[0:09] [music]
[0:15] » Welcome everyone. I would like to call
this Bay County Board of Commissioners
[0:18] meeting to be held on on Tuesday, August
18th, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. to order. Madam
[0:24] Clerk, roll call, please.
>> Niemiec?
[0:26] » Here.
>> Kek?
[0:28] » Here.
>> Beeson?
[0:29] » Here.
>> Rath?
[0:30] » Here.
>> Docket?
[0:31] » Here.
>> Kreet?
[0:32] » Here.
>> Banaja?
[0:33] » Here.
>> Thank you. Please rise for the
[0:35] invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance.
>> Heavenly Father, we come before you this
[0:39] afternoon thanking you for the guidance
and understanding that you have given
[0:42] this Board of Commissioners. We ask
again today for your help and direction
[0:47] so the Board may make the fair and
proper decisions for all citizens of Bay
[0:51] County. Amen.
>> Amen.
[0:53] » Amen.
>> Pledge of Allegiance.
[0:54] » allegiance to the flag of the United
States of America and to the republic
[0:59] for which it stands, one nation under
God, indivisible, with liberty and
[1:04] justice for all.
[1:12] » The minutes of 6/14/26.
[1:16] » Move to approve.
>> Support.
[1:23] » Isn't there
We have um
[1:26] Oh, amendment?
>> Yeah, that's
[1:28] » That's part of the agenda.
>> That's next.
[1:30] » Oh, yeah.
>> That's next. We have her.
[1:32] » Okay.
>> Yep.
[1:34] » Okay, any discussion?
All in favor? Aye.
[1:37] Policy number two carries.
Any agenda approval?
[1:44] I'd like to add two items to the agenda.
Like to
[1:48] uh add under unfinished business a
motion to approve the recommendation of
[1:51] outside counsel, Ted Seats,
as discussed during the closed session
[1:55] held at the August 11th, 2026 meeting of
the whole and to approve the recommended
[2:00] budget adjustment
as well as Can I make them together or
[2:05] do they have to be separate?
>> They're separate.
[2:07] » Separate.
>> Okay, so that's the first one.
[2:09] » Support.
>> Is there any discussion? Seeing none,
[2:11] all in favor?
>> Aye.
[2:13] » Opposed seeing none, motion carries.
>> Thank you. Second one
[2:16] » [clears throat]
>> is
[2:18] Excuse me, to add a request for closed
session by corporation counsel on behalf
[2:21] of personnel director pursuant to MCL
15.268
[2:25] subsection 1E to consult with attorney
regarding litigation and our settlement
[2:29] strategies in the ongoing Gary Redjinski
workers compensation matter.
[2:35] » Support.
>> Any discussion? Seeing none, all in
[2:38] favor?
>> Aye.
[2:39] » [clears throat]
>> Opposed seeing none, motion carries.
[2:40] » Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[2:43] Any agenda approval?
>> I make a motion to approve the agenda
[2:47] with the changes.
>> Support.
[2:48] » Any discussion? Seeing none, all in
favor?
[2:51] » Aye.
>> Opposed seeing none, motion carries.
[2:53] At this time, this is citizens input.
Is there anyone who wishes to address
[2:57] this commission?
Please come forward.
[3:01] Going once.
Yes.
[3:05] You have 3 minutes, please.
>> Okay. Hi.
[3:08] I'm Katie Berry.
Um let me start cuz every time people
[3:14] people are worried I know that you guys
can't respond to me.
[3:17] Um
but I'm just here doing awareness for
[3:21] foster care in Bay County.
Um
[3:25] Part of what I do is we have a contract
with the state of Michigan. I do foster
[3:29] care recruitment. I do a training. I do
support groups and fun events in Bay
[3:36] County and in 18 counties in Michigan.
Um so me or my team goes and does that.
[3:43] Um so
really just wanted to kind of ask all of
[3:47] you because you're the experts in you
know in your area if you have um
[3:54] like any events that you can invite us
to, if you know of any groups that we
[3:59] can speak of or speak in front of,
rather. Um
[4:04] we have great new data in the state. Um
we've worked with the University of
[4:08] Chicago to get new data in the state of
Michigan on foster care. Um and so some
[4:15] of the things that we can tell with this
data is where specifically our kids are
[4:20] coming into care, like what zip codes.
Um what kinds of kids. Um and and we
[4:26] were tracking this, but we're better
able to see in each county, in each area
[4:32] what kinds of kids we need to be
prepared for it to be able to house and
[4:37] and potentially help them. So, if you
can think of anything, um I do have I do
[4:44] have um information if you guys would
like to grab something after. Um or if
[4:49] you can think of a way that we can
partner. Um I've done a lot of these cuz
[4:53] we have 18 counties and it's a great way
to meet people who are really experts in
[4:58] that their area. So, um
I and I'll leave you with a couple facts
[5:04] cuz I look at data all day. Um
and plan events. I think we have like
[5:09] close to 500 events for the year
wrapping up in September for 18 counties
[5:14] in Michigan, but um if you didn't know,
the state of Michigan has we hover
[5:20] around 10,000 kids in the foster care
system at any given time. Um that number
[5:26] has been pretty stable and
in Bay County, it's
[5:31] I think it's 100 and
it was 118 kids who are currently in
[5:36] care as of like July.
Um
[5:40] but as a state, we have these 10,000
kids in care and we only have a about
[5:46] 3,400
uh foster like licensed foster homes.
[5:51] So, huge need for good people. If you
guys have any ideas, I will give you my
[5:57] contact information.
Thanks.
[6:05] » Is there anyone else willing to address
the commission?
[6:09] Going once, going twice.
Public input is closed at this time.
[6:14] Petitions and communications.
Presentations, representatives from Face
[6:19] Addiction Now, which is FAN, Recovery
Pathways, Sacred Heart, and Peer 360
[6:24] have been invited to provide updates
regarding their organization, programs,
[6:27] and services. Participation is subject
to each organization's availability, and
[6:32] the agenda item does not confirm
attendance by any specific organization.
[6:37] So, who would like to go first?
Okay.
[6:40] Welcome, Lori.
