Government Center employees tout new 'wellness' area.

For those who work at the Leelanau County Government Center in Suttons Bay Township, an all-new building with all-new furniture is making for more than a pleasant working environment – for some, it’s also leading to healthier lifestyles.

EMPLOYEE WELLNESS has become a focus at the new
Leelanau County Government Center in Suttons Bay
Township, where a volunteer committee of county
employees has acquired some used, donated fitness
equipment and installed it in an unfinished room in
the lower level of the new facility. Rob Sirrine and
Annette Kleinschmit of the Michigan State University
Extension office were working out there during a
recent lunch break.

“I’ve never seen employee morale so high,” said Georgia Robertson, the executive assistant to the county administrator and chair of the county’s “Employee Wellness Committee.”

“We have this beautiful new facility that people really want to take good care of,” Robertson said, “and I think that’s prompting some of us to take better care of ourselves as well.”

The committee was formed nearly a year ago when the Government Center was still under construction and county employees were still crowded into the old courthouse and jail in Leland.

As the new government center was being designed, employees successfully lobbied the county board of commissioners to include men’s and women’s locker rooms with showers in the lower level of the new government center.

However, commissioners balked at the idea of expending any taxpayer money to finish a space in the building for an employee fitness center or gym.

But that didn’t stop county employees from taking full advantage of what they have. Employees have chipped in their own money to have a fitness instructor lead an exercise class in a community meeting room after working hours. They have also acquired a few pieces of used exercise equipment, donated by the Veterans Affairs office in Traverse City, that have been set up in an unfinished “spare” room in the building’s lower level.

“The walls may be empty and the floor may be bare concrete,” said Robertson, “but the lower level is a walkout, so the view is nice – and a lot of people are definitely taking advantage of what we have here.”

The director of the Michigan State University Extension office, Rob Sirrine, and administrative secretary Annette Kleinschmit, were both using their lunch break recently to work out on a cross-country ski machine and an eliptical trainer in the building’s lower level.

“There’s a lot of data showing that keeping employees fit increases worker productivity,” Sirrine noted.

“And it’s a good stress reliever,” Kleinschmit added.

Robertson said the Employee Wellness Committee is still looking for additional fitness equipment to add to their collection. She said that anyone willing to donate used fitness equipment in good condition can call her at 256-9711.

She added that members of the public have also been invited to participate in organized exercise sessions in the community meeting room, although the locker room is for employees only. The most recent six-week “core training” program ended recently, and the Employee Wellness Committee is currently considering setting up another series of exercise sessions.

“For the last session, we needed a minimum of 10 people to sign up to pay for it – and we got 15,” Robertson said, “so this was pretty popular right off the bat.”

About 120 people work at the Government Center and the adjacent Law Enforcement Center.

One of the committee’s first successes occurred last year, long before the move was made from Leland to the new facility earlier this year. The committee successfully lobbied county commissioners to impose strict limits on where people could smoke on the county courthouse campus in Leland. Now, the entire 40-acre Government Center campus in Suttons Bay Township has been declared a smoke-free zone.

Smoking cessation classes are also among the efforts the Employee Wellness Committee is considering, Robertson added. Earlier this year, the committee organized a presentation for employees from a local chiropractor who offered advice on maintaining good posture in new task chairs – and on how to safely lift boxes that were still being unloaded following the move from Leland.

Better nutrition has also been a focus of the group’s efforts.

Deputy clerk Becky Morio was taking a brief break in the employee lunch room, also in the lower level of the Government Center, and pointed out all of the “healthy choices” now available in vending machines.

“It’s not just junk food anymore,” Morio said. “The snacks we have available now are the best we’ve ever had.”

The Employee Wellness Committee is currently comprised of 10 county employees, representing nearly all of the county’s departments, who meet periodically on an “as needed” basis, Robertson said.

Among the projects they may undertake in the future: setting up outdoor hiking trails around the Government Center campus for lunchtime strolls, and offering nutrition seminars after working hours, along with other health information classes.