Summary
The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners Executive Session, chaired by Steve Yoder on December 9, 2025, took action on numerous personnel, financial, and infrastructure items. Key actions included approving a new District Court magistrate, authorizing Sheriff's Office hiring and grant participation, approving an inmate boarding agreement with Grand Traverse County, and after lengthy debate, authorizing the County Administrator to negotiate a managed fleet vehicle leasing contract with Enterprise Fleet rather than continuing to purchase vehicles outright.
Public Comments
Steve Mikowski spoke during the public comment period; no summary of his remarks was recorded in the minutes. Written comments were also submitted and are available via the county's agenda portal, but their content was not detailed in the minutes.
Parks and Recreation Matters
The Board approved (6-1, Bunek opposed) authorizing Administrator Jim Dyer to negotiate a modification of the 2018 lease agreement with the Leelanau County Historic Preservation Society for the Poor Barn, subject to legal counsel approval as to form, with the modified lease to return to the Board for final signature authorization.
Separately, the Board discussed a proposed sale of a nearly one-acre county property across from Old Settler's Park, previously used by Parks & Recreation for park debris storage. Administrator Dyer suggested a possible sale price of $15,000 to the three adjacent property owners who use the land for ingress/egress. Commissioner Bunek stated he would personally pay $20,000 for the parcel. Commissioner Campbell raised concerns about selling public land without a legal review of its usability and argued the optics of selling park property cheaply. Chairman Yoder stated there was consensus that no action would be taken at this time on the sale.
Infrastructure Projects
The Board approved (7-0) a land lease agreement with the Leelanau County Road Commission to store materials for a communication tower purchased through Midway Electronics, pending legal counsel approval. The Board also approved (7-0) closing out the Midway Electronics contract, allocating $90,000 from the Delinquent Tax Revolving Fund #516 to the Communications Capital Project Fund #468 to pay Invoice #56216 and delivery costs. Commissioner Bunek commented the County should get out of the "tower business" given past difficulties, and Chairman Yoder said future tower purchases should receive prior approval.
Other Business
The Board approved PowerDMS policy tracking software for the Sheriff's Office (5-2, Bunek and Walter opposed), a new Office Manager job description for the Sheriff's Office (6-1, Bunek opposed), removal of the Juvenile Probation Officer/Diversion Counselor job description update from the agenda, tuition reimbursement for employee Julie Lautner, purchase of 45 pairs of safety glasses for the Emergency Response Team, award of the audit contract to Clark, Schaefer, Hackett (CSH) for 2025-2028, and declaring a jail kitchen stand mixer as surplus. Vehicle Take Home Procedure discussion was deferred to the January 2026 meeting. Elected Official/Deputy compensation discussion was tabled, with a motion by Wessell to direct the Administrator/HR Manager to recommend a Prosecutor salary adjustment ultimately withdrawn after debate; Commissioner Robbins suggested revisiting wages during the 2027 budget process. A Conflict of Interest and Complaint Policy ad hoc committee was approved (7-0), comprised of Commissioner Campbell, Chairman Yoder, and Administrator Dyer.
Financial Summary
- PowerDMS software: not to exceed $31,000 over three years, IT line item #636.000.000.801.000.
- ERT safety glasses: not to exceed $2,452.50, Sheriff's Office Donation Expense line #101.225.301.727.004.
- Tower project: $90,000 transferred from Delinquent Tax Revolving Fund #516 to Communications Capital Project Fund #468.
- Audit contract with CSH: first-year amount not to exceed $70,000, account #101.830.207.801.000.
- Claims and Accounts approved: $259,265.39.
- Post Audit Claims and Accounts approved: $3,017,686.56.
- Proposed county property sale near Old Settler's Park: discussed at $15,000 (Administrator's suggested figure); Commissioner Bunek offered $20,000; no sale approved.
- Fleet leasing motion required first-year lease cost not exceed the 2026 budget allocation for vehicle acquisition.
Action Items
- Building Safety Building Official Amber Weber to return for further discussion of the Vehicle Take Home Procedure/Policy at the January 2026 meeting.
- Ad hoc Conflict of Interest and Complaint Policy Committee (Campbell, Yoder, Dyer) to develop recommendations for the full Board.
- Administrator Dyer to recognize employee anniversaries during Administrator updates going forward.
- Elected Official/Deputy compensation, particularly the County Prosecutor's salary, to be revisited, with Commissioner Robbins recommending the 2027 budget process begin earlier (e.g., March).
- Boards and Commissions Appointments moved forward to the Regular Session on December 16, 2025.