[6:47] » I'm Lori Zilkhauskas, and I wear a
number of hats in our community. And
[6:50] today, I am wearing my FAN hat, Face
Addiction Now. It's an organization that
[6:54] Judge Harry Gill and I co-founded coming
up on 9 years ago to help provide
[6:58] compassionate support for individuals
and families who are struggling with
[7:02] addiction, like my family, whose our
daughter Amanda now is 10 and 1/2 years
[7:06] in recovery. We just moved her from
Detroit to Ypsilanti so she can start
[7:09] her master's degree in social work at U
of M. So, go blue. Even the Spartan in
[7:13] me will say that today. Um I've also
brought with me a couple of colleagues.
[7:18] » My name is Scott Garber, and I'm the Bay
County Jail Diversion Program
[7:21] Coordinator for Face Addiction Now.
>> Hi, I'm Taylor Shear. I'm the Public
[7:24] Health Education Coordinator for the
tri-areas uh for Face Addiction Now.
[7:31] » We were one of the fortunate agencies to
receive opioid settlement dollars last
[7:35] year, and we wanted to first of all say
how grateful we are to those um those
[7:39] funds um for Executive Barshe and his
team doing the work to get those funds
[7:44] and then for all of you to get those
funds out into the community. We're
[7:47] excited that the Bay Area Community
Foundation now has access to those
[7:51] because they're so good at at getting
money where it belongs. So, we wanted to
[7:54] give you an update on how your money was
spent and the good that it's done in our
[7:57] community. So, the two folks standing
next to me are the people that we hired
[8:02] to do this work. One of our focuses was
a jail diversion program. This isn't
[8:06] something that fan cooked up, although
it happened very organically in our
[8:09] community. There's a national trend as
you may have heard how we are
[8:13] intersecting with folks who struggle
with addiction, especially with law
[8:17] enforcement. I'm a girl from Bay City
from the '80s and you know, the the
[8:21] fried egg and the drugs are going to fry
your brain
[8:25] it just never worked, right? And
incarcerating people never worked to
[8:28] stop them from using either. So, we
looked at other models that are working
[8:32] across the country and there is a big
movement in jail diversion. We partnered
[8:36] with our Bay City
PD, public safety, and also with the
[8:39] Sheriff's department and the other
police agencies in Midland and Saginaw 8
[8:44] years ago to start a Hope Not Handcuffs
program where people can walk in and ask
[8:47] for help. And instead of getting in
trouble for a medical condition, they
[8:51] call us and we get you into treatment,
which is much more effective. Then we
[8:54] started our quick response teams where a
police officer goes out to make home
[8:59] visits to people who have overdosed or
at risk of overdose. The police know
[9:03] where people are drinking and beating
each other up. They know where there are
[9:06] drugs and we know how to help people.
Those programs are in existence in
[9:10] existence in both of our law enforcement
agencies. Our recent program, jail
[9:14] diversion program, there are multiple
ways to intercede to help people and one
[9:18] of them is is when they are incarcerated
and that's what Scott does. Scott works
[9:22] with the prosecutor, the judges, and the
the lawyers in our community to help get
[9:27] people who are struggling with addiction
that their primary reason for being in
[9:31] jail is because of addicted related
things like possession or retail fraud.
[9:35] We do not help get people out of jail
who have criminal sexual conduct or
[9:39] violent crimes. There's a screening
process. Um but we do help people who if
[9:43] they got better wouldn't be in jail any
longer. So, that's one of the focuses
[9:47] that jail diversion program. I will say
that in another community in Macomb,
[9:51] they actually work with the police and
the police don't arrest people. They
[9:55] bring in them into our program at that
point. So, there are multiple ways to
[9:59] intersect. We'd love to get to that
point because it saves you guys a lot of
[10:02] money when we stop arresting and
incarcerating rating and housing people
[10:06] in the jail. It's it's very beneficial.
In fact, SAMHSA says that for every
[10:10] dollar we spend helping people not use
drugs, we save $7 in the criminal
[10:15] justice system and an additional $4 in
health care. So, it is very economically
[10:20] sound. I have an MBA. I'm about people,
but I'm also about pocket. So, um
[10:25] Scott's program has been very effective.
It started organically when one of our
[10:28] folks from Hope Not Handcuffs got the
handcuffs again. And he called Scott
[10:32] from jail and said, "Can you help me?"
And Scott's like, "I don't think so. Now
[10:35] you're in jail." So, he said, "Just come
to the court with me if you would." And
[10:38] Scott did that. And Scott showed up and
Scott was willing to help get him into
[10:42] treatment again. And the judge asked
Scott, "Can you get him to treatment?
[10:46] Will you take him to treatment?" And
Scott said, "Yeah, I can do that." And
[10:49] that's how this program began with that
one person and that one Judge Sharon who
[10:54] was willing to try that. And ever since
then, this program built up speed
[10:59] because of course word of mouth is we
can get treatment instead of
[11:01] incarceration. So, I want to share some
of the data um because that's how we
[11:05] make our decisions. Um currently for
fiscal year 26, which for us begins in
[11:10] October on October 1st, that's when we
received this funding, there were 95
[11:14] individuals that we intersected with
that were currently incarcerated.
[11:18] Actively complying with the program are
33 people right now who are in process
[11:23] out of jail and in process complying
with the program. They're required to go
[11:27] to residential treatment. We try to keep
them there for 90 days, that's rehab.
[11:31] Then they're required to go immediately
to recovery housing. That's group
[11:35] supportive housing, not individual
apartments, group supportive housing.
[11:39] They're required to do that, plus do
everything else the court tells them.
[11:42] So, we've got 35% of those folks
complying right now. We have 20 people,
[11:46] 21% of them, who have already
successfully completed. They did
[11:50] everything that was required of them for
months on end, and the court then sees
[11:54] them and sentences them generally to,
"Okay, you did everything you needed
[11:59] to." We get them out of the court
system, we get them better.
[12:03] Um just for uh reference, um 69% of
those folks were male, 31% were female,
[12:09] and that's generally what we see with
substance use disorder. The referrals
[12:13] that we get are from attorneys. 72% of
our referrals come from their attorneys,
[12:17] and then 28% from come from law
enforcement, MDOC, family, friends, or
[12:22] other agencies in our area. That's how
we learn about people who need our help.
