OTTAWA COUNTY — New year, new board, new drama.

The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners began its first organizational meeting of the year at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7.

Nearly 10 hours later, the board tackled several issues, including naming former sheriff Gary Rosema as the interim administrator, reviewing board rules, reorganizing committees and meeting times and heavily debating if former commissioners can keep their roles on county boards and committees. 

More importantly, however, the meeting gave the public an early glimpse into how new leadership will shape policy and decision-making over the next four years — and what resistance they might face.

The new term marks a shift after far-right fundamentalist group Ottawa Impact lost its majority on the board, which saw seven lawsuits over the past two years and settlement payouts that have topped over half a million dollars.

Several members of OI lost their bids for re-election and the group’s representation dropped from six seats on the 11-member board to four as commissioners began a new four-year term this month.

Now the board has three distinct factions: six non-OI Republicans, four OI Republicans and one Democrat — the most politically diverse board in county history.

Even before Tuesday's meeting began in earnest, a dustup over approval of the agenda resulted in three hours of gridlock before discussion could proceed. 

As the new interpersonal dynamics on the board unfold — with Tuesday peppered with political accusations from all sides — it’s clear early on there will be areas of consensus and conflict.

Here’s a breakdown of what the board covered Tuesday and how commissioners are hinting at their leadership styles.

Contention over board appointments

Commissioner Doug Zylstra, the board’s lone Democrat, moved to add two appointments to Tuesday’s agenda for the county’s Community Mental Health Board and Parks Board.

That kicked off intense discussion with OI commissioners, who insisted that neither board had open seats to fill.

OI Commissioner Allison Miedema, who previously chaired the board’s Talent and Recruitment committee, adamantly disputed Zylstra’s assessment that there were vacancies on those boards.

“I greatly disagree with you. Where are you getting your information from?” she asked.

“The former commissioners who are no longer on the board created the vacancies. I would like to see those filled as soon as possible,” Zylstra said.

Miedema said that former commissioners Gretchen Cosby and Roger Belknap, both members of Ottawa Impact, were appointed to three-year terms and should be allowed to remain on the CMH and parks board, respectively, even though they lost their re-election bids last year.

“Those positions continue to be filled because they haven't fulfilled those terms yet. I'd like to go to legal counsel on that,” Miedema said.

“You may believe there are no vacancies and we can discuss that. I believe there are,” Zylstra said. 

OI commissioners warned that an appointment to the CMH board could be legally problematic.

“This is not transparent. It is usurping everything you campaigned on and said in the first meeting,” said OI Commissioner Kendra Wenzel.

“It feels very political,” Miedema said.

Wenzel accused the new board majority of brokering a “back-room deal” to kick Cosby and Belknap off and make new appointments.

“I'm assuming this is a back-room deal. Were there five people who knew about this prior?” Wenzel asked, insinuating that a quorum of the board discussed the issue outside of a public meeting and predetermined a decision prior to Tuesday.

Although the Open Meetings Act prohibits a majority of the board from discussing and deciding public business outside of open meetings, it would mean six commissioners would have had to take part — something Wenzel did not offer evidence of and something new board Chair John Teeples adamantly disputed.

“(Zylstra) is bringing this forward so we can vote on it,” he said.

Zylstra’s additions to the agenda were approved, with former Parks Board chair Kelli Rice eventually appointed to fill Belknap’s seat. Commissioners stalled, however, in replacing Cosby with former CMH board chair Vonnie Vanderzwaag, who was passed over twice for reappointment through Miedema’s Talent & Recruitment committee.

After approving in a 7-4 vote to appoint Rice, commissioners agreed to table Vanderzwaag’s appointment to fill Cosby’s CMH board seat, pending a review by corporation counsel.

Miedema said she had “no issue if the board wants to give up the current commissioner seats and appoint a member of the public, but it needs to go through the proper process,” suggesting that the alleged vacancy go through Talent & Recruitment.

That prompted Vice Chair Josh Brugger, a non-OI Republican, to take a swipe at his perceived hypocrisy of the former OI majority.

“I think this has been a great meeting and I don't want to end it on a sour note, but over the past two years … to be lectured on process? ... No, I'm sorry. Not gonna happen,” he said.

