County Commission

Nearly 1,400 new direct and indirect jobs, and more than $37 million in new investment were a few of the economic benefits provided to St. Joseph County through Southwest Michigan First in 2014. The highlights, detailed during Tuesday’s St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners meeting, were presented by Ken Jones of Kalamazoo-based Southwest Michigan First. Through the first 11 months …

St. Joseph County’s Board of Commissioners agreed to extension services provided by Michigan State University for 2015. Reached during Tuesday’s commission meeting, the agreement calls for the funding of one full-time extension educator and two part-time 4-H program coordinators. The services will cost the county more than $118,000. In an unrelated matter, Three Rivers resident Lee Zimmerman was appointed to …

The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners last week approved letters of understanding with seven different parties, including four units affiliated with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union. The agreements, along with a 3 percent raise, were reached with AFSCME employees from Probate Court, Friend of the Court, the General Unit and Family Division. In addition, …

A structural assessment will be conducted of the mill building at Rawson’s King Mill Park in Leonidas Township. During last week’s county commission meeting, commissioners approved Fleis and Vandenbrink to conduct a structural evaluation of the historical building. Human resources director Elishia Arver said the inspection will allow the county to debate future options of the building. Those options include …

Members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners agreed this week to fill the vacancy of human resources director. Tuesday’s commission meeting was the last for Elishia Arver, 36, who is vacating the position to take a human resources job in the private sector with a company in Angola, Ind. A job description and salary range were not mentioned. …

Plans to develop a single point of entry into the St. Joseph County Courthouse moved forward Tuesday after a 3-1 vote by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. Construction of the 1,400-square-foot addition would cost an estimated $250,000, while project architect Landmark Design Group of Grand Rapids would add another $17,500 cost to the proposed project. Drawings show the …

St. Joseph County officials this week agreed to the purchase of a parcel of land in the village of Centreville. The parcel is the former Frank Olney residence, at 635 E. Main St. and located directly east of the county sheriff’s department. Following brief discussion on the matter Tuesday, commissioners approved the purchase for $180,000. The sale is contingent on …

A work session for the county’s 2015 fiscal year budget scheduled for today has been canceled. During Tuesday’s county commission meeting, finance director Joni Smith said the proposed budget is in order and a public hearing on it will take place at the commission’s Dec. 2 meeting.

The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners has approved a number of personnel matters at its recent meetings. Jacob Fassett has been hired as a part-time corrections officer, while Nancy Franovich has been employed on a temporary basis for victim services. Also, Virginia Trattles’ employment has been shifted to 30 hours a week in the finance department and 10 hours …

The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners has agreed to return to staging its committee of the whole meetings twice a month. The five-member panel last month decided to assemble at 8 a.m. the Wednesday before its twice-a-month board meetings. The committee of the whole meetings starting in January this year were held just once a month, prior to the …