[12:27] So, our current placement, we have 28
people in the community with in our
[12:31] recovery homes. Um currently
incarcerated and on our waitlist and in
[12:35] some process of Scott connecting with
them and helping to get them to
[12:38] treatment, 49 people. So, half of our
people are waiting. If we had more help,
[12:43] we could do this faster. Inpatient
treatment, we've got two people, and
[12:47] then sober living, we've got 16 people.
This program started organically, and we
[12:52] were funding it until we couldn't. And I
will tell you, when we first started
[12:56] December of 2023 through April 2026,
there were 293 people that had
[13:01] successfully completed that program. It
astounded us that there was over a 70%
[13:06] success rate. We thought there'd maybe
be a 30% that you'd get people in the
[13:09] car and they'd run.
That is not what happened. People want
[13:13] to get well, and we have the process for
doing that. So, we were very pleased
[13:18] with the program. We did just resubmit
um to the Community Foundation. We're
[13:22] hoping to get another year, and I will
ask at this point, I know we had talked
[13:26] about it before, if we could do a
three-year grant instead of a one-year
[13:30] grant, that saves a lot of time, energy,
and frustration in refilling out the
[13:35] papers, re-looking at the papers, the
committee exploring it. And as you know
[13:39] with grant funding, having to do that
every single year really slows down our
[13:43] progress. So, I would ask that you
reconsider that grant length. And and
[13:48] for people that it would help, for
agencies, I would I would recommend um
[13:52] re-re-looking at that. So, the program's
been fantastic. Taylor is just a new
[13:56] hire, but she's not unfamiliar to Bay
City. She worked for our Neighborhood
[13:59] Resource Center, McLaren Prevention
Network for some time, and it's her role
[14:02] to go out and educate the community all
sorts of different angles on that. Um
[14:06] and so, we're really pleased with the
progress we made. When Harry and I
[14:10] started this, we were 100% volunteer
organization. There was no staff, there
[14:14] was no money, and right now, thanks to
MDHHS, we have an office that is getting
[14:19] painted and spruced up over on Wilder
Road. We just got a new harm reduction
[14:23] van. We're able to serve more people.
So, the more of that money that you get
[14:28] into our community, the more of an
impact that we can make, and all of the
[14:32] other agencies will echo that. I know
there's kind of a philosophy on let's
[14:36] keep it so the money sustainable. What I
would require is that the impact is
[14:40] sustainable. And if we're holding on to
money that could fund good programs now,
[14:45] you're leaving a year of where we can
lose people. So, please consider that
[14:49] when you're looking at the amount that
you're awarding as well. If there are
[14:53] good programs, I would say please please
award the agencies that need that money.
[14:58] Do you have any questions for us?
Yes.
[15:01] » So, we have the DARE program for kids.
So, what's what's going on with kids
[15:04] right now?
>> So, um when they did the data and the
[15:07] research, they found that the DARE
program was ineffective in stopping kids
[15:11] from using drugs. We have a huge gap in
our community with youth programs and
[15:16] youth support services. As you know from
the overdose fatality review committee,
[15:20] there was a father who died who left
behind three little kids and my question
[15:23] was how are we getting those children
grief support services. Currently right
[15:27] now at FAN Central down in Macomb County
they are doing a week-long training of
[15:31] how do we serve children. There is a
huge need for serving children in our
[15:35] community one to help to help um them
those who are struggling with substance
[15:39] use disorder. There's only two
facilities in the state that will take
[15:42] 18-year-old under who are struggling
with substance use disorder because of
[15:45] the risk. So it's hard to get them into
treatment. We don't have enough
[15:49] treatment for that. And then grief
support is a really essential thing and
[15:53] a lot of the kids it's their parents
that are struggling. How do we support
[15:57] the kids at home when the parents are
struggling either actively in the home
[16:01] or the kids are removed from foster
care. Um
[16:04] uh the recently um
uh person who left MDHHS the the state
[16:09] head of it um Elizabeth Hertel
when she opened up Andy's Place was
[16:13] there for the groundbreaking and opening
of that place she stated that the number
[16:16] one reason kids are removed from care is
because of substance use reason. The
[16:22] number one reason that kids can't get
back home is substance use reason and
[16:26] the number two is lack of housing. We
have two crises in our community and
[16:31] we're not alone. There is a lack of
housing in general specifically
[16:34] supportive housing that we know that
works and there is a lack of services
[16:39] for children and we know that. Ask
anybody in our community they can attest
[16:42] to that. So um Katie Ball is tasked with
doing school programs. FAN also has um a
[16:48] school program that we run down in
Macomb County so um Taylor will be
[16:51] coordinating that but we need to be
actively consistently engaged in
[16:56] schools. It can't be a one and done boom
we had a gym presentation.
[17:01] That cannot be the conversation. Um and
the conversation we need to be having is
[17:04] about vaping. It's about cannabis use
because cannabis is not the same from
[17:08] the 70s pink elephant paralyzer when I
was growing up. [clears throat] It is
[17:11] not the same and it is causing THC
psychosis and it is it is sparking um
[17:17] schizophrenia in young people.
>> Mhm. That's a real thing. We have to
[17:21] have those conversations. Stimulants
like Adderall, kids share that. We come
[17:26] in and do the presentation at at Delta
College for the new police academy, and
[17:31] two semesters ago four guys in the
police academy said we would just These
[17:34] guys are from here.
We just found a handful of Adderall and
[17:38] get jacked up and go out and play
football.
[17:40] Our high school football guys. This is
common. I'll tell you when our daughter
[17:45] started shooting up heroin at 18 after
she was at Delta College for a year, had
[17:50] went to Faith Lutheran and graduated
from John Glenn, I did not know what was
[17:54] available. It is very different than the
70s and 80s in our community. And we
[18:00] can't be naive to that. So there's a lot
more work to do with that. I appreciate
[18:03] you asking the question. It's a huge gap
in our community and I hope that we find
[18:06] ways to step up to that.
Any others?
[18:12] We thank you for your continued support.
It's making a difference. Thank you.
[18:16] » Thank you, Lori.
>> Thank you.
[18:22] » Is there anyone else here from Peer 360?
[18:30] » Hey everybody, my name is Joel Henseler.
