At a regular meeting of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners (“Board”) held in West Olive, Michigan on September 27, 2022, at 1:30 p.m.
PRESENT Francisco Garcia, Joseph Baumann, Douglas Zylstra, Allen Dannenberg, Randall Meppelink, Kyle Terpstra, James Holtvluwer, Gregory DeJong, Matthew Fenske.
ABSENT: Philip Kuyers and Roger Bergman
The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Gregory DeJong and supported by Commissioner:
WHEREAS, the Grand River Band of the Ottawa Indian Nation has petitioned the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners for a letter of support of its application for official tribe recognition by the United States Department of Interior;
WHEREAS, the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners has adopted a “Policy on Resolutions” that generally prohibits resolutions that do not exercise the County’s limited statutory powers as recognized in Michigan case law;
WHEREAS, the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners hereby finds that supporting the Grand River Band in its federal efforts to gain recognition merits a one-time exception to the County’s Policy on Resolutions for unique cultural and historical reasons; namely the validation of its own namesake;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners hereby offers its support to the Grand River Band of the Ottawa Indian Nation in its efforts to gain recognition from the United States Department of Interior and directs Corporation Counsel and its Board Chairperson to draft and sign respectively a letter enclosing this resolution and offering Ottawa County’s support for the Grand River Band’s application for recognition as an official tribe of the Ottawa Indian Nation;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Resolution suspends the County’s Policy on Resolutions for this one-time application due to the importance of the matter to Ottawa County’s history and culture and ratifies in all other respects the County’s Policy;
Yeas: Allen Dannenberg, Joseph Baumann, Randall Meppelink, Kyle Terpstra, Francisco Garcia, Gregory DeJong, James Holtvluwer, Douglas Zylstra, Matthew Fenske. Neas: None