're always asking me, "How do
you do it?" Well, you know, uh, Beth
[10:21] came there and showed them how to put a
magazine together, how to get all the
[10:25] advertisers to pay for it, and and I
don't know if you guys get the magazine
[10:30] that they put out every month and read
it, man. I mean, if you want to know
[10:34] what's going on in Bay County, get that
magazine. They email it to me and I make
[10:38] copies and give it to my customers and
put it up in my store when I have to.
[10:42] So, I just wanted to toot my horn about
Bay County. You're doing a great job. We
[10:47] have a great organization. I'm going to
do everything in my power to make sure
[10:51] that your funding is always there and
taken care of. And we are wellunded. So,
[10:55] you don't have to worry if there's a
government shutdown.
[10:58] We're going to take care of you. You
won't you won't lose any of your
[11:01] funding. We have 90day surplus funds
that we're going to make sure you people
[11:05] get the seniors get their money first.
So, thank you for allowing me to be on
[11:10] that board. It's a very pleasure and
I've been on there a lot of years and
[11:14] I'm watching the money like a hawk. So,
thank you very much.
[11:17] » Thank you, Pat.
>> Motion was made supported. Any other
[11:20] discussion? See not all in favor?
>> I I
[11:24] » Okay. B region
commissioner.
[11:29] So the next uh region 7 area agency and
aging board of directors uh we received
[11:35] two letters. The letter from region 7
area agency and aging regarding the
[11:40] appointment of Mary Donnelly located on
page two was submitted to the board in
[11:44] error. I respectfully request a motion
to remove that letter from consideration
[11:49] and to receive only the letter on page
one concerning Milman McN.
[11:54] I'd make that that motion.
Motion has been made in support. Is
[11:58] there any discussion? Seeing none, all
in favor?
[12:01] » I posting none. Motion carries.
>> C. City of Bay City application for
[12:07] obsolete property rehabilitation
exemption district and certifi
[12:10] certificate 108 to 110 North Lyn Street,
Bay City.
[12:16] » Make a motion to receive
support.
[12:20] » I guess we don't need
>> motion is remain supporter. Is there any
[12:22] discussion questions?
See none. All in favor?
[12:27] » I
>> oppose. See? None. Motion carries.
[12:30] » Reports, resolutions of committee. A,
committee of the whole. That meeting was
[12:34] cancelled, so we'll go to B, committee
of the whole, February 10th.
[12:38] Commissioner Creek.
>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, under item
[12:42] one, uh, resolution 2026-17,
MSU Extension Agreement of Service 2026.
[12:49] I move this resolution support.
>> Motion has been made in support. Is
[12:53] there any discussion?
Yes. commissioner.
[12:56] » I'd like to thank him for the popcorn
and uh I hope they're not trying to
[12:59] bribe us. So I'm sure it didn't cost
very much.
[13:04] » All right.
>> Thank you, Von. Anyone else?
[13:06] » All in favor?
>> I motion carries.
[13:10] » Item two, uh resolution 2026-18
grant applications for Bay County
[13:16] Fairgrounds Infrastructure Improvements
2026. I move this resolution support.
[13:22] » A motion has been made in support. Is
there any discussion?
[13:25] See none. All in favor?
>> Oppos? Motion carries.
[13:30] » Item three, resolution 2026-19
2026 marine safety grant program. I move
[13:38] this resolution support.
>> Motion has been made in support. Is
[13:41] there any discussion?
See none. All in favor?
[13:45] » I post not motion carries. Item four,
resolution 2026-20,
[13:51] fiscal year 2026, MDHHS
medication for opiate use disorder
[13:57] program grant. I move this resolution.
>> Support.
[14:01] » Motion has been made in support or is
there any discussion?
[14:04] See none. All in favor?
>> I opposing none. Motion carries.
[14:09] » Item five, resolution 2026-21,
part-time outreach support position. I
[14:16] move this resolution
>> support.
[14:19] » Motion has been made in support. Is
there any discussion?
[14:23] Seeing none, all in favor?
>> I oppos. Seeing none. Motion carries.