I'm a person in long-term recovery.
[18:34] I love Scott. Scott's a good friend. He
does amazing work.
[18:37] We brought
I brought some printouts, some data of
[18:42] what we did with the money. I have quite
a few. If you anybody wants to look at
[18:46] it afterwards, however, AI did make it.
The data is legit,
[18:51] but AI created it. I know the data is
legit because I put the data in at the
[18:56] end of every week
for the last year.
[19:00] So instead of reading off of this, I'll
just try and do it old school and read
[19:04] here.
Um
[19:06] Again, I've been in recovery for 9
years. I've worked in recovery for about
[19:09] 7 and 1/2. All 7 and 1/2 have been with
Pure 360 to some capacity. Um
[19:15] » [snorts]
>> they received this money and he called
[19:17] me last year and asked if I wanted to be
involved. I said I did and he
[19:23] he gave me three points that they kind
of wanted to touch on. Those were
[19:26] recovery coaching and transportation, uh
I built some community partnerships, do
[19:30] some outreach, and then do some harm
reduction.
[19:34] He told me that and then said, "You can
start working. Make that happen." Uh so,
[19:39] this is what I did.
For recovery coach engagements, we had a
[19:42] target of 250 engagements for the year.
Um
[19:48] Okay, first I started off I started
going to I've been a coach for a while
[19:51] and the people I coach are
justice-impacted. So,
[19:55] they're usually on probation, parole,
they're involved with the courts, CPS in
[19:59] some capacity. These are the people I'm
used to coaching.
[20:02] My executive director said,
"Uh we're trying to reach the people
[20:06] that are in the gaps, the people that
don't already have these services. So,
[20:09] try and reach these people." So, I went
to recovery court a few times, called
[20:13] the pre-trial services, I reached out to
people I'm used to, and then I tried to
[20:17] kind of think outside the box. So, I
started going to food pantries,
[20:21] um
Salvation Army, Dream Center,
[20:24] and I'd bring a table with me and a
tablecloth and I'd set up flyers for our
[20:28] recover our services, other
organizations' services, and I would
[20:32] just have conversations with everybody
that came to the table. I'd bring a
[20:35] bunch of swag, give them chapsticks,
Kleenex,
[20:38] um
and that was it. And I had a lot. So,
[20:40] the target was 250, I actually had 3,299
engagements.
[20:46] Um
when I read that, I was like, "That's a
[20:48] lot." But, I put down every single
person that I had a conversation with,
[20:52] not just recovery, but any kind of
service that I knew about that I could
[20:56] get the word out to them.
Um
[20:59] and for transportation, I did 194
services in the last in the last year.
[21:05] Again, that's recovery support groups,
recovery support meetings, um doctor's
[21:10] appointments, court appointment. I took
people grocery shopping. Anybody that I
[21:13] met in the process of this work, if they
needed a ride somewhere, I wrote it down
[21:17] that I gave somebody a ride. The second
thing we did was community partnerships
[21:22] and outreach.
I had I met with 19 different community
[21:27] partners. Our target was 60 referrals to
outside organizations for things, and we
[21:33] had 274 confirmed referrals.
I joined coalitions like Project Hope,
[21:40] the Prevention Coalition,
and of course Recovery by the Bay
[21:44] planning meeting. We have a really big
event coming up September 26th, Recovery
[21:48] by the Bay down at Wana Ona Park. We
would love all the support that we can
[21:52] get.
My part that I played in this was to get
[21:56] resource vendor tables there.
And we currently have 38 different
[22:01] resource
available coming.
[22:06] Yeah, so I had 19
19 engagements with community partners,
[22:11] but we have 38 of them coming to this
event down at Wana Ona Park, so
[22:16] And then moving on to harm reduction.
Harm reduction, we had a target of 150
[22:20] engagements. I had 679
engagements for harm reduction. It
[22:26] really started to take off.
They spoke about it and decided that we
[22:31] kind of needed to rebrand our harm
reduction operation, so we rebranded it
[22:35] into Streetlight.
It's still Peer 360, however, it's a
[22:40] separate thing.
I meet people where they're at. I meet
[22:43] them with compassion. I used to think
harm reduction was
[22:47] let me get people to use substances
safely until they're ready to get into
[22:52] treatment, and I've learned the job is
just to meet people with compassion,
[22:56] meet meet them where they are. Maybe
they don't want to stop using. It's not
[22:59] my job to get them to stop using. It's
my job to keep them alive and safe.
[23:04] Um and while I've been doing that,
it's really taken me back to when I used
[23:08] to use. And if somebody ever met me with
some compassion, I think I would have
[23:12] entered recovery much earlier than what
I did.
[23:17] I just don't think they expect people
like it's one thing there's a lot of
[23:21] talk about enabling and this and that
and it's not I've made I've met some I
[23:26] made some really cool impactful
connections with people that I don't
[23:30] think they would have expected, right?
It's the same thing day in and day out
[23:33] for them. They're just existing and
someone comes along and here's some
[23:37] safer use supplies but here's also a
wound care kit. Here's a medicine lock
[23:40] box. Here's a book bag. Here's a
blanket. Here's a sleeping bag. Here's a
[23:44] bottle of water.
I buy a gift cards. I'll take you to
[23:48] McDonald's and get you food.
These kind of relationships are things
[23:52] that they're not used to. So,
um this was by far my favorite part of
[23:57] the job was the harm reduction. I
distributed 7,690
[24:02] supplies.
Um that includes Narcan, medicine lock
[24:05] boxes, wound care kits, safer use
supplies, hygiene kits. A lot of these
[24:09] things were made possible by the Wings
Center, Sacred Heart, and the Prevention
[24:14] Network. Prevention Network was huge.
She supplied me with lots of things.
[24:19] Uh I did go out and get lots of supplies
on my own
[24:22] um just to be able to provide cuz some
things weren't covered within the grant.
[24:26] And
for the third thing, no challenges. Oh,
[24:31] no. We spent all the money. There was no
challenges spending all the money.
[24:35] So, we don't have anything planned for
that. We will be applying again through
[24:39] uh Bay Area Foundation to get some
money.
