OTTAWA COUNTY — A new face was at this week’s Ottawa County board meeting, which included a high-profile resignation in the county’s human resources department and Grand Haven’s commissioner walking out over politicking during public comment.

Democrat Chris Kleinjans attended his first meeting representing District 2 after taking over for recently recalled Ottawa Impact Republican Lucy Ebel.

A light agenda and low-attended meeting, however, didn’t mean there wasn’t controversy at the county board.

OI is a far-right fundamentalist group formed in 2021 over frustrations with county and state COVID-19 mitigation measures. The group currently has a six-seat controlling majority on the 11-member board.

During the first public comment portion of the evening meeting, several speakers plugged OI-backed candidates seeking countywide offices, including Jon Anderson, who was appointed to interim Ottawa County administrator shortly after filing to run for sheriff.

Candidates like Republican Orlando Estrada, who is running against Democrat Doug Zylstra for the commission’s Third District, and Dean Brandt, who is running for sheriff in neighboring Allegan County used the public comment period to advocate for their campaigns and criticize various aspects of Ottawa County — specifically the delay in getting body cameras for sheriff’s deputies.

Shortly after Brandt said he looked forward to working with Anderson as the next Ottawa County sheriff and Greg Todd, the OI-backed candidate for prosecutor, Republican Commissioner Roger Bergman got up and said he was leaving the meeting because the forum was no place for stumping.

"Mr. Chair, this is not a time for campaigning. I'm outta here!" Bergman said.

Board Chair and OI leader Joe Moss, who represents District 5, didn’t respond to Bergman’s outburst, simply saying “thank you” and continuing the meeting.

Bergman later explained his decision, saying the board meetings are not the appropriate forum for plugging candidates and mudslinging against opponents.

“In my experience, our meeting should be about running the county,” he said in a Tuesday night statement. “Tonight, we were a sounding board for those who want to promote Jon Anderson for sheriff. I believe tonight was planned by several personas to promote OI-endorsed candidates.”

The meeting also saw tense exchanges between Commissioner Jacob Bonnema and Moss as well as Bonnema and Zylstra with OI Commissioner Allison Miedema.

Bonnema, who tried to signal that new technology at the comment podium wasn’t working correctly, was shut down by Moss who ordered him to follow the meeting’s proper order of events.

Later, both Zylstra and Bonnema questioned Miedema over the handling of appointments to the Community Mental Health board of directors by the county’s Talent and Recruitment Committee, which Miedema chairs.

After Zylstra said he had concerns in terms of the timeframe of the appointments, particularly to a CMH board member whose term ended March 31 and, despite reapplying in February he wasn’t approved through the process until Tuesday’s meeting.

“I'd like a quick rundown of how we got here,” Zylstra said.

Miedema refused to discuss the issue with Zylstra, saying simply: “Your point’s taken.”

Bonnema attempted to further the conversation, leading to Moss attempting to interrupt him a second time. Vice Chair Sylvia Rhodea, an OI commissioner, then jumped in to say it wasn’t appropriate to discuss the matter and that it was more important to “respect the privacy of consumers instead of making a political moment."

During Anderson’s administrator’s report, he noted that longtime Human Resources Director Marcie VerBeek had resigned after working for the county for 16 years. VerBeek has accepted a position with a local school district.

VerBeek has been featured prominently in the inner workings of Ottawa County over the past 18 months during Ottawa Impact’s tenure.

Most notably, she provided testimony during a failed termination hearing for Administrative Health Officer Adeline Hambley in October that revealed concerns during an interview process for current Administrative Aide Jordan Epperson, which inspired an age discrimination lawsuit against the board and former Administrator John Gibbs. Gibbs has since sued the county for wrongful termination.

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VerBeek also was key in an external investigation of Gibbs’ conduct in March 2023 after Bonnema leveled hostile work environment allegations against the former county head.

Anderson also noted that another HR county employee, Devin Garcia, was killed in a fatal traffic crash on May 17.

According to her obituary, Garcia is survived by her parents, four sisters, her boyfriend and many extended family members. She enjoyed traveling, playing games and reading and was “an empathetic and consoling friend to everyone she met,” the obituary states.

— Contact Sarah Leach at SentinelLeach@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @SentinelLeach. Subscribe to her content at sentinelleach.substack.com.