[14:28] » Item six, resolution 2026-22,
Michigan Association for Local Public
[14:35] Health Employee Well-being Grant. I move
this resolution. Support.
[14:40] » Motion has remained supported. Is there
any discussion?
[14:44] » See none. All in favor? I
>> opposed. Motion carries.
[14:48] » Item seven, resolution 2026-23,
agreement with time clock plus and a lad
[14:57] scheduling system. I move this
resolution.
[15:01] » Support.
>> Motion has been made in support. Is
[15:03] there any discussion?
See none. All in favor?
[15:07] » Opposed? Motion carries. Item number
eight, resolution 2026-24,
[15:14] budget adjustment for youth placement
and housing 2026. I move this resolution
[15:20] support.
>> Motion has been made in support or is
[15:23] there any discussion?
Seeing none, all in favor?
[15:27] » I oppose. Motion carries.
Item nine, uh, resolution 2026-25,
[15:34] A andd Home Healthcare Incorporated,
contract renewal 2026. I move this
[15:40] resolution.
>> Support. Motion has been made in
[15:44] support. Is there any discussion? See
none. All in favor?
[15:48] » Oppos? Motion carries.
>> Um, item number 10, resolution 2026-26.
[15:56] 2026 control materials bids. I move this
resolution support.
[16:03] » Motion has been made in support. Is
there any discussion?
[16:06] » See none. All in favor?
>> I oppose. See none. Motion carries.
[16:10] » Item number 11, resolution number
2026-27
[16:17] 2026 light trap data contracts. I move
this resolution. Support.
[16:23] » Motion has been made in support. Is
there any discussion?
[16:26] See none. All in favor? I
>> opposed. Motion carries.
[16:31] » Item number 12, resolution 2026-28,
[16:36] 2026, tire shredding contract with
environmental rubber. I move this
[16:42] resolution.
>> Support.
[16:44] » Motion has been made support. Is there
any discussion?
[16:48] » Seeing none, all in favor?
>> I opposed. Motion carries. Item 13, uh,
[16:54] resolution number 2026-29,
one-time equipment offer agreement with
[17:00] Verizon. I move this resolution support.
>> Motion has been made in support. Any
[17:06] discussion? I see none. All in favor?
>> I opposed. Motion carries.
[17:12] » Item number 14, resolution 2026-30,
fe schedule change for Civic Arena 2026.
[17:21] I move this resolution
>> support.
[17:23] » Motion has remained supported. Is there
any discussion? Seeing none, all in
[17:27] favor? I
>> opposed. Motion carries.
[17:30] » Item number 15, resolution 2026-31,
seasonal technician hiring and wage
[17:37] increase for 2026 treatment season. I
move this resolution support.
[17:43] » Motion has been made supported. Is there
any discussion?
[17:46] » Seeing none, all in favor?
>> Oppos? Motion carries. Item number 16,
[17:51] resolution 2026-32,
director of juvenile detention traininee
[17:58] position. I move this resolution.
>> Support.
[18:01] » Motion's been made supported. Is there
any discussion? See none. All in favor?
[18:05] I oppose. Motion carries.
>> Item number 17, resolution 2026-33
[18:13] 2026 golf course fee schedule. I move
this resolution support.
[18:20] » Motion has been made and supported. Is
there any discussion? Seeing none, all
[18:23] in favor? Oppos? Motion carries.
>> Item number 18, resolution 2026-34,
[18:32] Bay County Fairgrounds Infrastructure
Improvement. I move this resolution.
[18:37] » Support.
>> Motion has been made supported. Is there
[18:40] any discussion? Seeing none, all in
favor?
[18:42] » I opposed. Motion carries.
Item number 19, resolution 2026-35
[18:50] payables. I move this resolution
>> support.
[18:54] » Motion remaining supported. Is there any
discussion?
[18:57] » See none. All in favor?
>> Posting none. Motion carries.
[19:01] » And lastly, item 20 resolution 2026-36
MIDC grant renewal 2025 and 2026. I move
[19:13] this resolution
>> support.