Commissioner Joe Moss, the board’s former chair and the president of Ottawa Impact, weighed in, saying he believed policy should be followed.

“I'm not big on favors on Day One,” he said, drawing laughter from many in the new majority. 

Moss has been criticized since January 2023 for favoring political loyalists — from the corporation counsel to administrator picks to department heads.

Read More: Ottawa County meets again Tuesday. Here's what to expect after bombshell changes

In an attempt to defend himself, Moss said: “I'm just calling out what I see. Balls and strikes, gentlemen.”

“Yeah, I'm not gonna bite,” Brugger replied.

Debate on the appointments intensified after Deputy Clerk Rachel Sanchez informed commissioners that Miedema instructed her last month to convert the former commissioners’ seats on the respective boards to general public positions.

“This is tough because you asked me, Allison, to extend your and (Belknap's) seats and to convert Belknap to a constituent, so this whole conversation is hard for me because I did what you asked me to do and as far as I know, there are no open seats,” Sanchez said.

That prompted disbelief from Brugger.

“Wait a minute. Isn't that what we just talked about doing? … And you did it? I'm sorry,” he said.

Miedema justified her order to Sanchez — which have since been documented through internal emails — saying that the commissioners were appointed to three-year terms on the CMH and parks boards, despite county commissioners serving two-year terms prior to 2025 (state law converted the terms to four years starting this year).

Despite a lengthy debate between Teeples and corporation counsel Lanae Monera that resulted in a tabling of Cosby’s fate, the issue seemingly was resolved on Thursday, Jan. 9, when Cosby tendered her resignation, which Teeples confirmed on Friday.

Commissioners now will need to address filling the seat, which is expected to be taken up at the next full board meeting Jan. 28.

Who has the right to talk to corporation counsel?

Teeples asked commissioners to authorize him to consult with attorneys to apprise him of the numerous lawsuits against the county.  

One bone of contention with Moss, who unsuccessfully attempted to remove the item from the agenda early on, was that the resolution included language involving “litigation strategies and settlement negotiations” as well as approving a “designee” for Teeples. 

Moss said the resolution’s language appeared to have “an ulterior motive.”

“By using the wording in this motion, I believe that by authorizing you to speak to legal counsel, the inverse is true and you're deauthorizing the rest of the board from speaking to corporate counsel,” Moss said.

Teeples said he was attempting to be transparent with his fellow commissioners so the board could enter into future closed sessions fully informed to tackle the three remaining lawsuits against the board

Those include former administrator John Gibbs' lawsuit for wrongful termination, a multi-plaintiff lawsuit over the county’s handling of Freedom of Information Act requests and a lawsuit challenging the legality of a lake cleanup contract and a pair of severance agreements approved last month.

“My intent here is we have ongoing litigation and we have deadlines,” Teeples said. “And as an attorney, I'm knowledgeable about litigation and wanted to get my hands on what's going on. I'm trying to get your authorization so I can meet with these litigation attorneys and see where we stand on every case.”

Moss said Teeples didn’t have the right to have exclusive access to the county’s attorneys.

“Just because you're an attorney by trade doesn't make you more special than any other commissioners on this dias,” Moss said.

Teeples drew Moss’ ire after telling commissioners that he told corporation counsel attorneys “not to talk to board members until we get authorization.”

“That is ... unbelievable,” Moss said.

Teeples said when it comes to litigation strategies, “no one commissioner should be talking. It's a closed-door matter for all of us to come in to talk about it.”

“Except you're asking permission for special authorization from the board,” Moss replied. “It's literally adding more authority to you.”

“That's not what this is about,” Teeples said. “It's about being transparent to everyone on what I'm trying to gather for the board.”

Brugger pushed back, saying Moss previously extended himself the authority that Teeples was asking for publicly.

“The sense we got — no offense, Joe — was the previous board chair discussed with legal counsel above and beyond the granted authority,” Brugger said. “The idea was John wanted to do exactly what you had done, Joe, and is asking permission.”

Corporate counsel attorney Jack Jordan confirmed that county attorneys worked closely with Moss when he was chair and not with other commissioners.

“It has been our practice that we would always confer with the chair of the insurance authority and the chair of the board and they were one in the same: Chair Moss,” Jordan said.

