Attempt to fund Lenawee Now fails at special commission meeting

A last-minute addendum to a special meeting on June 1 called by the Lenawee County Commission sought to have commissioners vote on approving a substantial payment to Lenawee Now, despite a decision on May 9 to order a forensic audit of the nonprofit economic development organization before deciding on that contract.
Commissioner Dustin Krasny made a motion to accept the proposed 2023 Lenawee Now contract for $150,000. Commissioner Kevon Martis seconded the motion.

Commissioner Dawn Bales said she was trying to understand the motion. “Two to three weeks ago we voted nine to zero on this to do a forensic audit, and the executive director of Lenawee Now also supported that we have that forensic audit,” she said. 

 
Bales said she had some questions for Commission Chair Jim Van Doren. “When you called me yesterday morning (May 31) at eight o’clock to inform me that Lenawee Now did not want to move forward with the audit, and that we, that’s us commissioners, needed to sign the contract for Lenawee Now and move on. And then you asked me to consider it and to think about it,” she said. “Were you acting as our board chair, or were you acting on behalf of Lenawee Now? Did you do this in the best interests of the citizens of Lenawee County? Also, why did you solicit my vote outside of a meeting and reference my employer several times during that conversation?” Bales, who is a vice president at Premier Bank, said her employer has nothing to do with her votes on the commission. 

 
Van Doren did not respond to her questions and asked for any other discussion. Krasny noted the approval to fund over a half-million dollars to pay debts incurred by the Kiwanis Regional Trail Authority. “When there was some consternation about that fact, we were told that we were to operate in good faith and trust around here, yet we are now demanding a forensic audit for Lenawee Now in spite of having a relationship with them for many productive years,” he said.

Krasny said he thought that withholding the payment to Lenawee Now was punitive and speculated that not voting for the contract could equate to being against jobs in Lenawee County.

Commissioner David Stimpson said that the people of the county want transparency and authenticity. “You can’t have that when you’re avoiding an audit,” he said. “I question Jim’s chairmanship here because for a decade he was the CEO of this company, and these audits are of when he was the CEO of that company.

“We need to do an audit,” Stimpson said. “You’re undermining this board. You’re not being honest with the public.”

Commissioner Terry Collins said he was dismayed, reiterating that the commission voted to conduct the audit based on legal counsel’s recommendation and questioning why some of the commissioners had changed their minds. He stated that Krasny’s comparison to the Kiwanis Trail funds was not accurate. “This was not grant money given to them to do what they wanted,” he said. “This was a loan that was repaid.” Collins said that putting the vote on the agenda again degraded the transparency, credibility, and consistency that the commissioners ran on in the election.

Collins also addressed Krasny’s comment about being against jobs. “Don’t accuse me of not wanting to deal with going forward in jobs. How dare you accuse me of that,” he said. “I take that as an insult, and I cannot support this motion.”

Martis said he met with representatives of six of the municipalities he represents and said they all supported the county restoring funding immediately to Lenawee Now. “I told them I only voted for the forensic audit because it was the only path forward which could restore the relationship with Lenawee Now,” he said. He asked how a contract negotiation could turn into an investigation. “There’s never been any claim of impropriety brought to my attention, and as I stated in the past, the timing and sudden nature of the motion and vote to repeal Lenawee Now in relation to Project Phoenix cannot be disguised,” he said.

Van Doren said Lenawee Now was being dishonored. “Some would like to paint me as colluding or even being funded by Lenawee Now. Any of those statements are far from true,” he said. “It’s time for us to stand up for Lenawee Now and all the good things they bring and are doing for Lenawee County.” He listed the ways the organization benefits the county.

  
Van Doren then told County Clerk Roxanne Holloway to call for a vote, but Collins had one more comment. “I want you commissioners to ask yourself one question before you vote,” Collins said. “When somebody out there in the general public asks you, ‘Who got to you?,’ what are you going to tell them?”

Van Doren, Martis, Krasny, and Commissioner Nancy Jenkins-Arno voted to accept the Lenawee Now contract, and Bales, Collins, Stimpson, and Commissioner Ralph Tillotson voted no. Commissioner KZ Bolton was absent. The motion did not pass.

Victoria Powell and Scott Peters spoke during public comment. “I cannot believe what I just witnessed,” said Powell. “Mr. Van Doren, it is not your place to give a resume about Lenawee Now to the commissioners or to anyone here or anyone listening to this. It is not your place to sell Lenawee Now.” She questioned how many jobs Lenawee Now has brought into the county while receiving $1.5 million since 2011.

Peters mentioned the commission meeting to approve the purchase of the Tecumseh Products property for Project Phoenix, which was later halted. “We spent $2.3 million on a contaminated piece of property with very little question,” he said. He went on to praise Krasny’s representation of his district. “I just find it ironic how, when you don’t like something, some people on here just attack and attack and attack, and that’s not how government is supposed to work. It’s discouraging to see, but I do appreciate those that have not gone below the belt,” he said.

To watch the video of the June 1 special meeting, visit lenawee.mi.us/1058/Videos.