Countywide group to discuss 'shared purchasing' Nov. 9

County officials appear to be following through on calls for more “intergovernmental cooperation” talks following a countywide summit meeting of local public officials on Sept. 5.
One follow-up meeting has been slated for Friday, Nov. 9, and plans for another meeting are in the works.

Acting through county administrator David Gill, the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners sponsored the Sept. 5 summit, inviting officials of the county’s 11 township governments, three village governments, four public school districts, and tribal government.

About 50 people attended.

The goal of the meeting was to explore ways the various units of government could operate more efficiently and economically by working more closely together. Following an initial discussion, several “breakout groups” were formed to begin discussions on a variety of topics.

A group that was formed during the summit to discuss “shared purchasing,” including contracted legal services, is slated to hold a follow-up meeting on Nov. 9 at 9 a.m. in the Law Enforcement Center off M-204 in Suttons Bay Township.

However, that group’s focus was not the subject of the greatest interest at the Sept. 5 summit.

The largest discussion group formed during the summit was an “emergency services” committee. A majority of the 50 local officials representing village, township and county government in Leelanau County agreed that questions about how to better provide fire and ambulance service should be the No. 1 topic. Those who attended a “breakout session” on emergency services agreed to meet again on Oct. 22.

But Oct. 22 came and went with no meeting.

Gill said last month that he had not been directed by anyone on the county board to organize another meeting on emergency services The only county commissioner to participate in the emergency services discussion was District No 2 commissioner Mark Walter. The director of the county’s Emergency Services office, Tom Skowronski, said last week that he, too, was unaware of any concrete plans for a follow-up meeting.

Glen Arbor Township supervisor John Soderholm said he contacted Gill last week and asked Gill to organize another meeting to discuss emergency services. Gill has agreed to do so.

“When we chatted (at the summit in September),” Soderholm said, “we all agreed there was some interest in proceeding with more discussions. From my perspective, the issues include spreading the cost of emergency service more equitably throughout the county,” Soderholm said.

Glen Arbor and Empire townships provide 24/7 Advanced Life Support ambulance service, organized as Glen Lake Rescue, throughout many of the western and southern townships of Leelanau County – with taxpayers in Glen Arbor and Empire townships paying more in taxes for the service than many of their neighbors.

Similarly, Suttons Bay and Bingham townships also provide 24/7 Advanced Life Support ambulance service, paid for primarily by taxpayers of those two townships – but also benefiting residents of neighboring townships where the fire and rescue department does not provide the same level of service.

“Holding a follow-up meeting to discuss these issues is absolutely the right thing to do,” said Suttons Bay Township supervisor Rich Bahle. “There are many issues we can explore, such as consolidating equipment purchases and eliminating duplication. But fire and rescue is also a very sensitive topic, politically, and I’m hoping we can get beyond that eventually.”

Soderholm agreed.

“We want to ensure that any discussions we have are facilitated by a neutral party, and I’m glad that the ball is back in the county’s court in terms of organizing another meeting,” Soderholm said.

Gill said he hoped to set up another meeting to discuss emergency services sometime this month, possibly using the same Michigan State University expert who facilitated the Sept. 5 meeting, John Amrhein of the MSU Extension in Wexford County.

Meanwhile, county clerk Michelle Crocker and Bingham Township treasurer Sandra Grant have been organizing a follow-up meeting to discuss “shared purchasing” ideas. Grant reported that officials of several townships had responded to a survey that asked how much was being spent on legal services, and who was providing the services.

“We’re not sure how many will attend our Nov. 9 meeting,” Grant said, “but we’ve received a pretty good response so far.”