Non-OI Republican Commissioner Jim Barry said he saw the request as designating Teeples to “serve as point instead of 11 commissioners asking separate questions,” but that he was comfortable with striking “settlement negotiations” from the language for clarity.

The resolution was ultimately tabled after commissioners agreed that Teeples had the existing authority to consult with legal counsel.

Administrator talks hint at a future fight

Arguably the most important decision made Tuesday was the appointment of Gary Rosema, 73, as the county’s interim administrator.

Rosema retired as county sheriff in 2016, and was succeeded by Steve Kempker, who retired at the end of 2024; former undersheriff Eric DeBoer was elected in August and began a four-year term this month.

As Teeples attempted to win over commissioners with Rosema’s appointment, the OI board members renewed their allegations that Teeples and non-OI Commissioner Jacob Bonnema “intimidated” a finalist into withdrawing after OI commissioners attempted to install a permanent administrator before the new majority came into power.

Read More: Ottawa administrator search halts after last finalist withdraws as officials claim, decry 'intimidation'

Teeples and Bonnema have denied any wrongdoing.

Miedema and Wenzel complained that Teeples didn’t seek input from fellow commissioners on names for who could serve as interim administrator until a new formal search could identify a permanent hire.

Teeples reminded the commissioners that he gave public comment before the former board in December and said that Rosema, Kempker and now-retired county prosecutor Lee Fisher were willing to serve as interim administrator.

Bonnema and Barry read letters of recommendation supporting Rosema from Kempker and former treasurer Amanda Price, who retired at the end of 2023.

Wenzel attempted to imply again that the current majority was keeping information from the rest of the board, which drew a quip from Bonnema aimed at the former OI majority: “I mean, there was the last two years ... where some knew and none of us knew. I don't know if that rings a bell at all.”

More important than the transparency issue or Rosema’s qualifications, however, appeared to be another key decision that likely will happen next: the appointment of a new corporation counsel.

Moss acknowledged that although Rosema was “competent” and “could step into” the role, he said Rosema and Teeples are considering hiring former county corporation counsel Doug Van Essen, whom the OI majority fired at its first meeting after being elected on Jan. 3, 2023.

“When I learned of that direction, I informed both of them that I cannot support that direction,” Moss said, calling Van Essen “toxic” and that he “threatens citizens.”

Despite the corporation counsel issue not appearing on Tuesday’s agenda, OI commissioners spoke at length about how they held him responsible for the county’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. 

Moss’ issue with Van Essen stems from his failed attempt at defying the temporary closure of Libertas Christian School, a private school Moss helped found after his high school alma mater, Freedom Christian, closed in Hudsonville.

Moss had at least one child attending Libertas during the county-issued pre-K-6 mask mandate that followed state mandates from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — which Moss and several other parents construed as an infringement on their parental rights.

Read More: What is the cost of Ottawa Impact? About $3 million and counting

On Tuesday, Moss said he “didn’t trust Van Essen,” a sentiment echoed by his three OI peers.

Fellow OI Commissioner Sylvia Rhodea, the former vice chair, said the county didn't stand up against "government overreach" during the pandemic. 

"That bred cowardice among our board,” she said. “That falls on corporate counsel. ... I'm not interested in rebuilding Team COVID."

Brugger noted that the question of corporation counsel wasn’t before the board and took a jab at Moss.

“I don't think Gary would want much,” Brugger said. “I can guarantee he wouldn't want a severance package like some people have sought.

The comment was referring to former interim administrator Ben Wetmore and executive aide Jordan Epperson negotiating a pair of severance agreements with the OI-led board in December worth more than $280,000 (they currently are being challenged in one of the lawsuits against the board).

Read More: Severance agreements for Ottawa interim administrator, aide to exceed $280,000

Current corporation counsel Kallman Legal Group, which are family members of Moss’ business partner Joel Kallman, also received an upfront payment of $250,000 in December under the former OI majority, ahead of a likely contract termination or reduction of services this year.

Teeples said he was disheartened by some of the OI commissioners’ comments.

“I'm disappointed that some people on this board won't vote for a man of his qualifications just because there might be a future decision on corporate counsel, but I hear you,” he said.

After Rosema’s appointment was approved 7-4 along party lines, the new interim administrator addressed commissioners, clarifying how conversations took place in the days before the meeting.