[19:14] » Motion has been made supported. Is there
any discussion? See none, all in favor?
[19:18] I
>> opposed. Motion carries.
[19:21] » Thank you, Commissioner Cre.
C. Board of Commissioners, Commissioner
[19:26] Beick.
>> And resolution uh number 2026-37
[19:32] reports of the county executive January
2026. Move that resolution. Support.
[19:37] » Motion's been made. Support. Is there
any discussion?
[19:40] » See none. All in favor? I
>> oppos motion carries.
[19:44] » Resolution number 2026-38
hiring of community center manager at
[19:50] 4-year rate personnel recreation and
facilities. Move that resolution
[19:55] support.
>> Motion has been made in support. Is
[19:57] there any discussion?
>> Yes, commissioner.
[20:00] » So we're hiring at a higher level. So
her duty is going to be a little more
[20:05] involved and it sounds like her
background or training is pretty
[20:09] extensive.
>> Yeah. So, we um would like to hire a
[20:12] gentleman named Tyler that comes um from
has a long history of recreation
[20:17] experience in the Sagena area. He has a
recreation um and parks degree. He's
[20:22] worked with pools and day camps and uh
youth sports programming and large event
[20:28] coordination and just has a really very
extensive background in recreation and
[20:32] it makes sense in this position to hire
him at the higher level.
[20:36] » Thank you.
>> Thank you. Anyone else?
[20:40] See all in favor? I motion. The motion
carries.
[20:45] » Resolution number 2026-39
fiscal year 2027 state of Michigan
[20:51] county veteran service grant veterans
affairs. I move that resolution.
[20:55] » Support.
>> Motion has been made. Supporters. Is
[20:58] there any discussion?
>> Yes.
[21:00] » Just wondering if we're going to get the
full amount this time or have you heard
[21:04] anything uh how they're going to if they
have increased the amount. It won't be
[21:08] as much as years past, but um we're
going to get the month that we
[21:14] » anticipated.
>> Yeah.
[21:15] » So,
>> unless they say have some
[21:18] difference,
>> legislature. Yeah.
[21:20] » More counties have been applying over
the years to what happened. We
[21:24] » Mhm. Yeah.
>> We're very grateful for it.
[21:27] » Thank you. Thank anyone else. All in
favor?
[21:32] » The motion carries. Resolution number
2026-40
[21:37] expansion of veteran affairs committee
board. I move that resolution support.
[21:43] » A motion has been made in support. Is
there any discussion?
[21:46] » I would just point out we've had some
good candidates apply to that position
[21:50] that we haven't been able to put on
because of the you know people coming
[21:54] back and stuff like that. So I think
it'd be good to have a couple more
[21:57] people on that board.
>> Thank you. Anyone else?
[22:02] Yes. Say, oh, I'm sorry.
>> I was just going to concur with that. I
[22:05] think it'll be good, you know, when we
have people that want to be involved.
[22:07] That's a good thing.
>> Yes, I agree.
[22:09] » And they provide valuable oversight of
our veterans department. And five
[22:14] members have had an outstanding track
record. And Commissioner Big, thank you
[22:19] for chairing it for so many years, but I
think expanding it would would provide
[22:23] more opportunities for input into the
overs veterans department. So, be very
[22:28] supportive.
>> Thank you, Mr. Porsha.
[22:30] » Okay. All in favor? I
>> opposing. Motion carries.
[22:34] » Resolution number 2026-41
purchase of clear gov budgeting and
[22:40] reporting software and budget adjustment
to finance. I move that resolution. So
[22:45] » motion has been made in support. Is
there any discussion?
[22:49] » Yes, commissioner
>> for Scott.
[22:51] » Yes.
>> Uh so this one blends in with what we
[22:55] got or it's easy to transfer
>> in with our Tyler software that we
[22:58] currently use. It will help us budget
multiple years out. Um, it'll help us
[23:02] forecast different scenarios. Um, I know
that, you know, I'll get different phone
[23:06] calls and questions. What if we did
this? What if we did that? This will be
[23:10] u a little more transparent. Um, and
also it'll put out a a budgeting book at
[23:15] the end of the year that's very
transparent with graphs and it's a
[23:19] little easier to understand the budget
um for the community as a whole.