[24:42] I'll read this last paragraph that's AI
generated cuz it sounds pretty good. On
[24:47] behalf of Peer 360 Recovery Alliance, we
want to thank the Bay County for
[24:50] trusting us with these opioid settlement
dollars. The results show the need for
[24:53] recovery coaching, transportation, harm
reduction, and hands-on referral support
[24:57] is significant. More importantly, these
numbers represent people in our
[25:00] community who are met where they were,
connect to support, and given another
[25:04] opportunity to move forward safely.
We are grateful for the county's
[25:09] investment and proud of the foundation
this grant showed us to build.
[25:13] » Any questions?
>> Any questions, Bonnie?
[25:17] » Lori mentioned the office of fatality
review and uh
[25:21] some sad stories, you know, she
mentioned a
[25:24] father of three kids and what are the
kids going to do now? A lot of young
[25:28] people. So, there's still people, you
know, that's down. The the fatality rate
[25:31] is down, but it it's still there. So, we
we need to keep up the work on it.
[25:36] » Yeah, I actually have been on a lot of
those meetings as well. Um one thing I'm
[25:41] doing harm reduction work now a little
bit in Saginaw and Midland County as
[25:45] well. One thing that we do differently
here are the Narcan newspaper boxes. Um
[25:50] those are everywhere and they get used
and that's not in every county and I
[25:54] think that plays a huge role in why
people still get to stay alive, you
[25:59] know, because it's being used. So,
yeah.
[26:03] » Thank you, guys.
>> Thank you.
[26:05] » Thank you.
[26:08] » Is there anyone else from Recovery
Pathways or
[26:13] um Sacred Heart?
[26:17] Seeing none, [snorts] we'll move on.
>> Yes.
[26:24] » Well, thank you for letting me come. I
appreciate it and thank you, Alex,
[26:28] whoever you are. I've never met you, but
I appreciate this very much. So, um I
[26:32] just My name's Kim Dubay. I'm from
Recovery Pathways. I'm the director over
[26:36] there. Been there since we started in
2009 on Midland Street. Everybody
[26:40] thought we were on a strange street to
offer recovery and I said it's the first
[26:44] chance to make the right choice when you
leave the door. We grew a little bigger
[26:48] and moved to Essexville and we grew a
little bigger yet and came back
[26:51] downtown. That might look like a
familiar building to a lot of you. So,
[26:55] we're close neighbor. It's interesting
to hear everybody else that's spoken
[26:59] because I feel like we're all part of
the same team, and we have a lot of
[27:02] overlap and shared resources and shared
compassion with one another for the work
[27:06] that we do.
The opiate settlement money that we got
[27:09] for us, we're downtown. We see people
out those windows walk by every day.
[27:13] Homeless individuals, people struggling
with substance use, all kinds of folks
[27:17] that just don't know where to go and
need to walk in today and access help.
[27:22] So, what we said is let's break down
those barriers. I can say next slide to
[27:26] whomever that would be. Or is that me?
>> Click the arrow there somewhere.
[27:29] » Oh. You got it.
>> Is it that one? There we go.
[27:32] Thank you.
So, our idea was to eliminate barriers
[27:36] and improve access. So, if you walk into
any doctor's office today, whether it's
[27:40] treatment or primary care, you have to
get your insurance vetted. We have to
[27:44] see when do we have an appointment for
you. It might be a couple of weeks. We
[27:47] might not take your insurance, and
here's a boatload of paperwork to fill
[27:51] out. When you have substance use
disorder and you're in withdrawal, those
[27:54] are barriers that make you leave and not
come back. And when you leave, those
[27:59] risks, delayed care, disengagement,
continued use, overdose, and death or
[28:04] emergency department visit are
definitely likely in your future. So, a
[28:08] couple testimonials from people there.
One person said, "I didn't think there
[28:11] was any hope, but I heard about you
guys. I walked in, and I got taken care
[28:14] of that same day." And another person
said, "I can't believe we have help
[28:18] here. They're giving me rides, and this
is really working." So, it's nice to see
[28:21] some people say
things are helping. But, what we wanted
[28:24] to do is improve the access. What do we
do? When you talk about treatment,
[28:28] there's all different levels. Is it the
right level of care for you? Should you
[28:32] be an outpatient? Should you be an
inpatient? Should you be at detox,
[28:35] residential, supportive housing, etc.?
And if you do need any of those, when
[28:40] can you get there, and how will you get
there? So, what we did was use these
[28:44] funds to open the doors, provide staff
to service anybody that walked in, do a
[28:49] brief assessment with them, decide what
their needs were and working through
[28:52] with that with them together,
offer them treatment that same day. If
[28:56] you needed to see the doctor, he was
right over there. We would help you go
[28:59] see him right now. If you needed to see
a recovery coach, they were in the other
[29:03] hallway. You could go over there and see
them. If you were homeless and needed
[29:06] housing support, you could see one of my
case managers right then. In a typical
[29:10] office setting, you can't just walk in
and do that because you have to pass
[29:13] through those insurance hoops, those
paperwork hoops. What we did was carve
[29:17] out time in the provider schedules that
we could set aside for people to walk
[29:21] in. We thought, I wonder if anyone's
going to come. It isn't like I
[29:25] advertised.
245 people walked through our doors
[29:30] asking for help that we were able to
serve. 135 of those were opiate primary
[29:35] use disorder and that's what this grant
funds were for. So, what did we do with
[29:38] the remainder? We still serve them. It
was just on our dime.
[29:42] Your funds though went for caring for
these individuals, for covering those
[29:46] office visits that wouldn't have been
able to be covered, for covering the
[29:49] care from the case manager or the
recovery coach that couldn't be accessed
[29:52] unless we did all the hoops, barriers,
and paperwork.
[29:56] So, this is what this shows over the
four quarters as far as the opiate
[29:59] individuals that we served.
Primary after the opiates was alcohol,
[30:06] then methamphetamine, then cannabis and
cocaine and some kratom use. Those are
[30:10] the other substances that people came
through our doors that sought help for
[30:13] that we did help but not with these
funds.
[30:16] Um, we did spend all of our money as
well.
[30:19] Here's the program retention that we
have. This is broken out by quarters.