“Yesterday at 4 p.m., I thought I would walk into a room of friends,” Rosema said. “After 4 p.m., I was a little less thinking that that was gonna happen.”

He said he never told board members he was seeking Van Essen’s reappointment.

“I never indicated that I was ready for a vote (on Van Essen). I assured you that I don't decide that matter. You, as board members, decide that,” Rosema said.

Board rules are getting an upgrade

One of the most time-consuming parts of Tuesday’s meeting was the four-hours-long review of board rules, which saw multiple changes such as limiting a chair to serve two one-year terms in a given four-year commissioner term.

That was after an unsuccessful attempt from Miedema to convert the action item to a discussion-only item.

Miedema said she wanted to see the county’s corporation counsel review the proposed rules before commissioners approved any changes. 

Rhodea supported Miedema’s motion.

“If it's one thing we learned in the last term, there are a lot of things we don't know. There could be legal ramifications to our decisions. ... It would be wise to take our time and get it right,” Rhodea said.

Brugger said the board rules were “a working document that’s close.”

“I would like to move forward with it. We'll certainly have discussion to hammer out the details,” he said.

Teeples, who proposed all of the changes, said he was looking to limit any one commissioner from having a disproportionate amount of authority if they led a majority bloc on the board.

“Your idea is to limit the board chair's perceived authority,” Brugger said.

“Exactly,” Teeples replied.

The topic of board and committee appointments was reprised in the board rules review when the question arose of whether the board chair should retain the authority to appoint certain roles or whether they should be subject to full board approval.

Rhodea complained that when she and Miedema came into office in 2023, "we were handed a mess of nothingness," claiming county information was poorly compiled for the Talent and Recruitment committee and that Miedema worked for two years to fix it.

There also was some resistance from OI commissioners to the idea that the administrator oversees corporation counsel — currently, it reports to the board of commissioners directly.

“As a former attorney for municipalities, never ever did I work directly with a board member directly. I've always worked with the administrator,” Teeples said.

The idea was something former administrator Gibbs requested late last year, which the OI-led board refused; it was disclosed as part of Gibbs’ lawsuit against the board, which was partially dismissed in federal court in December (Gibbs’ attorney filed a notice of appeal on Dec. 29).

The topic made Moss somewhat uneasy as he faces a separate lawsuit as an individual commissioner as part of former commissioner Chris Kleinjans’ allegations that Moss pressured Michigan State University’s Extension Office into firing Kleinjans after he was elected to the commission in May 2024.

 “What if a board member feels they need legal counsel? What if they need a legal opinion? ... You're putting me in a position now ... maybe I'll just pause there,” Moss said.

Teeples said if a commissioner is sued individually, he or she has the right to legal counsel through the county attorneys, however, if the county is footing the bill, it has the right to control that legal strategy.

“The county should control your defense but you should know what's going on,” Teeples told Moss. “The problem comes in when some commissioner is sued in their official capacity and telling legal counsel to ‘do this, do this, do this.’”

Teeples said if a commissioner is unhappy with the county’s legal representation, their recourse is to “seek outside legal counsel.”

Moss argued that commissioners greatly benefit from having the ability to “ask a question of corporate counsel,” something Rhodea framed as “invaluable to board members.”

Teeples said part of the confusion was that the county has seen an excess of leadership turnover in just two years — there have been five administrators between Jan. 3, 2023, and Jan. 7, 2025, and the board must seek another permanent one this year.

“Some of the problem you've had is you had inconsistency with your administrator in terms of who you were coordinating with,” Teeples said, to which Moss retorted: “It was actually very clear over the past two years.”

Teeples highlighted the disconnect where some commissioners who held power in the previous administration had access to corporation counsel, while others didn’t — which received OI pushback.

“Quite frankly, I don't want an administrator standing between me and legal counsel,” Rhodea said.

“Well here's the problem,” Teeples said, “we have 11 people on this board who need to hear it. We need the continuity of board action. So how does it work now?”

“I just ask corporate counsel a question,” Rhodea said.

“And the answer goes to all the board members?” Teeples asked.

“Sometimes,” Rhodea said.

“Well, I think it should be all the time,” Teeples said.