[23:23] » Thank you.
>> Thank you. Anyone else?
[23:27] » Okay. All in favor? I
>> opposing none. Motion carries.
[23:31] » Resolution number 2026-42,
recision of resolution 2025-32,
[23:38] request for authority to enter into
agency agreement with Bay Community
[23:42] Foundation to distribute opioid
remediation funds. Move that resolution.
[23:47] » Support.
>> A motion has been made in support. Is
[23:49] there any discussion?
[23:53] » Cameron, you want to maybe explain it?
>> Sure. Um so we had initially thought
[23:57] that we were going to enter into an
agreement with community foundation um
[24:01] to set up an ongoing endowment fund in
order to retain their um status pursuant
[24:07] to IRS regulations. They're required
with that type of fund to be able to
[24:12] retain and exercise a variance power.
Which means if this fund were still in
[24:16] existence, say 20 years from now, and
the community foundation made the
[24:21] determination that this was no longer a
need of the community, they would
[24:25] exercise that variance and basically
reassign a use for those funds for a new
[24:31] community problem that was more pressing
because of the nature of the settlement
[24:35] documents that we entered into. uh and
we have to follow those state
[24:39] subdivision agreements. We were not able
to agree to that particular retention of
[24:44] a variance power. So rather than set up
the endowment fund, what we did was we
[24:49] talked to the uh Bay Area Community
Foundation. They were uh very
[24:52] understanding of the problem and agreed
that we could come up with a different
[24:56] type of agreement where they would
simply be the entity as our agent that
[24:59] would distribute these funds for us
during the course of time that we were
[25:03] receiving settlement funds for opioid
remediation. So basically doing the same
[25:07] job for us. It's just going to have to
be a different form of agreement.
[25:11] » Thank you. Anyone else? See none. All in
favor?
[25:16] » Motion carries.
>> Thank you, Commissioner Beick.
[25:20] Next is reports of the county officials,
county executive, Mr. B.
[25:24] » Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't have a
lot. I'll just update the board and the
[25:27] public who are present on progress at
the shelter. They're working hard
[25:32] through the bitter cold temperatures and
I know Commissioner Jesse goes through
[25:38] or walks by daily and seeing the the
progress. Thank you, Commissioner
[25:42] Dockett. But yeah, the workforce out
there is doing a tremendous job and we
[25:47] expect that hopefully we'll have an
October opening and ribbon cutting. And
[25:50] then also uh I want to mention the
progress at our Bay County Health
[25:55] Services uh department is proceeding
very very uh quickly and offices are
[26:02] taking shape out there in the interior
and also looking forward to hopefully a
[26:06] a late spring opening on on the new
facility. Should be a lot of excitement
[26:11] about that. And also just for the I I
know most of you have seen the positive
[26:16] comments about the uh new uh community
center that will be built uh pool at the
[26:23] community center and a lot of the social
media uh response has been very positive
[26:28] very limited negative and uh so we
expect a lot of excitement when that
[26:33] pool opens in June of 2027. So that's
all I have Mr. Chair.
[26:38] » Thank you Mr. Barsha.
Commissioners comments. Has any
[26:42] commissioners got any comments? Okay.
Unfinished business. Doesn't look have
[26:47] any new business.
This time is for second time's public
[26:51] input. Anyone wishing to address this
commission. Let's come forward.
[26:57] Going once. Going twice. Public input is
closed.
[27:03] Miscellaneous
[27:06] announcements. We've got some
appointments coming up. March. We have
[27:10] Bay Are Behavioral Health Authority,
four three-year terms expiring. Chris
[27:14] Gerard, Tim Bonanzac, Kathy Neimic, and
Jerry Creek. And region 7 area agent for
[27:20] aging advisory council, two three-year
terms expiring. Mary Donnelly, Melvin
[27:24] McN,
[27:27] Amber, is there a need for close
session?
[27:31] » Move to adjourn
support.
[27:34] » All in favor? I meeting.