[30:22] This is showing how many people came in
with opiate use disorder, how many were
[30:26] able to engage in comprehensive
services, meaning they stayed for the
[30:30] whole gamut of care, and the retention
at 30 days. We have a fairly high
[30:34] retention rate of 82% means if you
walked in and started care, you stayed
[30:38] with us and received the remainder of
your services. And currently, I checked
[30:42] our numbers before we left, we're at 62
continued people, 62% continued care of
[30:48] those people that entered this path this
way.
[30:52] Just for interest, I like data. That's
I'm the director, I need the data to see
[30:57] what we're going to do and make sure
that it's a productive program. So, uh
[31:00] industry standard for retention at 30
days is 55%. You can see ours is
[31:04] significantly increased from that. This
just shows you also some age breakdown
[31:08] as well.
Um 42, 38, 36, and 36 years old. Those
[31:13] are the average ages. So, if you think
that substance use looks like an
[31:16] 18-year-old or a 60-year-old, it does,
but this is the average of what came
[31:21] through. Um of the 113 of the 135 people
that we served also had co-occurring
[31:27] mental health disorder, and that's also
significant barrier. Sometimes when you
[31:32] want to access care, they'll say, "Your
mental health is too severe, we can't
[31:34] help you. You have to get that figured
out first." Or your physical health is
[31:38] too significant, get that figured out,
come back later. We just opened the
[31:42] doors, opened the arms, and said, "Come
in, we'll help you figure it out." Of
[31:46] the mental health diagnosis that we saw,
these are ranked in the order anxiety,
[31:50] depression, PTSD, insomnia, and bipolar
disorder. So, significant, 84% of
[31:55] individuals also suffer from mental
health.
[31:59] I broke these out by quarters. This is
boring.
[32:01] » [laughter]
>> But there's the quarter each quarter
[32:04] telling you what those are. It gives you
the average age and all of that stats if
[32:08] you really want to dive deep.
This is an interesting statistic that I
[32:12] pulled. The average person stru-
struggling with substance use disorder
[32:16] winds up going to the emergency room
about three times a year because we
[32:19] don't have established primary care,
we're not engaged in a mental health or
[32:22] substance use services, so we use the
emergency room sort of as a stopgap. An
[32:26] average ER visit is about six grand. If
you go to the ER three times a year for
[32:30] services that could have been done
elsewhere, that's potential of 18,000.
[32:34] My client average in this program was
$416.
[32:38] So, that's a significant savings when
you enter into all of the care that we
[32:42] have. We have case management. We can
help with supportive housing,
[32:45] transportation, all of those types of
things. So, this is an example of what
[32:49] the savings could be per individual
that's struggling with substance use if
[32:52] they knew where they could go and could
access help the same day.
[32:56] So, the grant funding helped remove all
these delays between the walk-in need
[33:00] and treatment access. You could walk in,
you could get a clinical assessment, you
[33:03] could get your medical care that same
day, and open doors to any comprehensive
[33:07] care that you may need.
So, this was successful in my eyes in
[33:12] that we had 82% retention, that we were
able to serve 135 people,
[33:17] and that 62% of them are still retained
in treatment, that there could be a cost
[33:21] savings for that as well.
We would appreciate continued funding
[33:26] and support for this because the system
still exists with all the barriers,
[33:30] hoops, and paperwork, and everybody else
that accesses care without this still
[33:33] has to go through those things. And
that's a frustration, but not something
[33:37] I can solve
in a short time. And so, we would love
[33:40] to continue to do that. However, we are
excluded from the community foundation
[33:45] as it's a 501c3 and religious
organization. We're a private for-profit
[33:49] agency, so I'm not eligible based on
what I've seen so far to be able to
[33:53] access future funds. So, I'm letting you
know cuz that was one of the questions
[33:57] that was asked. So, I do appreciate
having the opportunity to have done
[34:00] this. I consider it successful. It's
just as Joel was saying, it's about
[34:05] being compassionate, it's about being
empathetic, it's about just listening
[34:08] and everybody is a human, and they just
need to have help. So, we provided that,
[34:13] and I appreciate the use of these to do
so. Thank you.
[34:16] » Thank you. Any questions from the board
for Kimber?
[34:20] » So,
>> I saw you mentioned cocaine and there
[34:22] was a large bust at Penn State
University today. Like, I don't know, 14
[34:26] people that were bringing in from
Philly.
[34:30] And I hadn't [clears throat] heard much
about cocaine lately, but apparently
[34:32] it's still still out there.
>> You know, like everybody's got a
[34:36] different use. Typically, when we do the
statistics, alcohol is almost always the
[34:40] primary problem that people seek
treatment for year after year.
[34:44] Um, but as far as will that kill you in
a hurry? Not as much as a fentanyl
[34:48] overdose will or as cocaine in a heart
attack can. Um, so it tends to be a
[34:53] little bit of a slower thing. And what
we're finding too is that people have
[34:56] poly substance use. These days no one
picks just one thing. Yeah, yeah.
[35:01] Fentanyl, I might do cocaine cuz at
least I can find that. So there's
[35:05] different, you know, pockets and places
and people and things about that use. So
[35:11] trends are always changing.
>> Thank you.
[35:13] » Thank you.
>> Thank you. Anyone else?
[35:16] Thank you. Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[35:22] » Anyone here from Sacred Heart?
[35:26] Seeing none.
[35:31] Motions in order to receive.
>> So moved.
[35:34] » Support.
>> All in favor?
[35:36] » Aye.
>> Opposed, seeing none. Motion carries.
[35:41] The Bay County Department of Aging
Advisory Committee.
[35:45] We have a letter of his resignation from
District 4 appointed resident
[35:48] representative Kathy
Sheriff Serafini whose term expires
[35:53] December 31st, 2026.
[35:56] » Move to receive.
>> Go ahead.
[35:58] » Motion to receive.
>> Support.
[35:59] » Any discussion?
Seeing none, all in favor?
[36:02] » Aye.
>> Opposed, seeing none. Motion carries.
[36:05] And number two, appointment of Carrie
Stroh Kirsch for the District 4
[36:09] appointed representative to the Bay
County Department of Aging Advisory
[36:12] Committee for the unexpiring term ending
December 31st, 2026.
[36:17] » Move to receive applicant and confirm
appointment.