“I'm just thinking of how important it is to know about legal strategy. We need to have access to this information. I'm hearing Commissioner Rhodea that it's so important to hear from our legal counsel to discuss a sensitive legal issue and ... multiple commissioners requested access to Mika Myers … [and] former Chair Moss denied that request over and over.”

— Commissioner Jacob Bonnema

Miedema said the county attorney doesn’t just serve the administrator, but the entire county. 

“I think every commissioner should have the ability to pick up the phone and call the attorney,” she said.

That prompted Bonnema to point out that he asked multiple times at the board’s Dec. 19 meeting to have Grand Rapids-based law firm Mika Myers apprise commissioners before they performed a “re-enactment” of the controversial separation agreements with Wetmore and Epperson — only to be denied by Moss.

Read More: County commissioners say they were misled, pressured to approve severance agreements

“I'm just thinking of how important it is to know about legal strategy. We need to have access to this information,” Bonnema said. “I'm hearing Commissioner Rhodea that it's so important to hear from our legal counsel to discuss a sensitive legal issue and ... multiple commissioners requested access to Mika Myers … [and] former Chair Moss denied that request over and over.”

One bone of additional contention was over the Code of Conduct Teeples introduced, outlining everything from commissioners not micromanaging county affairs to not ostracizing other board members with whom they don’t politically align.

Miedema moved to strike the section in its entirety, calling it "demeaning of fellow board members” and that “everyone should just live by the Golden Rule.” Rhodea agreed, saying it was "demeaning" to have "kindergarten rules."

In a rare moment of consensus, Zylstra agreed the board didn’t need a code of conduct because there was no way to enforce the concept.

"We're all elected and at the end of the day, our voters apply standards and that seems the most effective way to do it,” he said.

Another point of debate was whether individual members had the right to add items to the agenda. Current rules state that the board chair, the administrator and the chairs of subcommittees may add items to agendas, with individual commissioners able to propose additions and subtractions with a majority vote of the full board within the applicable meeting.

Despite a consideration of having three commissioners agree to add an issue or item to amend the agenda, most commissioners opposed it.

"I don't want to have to round up two or three people before we discuss it," Zylstra said.

Rhodea said Zylstra had a habit of making motions to change board agendas.

“I know you liked to do that often,” she said.

The Democrat said it wasn't because he enjoyed doing it.

“I've done it because I felt like I was forced to,” he told the former vice chair.

That prompted Teeples to note his frustration with the prior board’s habit of not releasing agendas for meetings until the night before or sometimes the morning of meetings, giving the public and minority commissioners little to no time to review materials.

"I think it's important to the public that we don't do this last-minute stuff," he said.

Teeples said he would like to see agendas for Tuesday meetings publicly posted by noon the previous Thursdays and not changing them once they are published — another habit of the former OI administration.

He noted it would “require more organization."

Committees, meeting times get a refresh

One of the biggest changes Tuesday was Teeples proposing that the commission pare down the number of its subcommittees from seven to two. Under the change, everything would funnel into either the Finance & Administration Committee or the Planning & Policy Committee. 

Those committees will meet for the first time this year on Tuesday, Jan. 14, where they will elect respective chairs and vice chairs.

Teeples said the change was intended to "limit government" and that he planned to have all 11 commissioners on both subcommittees to avoid inequality in committee representation.

Support Our Work

Ottawa News Network is a nonprofit news service dedicated to providing the residents of Ottawa County with trustworthy, community-driven news. ONN treats journalism as a public good — something that enriches lives and empowers Ottawa County’s 300,000-plus residents to stay engaged, make informed decisions, and strengthen local democracy. Please consider giving today.

To accommodate the change, Teeples proposed having the two new super subcommittees occur on the second Tuesday of every month and full board meetings go from twice monthly to just monthly on the fourth Thursday of every month — with the full board meeting alternating between 9 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. start times every other month.

One idea was floated to have the meetings at various venues around the county, but commissioners ultimately agreed that too many varying times, days and locations would be too confusing for the public to keep track.

Commissioners ultimately voted to table approving the rules and meetings changes and have since scheduled a special meeting to formalize the edits and amendments at a special meeting that has now been scheduled for 8 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14, in the county's Fillmore Complex administration building in West Olive. 

— Sarah Leach is the executive editor of the Ottawa News Network. Contact her at sleach@ottawanewsnetwork.org. Follow her on Twitter @ONNLeach.