OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — Ottawa County commissioners spent considerable time discussing the Crockery Lake cleanup contract during Tuesday's regularly scheduled board meeting.
“Just give it an opportunity,” Commissioner Gretchen Cosby said to Commissioner Jacob Bonnema during the meeting.
The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners narrowly passed the proposal. The company tasked with the project is Restorative Lake Sciences. The owner of the company is Dr. Jennifer Jermalowicz-Jones.
“I’ve restored many other lakes using different approaches, but this one is the most comprehensive,” Dr. Jones said. “We issued a proposal to the county for the lake-restoration program for Crockery Lake. They had us present that plan to the Board of Commissioners, which we did. I believe it was back in September, October.”
Dr. Jones has a 106-page plan. She says it will work to clean up the lake.
Crockery_ Lake_ Restoration_ Plan_RLS 2024 (1) by WXMI on Scribd
So, FOX 17 asked where she had done this kind of project before.
“Actually, I use the community capital's framework, which is what I did my dissertation work on, and that's what I'm going to be applying to this particular framework,” Dr. Jones replied.
County documents show the money comes from the county’s General Fund but is part of the Monsanto Roundup settlement. The county transfers the money to Chester Township, which will then pay Restorative Lake Sciences.
“They have been very engaged in wanting to work with the county. I think when you're doing a project like this, you should work with the level of government that's closest to the people, and that would be the township,” Commissioner Chairperson and Ottawa Impact Founder Joe Moss said.
People living on the lake celebrated the move by the county.
“I thank you for your willingness to help us, and you're going to be those who didn't work for it necessarily. You're going to be so surprised at what happens, and it's going to exceed everybody's expectations, I'm sure. So thank you again,” Crockery Lake Association President Betsy Ludwick said.
This project also gives hope to other residents that the county will invest in their lakes. Outdoor Discovery Center Greenway Manager Dan Callam explained his hope to see county funding sent to Lake Macatawa.
“I am leaving an updated report, funding proposal and request for your consideration from our advisory committee,” Callam said.
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