[36:20] » Support.
>> Motion has been made and supported. Is
[36:22] there any discussion?
Seeing none, all in favor?
[36:25] » Aye.
>> Opposed, seeing none. Motion carries.
[36:28] Reports
>> and resolutions of the committees.
[36:30] Committee of the whole August 4th
meeting was cancelled. The committee of
[36:33] the whole August 11th. Commissioner
Creep.
[36:36] » Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um
Item one, resolution number 2026-154.
[36:44] Health Department Food Locker's
agreement 2026.
[36:47] I move this resolution.
>> Support.
[36:50] » A motion has been made and supported. Is
there any discussion?
[36:53] See none, all in favor.
>> I.
[36:55] » I oppose, say none, motion carries.
>> Item two, resolution 2026-155.
[37:02] Bay Alerts vendor service agreement with
Rave Mobile Safety 2026.
[37:07] I move this resolution.
>> Support.
[37:09] » Motion has been made and supported. Is
there any discussion?
[37:12] See none, all in favor.
>> I.
[37:14] » I oppose, motion carries.
>> Item three, resolution number 2026-156.
[37:21] Agreement with Secure Removal Services
LLC for body transport needs 2026.
[37:28] I move this resolution.
>> Support.
[37:30] » A motion has been made and supported. Is
there any discussion?
[37:33] See none, all in favor.
>> I.
[37:35] » I oppose, say none, motion carries.
>> Item four, resolution 2026-157.
[37:42] Agreements with multimedia advertising
companies for outreach and promotion
[37:46] 2026.
I move this resolution.
[37:50] » Support.
>> A motion has been made and supported. Is
[37:52] there any discussion?
See none, all in favor.
[37:55] » I.
>> I oppose, say none, motion carries.
[37:57] » Item number [snorts] five, resolution
2026-158.
[38:02] Agreement with Datatrak policy
management software 2026.
[38:06] I move this resolution.
>> Support.
[38:08] » A motion has been made and supported. Is
there any discussion? See none, all in
[38:11] favor.
>> I.
[38:13] » I oppose, say none, motion carries.
>> Item number six, resolution 2026-159.
[38:19] My Community Dental Centers
agreement renewal 2026-
[38:26] 2027. I move this resolution.
>> Support.
[38:29] » A motion has been made supported is
there any discussion?
[38:32] See none all in favor.
>> Aye.
[38:34] » Opposed. [clears throat] Motion carries.
>> Item number seven, resolution number
[38:37] 2026-160
plan of organization 2026
[38:43] for the Health Department. I move this
resolution.
[38:45] » Support.
>> A motion has been made supported is
[38:47] there any discussion?
See none all in favor.
[38:50] » Aye.
>> Opposed seeing none motion carries.
[38:53] » Uh
Item number eight, resolution 2026-161
[38:58] Williams Township, Kawkawlin Township,
and Hampton Township site agreements
[39:03] 2027
Department on Aging. I move this
[39:07] resolution.
>> Support.
[39:08] » A motion has been made supported is
there any discussion?
[39:11] See none all in favor.
>> Aye.
[39:13] » I oppose motion carries.
>> Resolution number nine, resolution
[39:19] 2026-162
Bay County Department on Aging Advisory
[39:24] Committee term limits.
I move this resolution.
[39:27] » Support.
>> A motion has been made supported is
[39:30] there any discussion?
See none all in favor.
[39:33] » Aye.
>> Opposed seeing none motion carries.
[39:35] » Item number 10, resolution 2026-163
[39:41] release of RFP for exterior maintenance
of the Bay County building.
[39:46] I move this resolution.
>> Support.
[39:48] » A motion has been made supported is
there any discussion?
[39:51] See none all in favor signify by saying
aye.
[39:54] » Aye.
>> Opposed seeing none motion carries.
[39:57] » Item number 11
resolution 2026-164
[40:02] budget adjustment and purchase of demo
T mower for Bay County golf course. I
[40:08] move this resolution.
>> Support.
[40:10] » A motion has been made supported is
there any discussion?
[40:14] See none all in favor.
>> Aye.
[40:16] » Opposed seeing none motion carries.
>> Item number 12, resolution 2026-165.
[40:23] Annual review
adjustment fund balance
[40:27] budget stabilization fiscal year ending
December 31, 2025.
[40:33] I move this resolution.
>> Support.
[40:35] » A motion has been made and supported. Is
there any discussion?
[40:38] Seeing none, all in favor.
>> Aye.
[40:41] » I oppose seeing none, motion carries.
>> Item number 13, resolution 2026-166.
[40:48] Bid award RFP
2026-04
[40:53] for applicant tracking and onboarding
solution to NeoGov.
[40:58] I move this resolution.
>> Support.
[41:00] » A motion has been made and supported. Is
there any discussion?
[41:03] Seeing none, all in favor.
>> Aye.
[41:05] » I oppose seeing none, motion carries.
>> Item number 14, resolution 2026-167.
[41:13] Multi-year agreement for Palo Alto
Networks maintenance 2026.
[41:19] I move this resolution.
>> Support.
[41:21] » A motion has been made and supported. Is
there any discussion?
[41:24] Seeing none, all in favor.
>> Aye.
[41:25] » I oppose seeing none, motion carries.
>> Item 15, resolution 2026-168.
[41:32] Thomson Reuters Westlaw renewal
agreement 2026 to 2029
[41:40] with corporation counsel. I move this
resolution.
[41:43] » Support.
>> A motion has been made and supported. Is
[41:45] there any discussion?
Seeing none, all in favor.
[41:47] » Aye.
>> I oppose seeing none, motion carries.
[41:50] » And lastly, item number 16, resolution
2026-169.
[41:56] Payables. I move this resolution.
>> Support.
[41:59] » A motion has been made and supported. Is
there any discussion?
[42:02] Seeing none, all in favor.
>> Aye.
[42:04] » I oppose seeing none, motion carries.
>> Thank you, Commissioner Creek.
[42:09] Board of Commissioners, Commissioner
Biggs.
[42:12] » I move resolution number
>> 2026-170,
[42:16] reports of the county executive. July
2026. Move that resolution.
[42:21] » Support.
