At tonight's Board of Commissioners meeting, we heard about the success of our Senior Services Office over the past year. With a proclamation, the Board specifically honored the Meals on Wheels program, which is an important free service for seniors and has no waitlist because of funding support from the Senior Millage.
 
Senior Services also presented its 2019 Annual Report, highlighting that over 6,500 seniors were served and $3.4M was spent across 22 services for seniors aged 60 and older. We learned that 1,164 seniors ate over 135,000 nutritious meals and 487 seniors exercised 11,734 times at 14 Fit 'n Fun sites countywide.

Here is what else is going on in Calhoun County:
 
We had a packed conference room for February's Elected Officials and Department Heads meeting, which took place Tuesday, Feb. 25. Here are some highlights from countywide leadership at that meeting:
 
  • Health Officer Eric Pessel gave the latest update about Coronavirus, and encouraged everyone to stay up to date by monitoring the Health Department or MDHHS's websites. The previous week, the City of Battle Creek was on a boil water advisory for just over 24 hours, and Pessel shared that all 170 restaurant contacts were following CCPHD guidance on necessary safety measures
  • Public Defender David Makled shared that his office is implementing new paperless workflow and case management software, and is still in the hiring process to fully staff the new office. As he considers public defense holistically, Makled stated that he's interested in the benefits of incorporating social work into this process, which was echoed by Treasurer Brian Wensauer, who has also considered how a social worker on staff could benefit foreclosure prevention efforts.
  • In his update, Treasurer Brian Wensauer shared that county investments earned over $400,000 in interest last year, which is higher than ever and due to a new strategy on how the money is pooled in bank accounts and cashflow is managed tightly. 
  • Land Bank Director Krista Trout-Edwards shared that she and the treasurer had recently canvassed houses around the Union Steel Property in Albion, before the demolition began. They visited 130 homes and expect the demolition to take 16 weeks
  • Managing Director for the Road Department John Midgley mentioned that due to lack of frost on the ground, the County is not placing seasonal weight restrictions on primary or local roads this year.
  • Assistant Administrator Brad Wilcox said he hopes to hold Declutter Days in April, to assist all departments with purging all unnecessary items in our offices. More communications will be sent as details are confirmed.
  • Senior Services Manager Helen Guzzo shared that millage renewal ballot language was approved at the last Board of Commissioners meeting, and that the millage vote (along with park's) will take place Tuesday, Aug. 4. 
Read the complete update