>> Motion has been made supported. Is there
[42:23] any discussion?
See none. All in favor?
[42:26] » Aye.
>> Opposed? See none. Motion carries.
[42:29] » Resolution number 2026-171.
Big County TV sponsorship agreement
[42:35] renewal, 2026-2029.
[42:39] Finance space.
>> City TV.
[42:41] » I move that resolution.
>> Support.
[42:42] » Motion has been made supported. Is there
any discussion? See none. All in favor?
[42:46] » Aye.
>> Opposed? See none. Motion carries.
[42:50] » Resolution number 2026-172.
Travel request to attend Michigan
[42:55] Guardianship Association fall 2026
conference. Department of Aging. Move
[43:01] that resolution.
>> Support.
[43:03] » Motion has been made supported. Is there
any discussion?
[43:06] See none. All in favor?
>> Aye.
[43:08] » Opposed? See none. Motion carries.
[43:11] Thank you, Commissioner Biggeck.
>> Yep.
[43:13] » Reports of the county officials.
Seems like Mr. Barcia is not here today.
[43:18] » No, he's excused.
>> Okay, thank you. Any commissioners'
[43:20] comments
on unfinished business?
[43:25] » Motion to approve the recommendation of
outside counsel Ted Seats as discussed
[43:30] during the closed session held at the
August 11, 2026 Committee of the Whole
[43:33] meeting and to approve the recommended
budget adjustment.
[43:39] » Support.
>> Motion has been made supported. All in
[43:41] favor?
>> Aye.
[43:42] » Opposed? See none. Motion carries.
Uh new business. Any new business?
[43:47] Public input. This is the second time
for public input. Anyone wish to address
[43:51] the commission?
Going once. Going twice. Public input is
[43:56] closed.
Miscellaneous. I think Nick's got some
[44:00] video on some projects that we have
working on.
[44:07] Yes, go ahead, Kristen.
>> So, obviously, this is the
[44:09] » pool, almost all of the cement is done.
They're reinforcing that wall and that
[44:14] is where the plumbing is going to head
into the basement.
[44:18] They're starting to do some gutter work.
They're starting to put the mechanical
[44:21] stuff. This is the basement. Um, in
that's filtration, sand filters and
[44:26] things of that nature.
Uh, the basement's all cleaned up and
[44:30] ready to go and we are moving along.
Yet this fall you'll see the concrete
[44:36] decking poured, the pavilion up.
Obviously the gutters done in the pool.
[44:41] And then they'll be
um
[44:43] And then as it turns into winter they'll
take a small break and then they'll
[44:46] continue in the spring for an opening in
June 20 of 27.
[44:51] So that's sort of the schedule.
This is the animal services.
[44:55] It is cruising along as well. They're
putting the EIFS on the outside.
[45:00] They're already starting some finishing
work on the inside, some drywall and
[45:03] things of that nature. Windows are in,
most of the windows are in, door frames
[45:08] are in.
We're going to be sealed up here pretty
[45:11] soon.
Uh, roof
[45:14] The roof is either done or going to be
done this week and
[45:19] um
And it's certain it's starting to look
[45:21] really good. All the interior masonry is
done.
[45:25] Um
So
[45:28] It looks different every single day.
They are working so quickly.
[45:38] This is sort of a picture of the lobby.
>> It's going to be a nice looking
[45:41] building.
>> It is. It's
[45:43] a great building.
[45:51] » Is that
retention pond to the south going to
[45:55] just be kind of empty most of the time
or is that going to have
[45:58] » I hope it'll be empty most of the time
but it will
[46:01] » Just a divot most of the time, then?
>> I'm hoping so. Obviously, it's there
[46:04] because it's required, you know, by code
and um
[46:08] I'm hoping it's something most of the
time, you know.
[46:11] » It's kind of wonky. Yeah.
>> I I mean, it's required every, you know,
[46:14] in all these projects. It's a
requirement and
[46:18] um
but
[46:23] » Mhm.
>> Any questions for Kristen?
[46:25] » Mhm.
>> Thank you, Kristen. Thank you, Nick.
[46:28] » Thank you.
>> Are there any announcements?
[46:33] » I have one. Senior Olympics are coming
up. Sign up is fast approaching. It's in
[46:38] October.
Got some schmear and bid euchre and
[46:42] regular euchre and
Mexican chain dominoes and shuffleboard
[46:47] and
I wish I could do more, but I'm I'm busy
[46:51] that week.
[46:54] » Thank you.
We got a couple appointments coming up
[46:56] in October. We have a Bay County
Department of Human Services one
[47:00] three-year expiring, Jill Schmidt, and
Land Bank Authority one City of Bay City
[47:04] representative three-year term expiring,
as Thurston.
[47:08] Uh closed session. Amber, is there any
need for closed session?
[47:10] » Yes, sir. Yes, Mr. Chair, I would
request motion to go into closed session
[47:13] pursuant to MCL 15.2681E
to consult with council regarding
[47:18] litigation and or settlement strategies
in the ongoing Gary Rujeski worker's
[47:22] compensation matter. Required to attend
in addition to the board members is
[47:27] Tiffany Jerry, our personnel director,
Scott Kruskie, our finance officer, Alex
[47:31] Poirier, board advisor, Lindy Arsenault,
board coordinator, myself as council,
[47:36] and obviously our clerk.
Katie's not here.
[47:40] » Yeah.
>> So moved.
[47:42] » Support.
>> Support.
[47:43] » Roll call.
>> Seger?
[47:47] » Absent.
>> Beeson?
[47:49] » Yes.
>> Brent?
[47:50] » Yes.
>> Docket?
[47:51] » Yes.
>> Kreet?
[47:52] » Yes.
>> Nemec?
[47:53] » Yes.
>> Panagiotis?
[47:54] » Yes.
>> Um I'd like to make a motion to follow
[47:57] the recommendation of outside counsel
regarding ongoing Gary Rojewski workers
[48:03] compensation matter.
>> Support.
[48:06] » For any discussion? Seeing none, all in
favor?
[48:09] » Aye.
>> Motion now motion carries.
[48:14] Motion to adjourn.
>> Support.
[48:16] » All in favor?
>> Aye.
[48:17] » Meeting adjourned.
>> All right.