WEST OLIVE, Mich. — A deeply divided Ottawa County Board of Commissioners sparred again in a public meeting Tuesday, this time over the contentious decision to replace their health officer.
The commission has been roiled in controversy ever since a contentious January 3, 2023 meeting that saw a far-right faction of commissioners associated with the conservative group Ottawa Impact replace the sitting county administrator and make decisions to replace the county’s legal counsel and health officer, among other changes.
As of Tuesday, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services told FOX 17 that Nathaniel Kelley, an applicant for the health officer role, still had not submitted his application to become the county’s next health officer.
The choice to consider Kelley, who made questionable claims about COVID-19, for the role stirred controversy.
Commissioners and newly-appointed County Administrator John Gibbs indicated at the meeting that Kelley would submit his resume to MDHHS on Tuesday. Questions still remain over whether the commission even has the power to replace Adaline Hambly, their current county health officer, to replace her with Kelley.
“What exactly was the process, how many applicants were considered, and what applicants were considered?” asked county commissioner Rebekah Curran.
“We’re not going back and rehashing the decision,” answered Sylvia Rhodea, vice-chair of the board.
“I didn’t ask to rehash the decision, what I asked was that these questions be answered,” replied Curran. “Clearly this is where we landed but I think for public knowledge and consumption it might be a good idea to address the questions of the constituents.”
Neither Cosby nor Rhodea noted who the other applicants up for consideration were, or even how many there were.
“Due to kind of the current atmosphere, I don’t feel compelled to share other applicants,” said Cosby. “I don’t think it’s fair if they were up for the position. If we were going to submit them for the position I absolutely, I would have permission to bring their names forward.”
“The number of applicants, I’m not really certain, I can’t put a hard number on that,” she continued.
Another question that remains is whether a county board of commissioners even has the authority to replace a sitting health officer. It was one of the main questions when they, at the January 3 meeting, replaced sitting county administrator John Shay with Gibbs, a failed third district congressional candidate.
Adding the item to the agenda late, the effort appeared to be concerted on the part of several Ottawa Impact Republican candidates, including Cosby and Rhodea – floating the question of whether crucial county decisions had been made ahead of time before commissioners were officially sworn in. There’s an ongoing Michigan Attorney General investigation into the matter of whether those actions may have violated the Open Meetings Act, which requires all county business to be conducted in view of the public.
Now, the same question is arising over the decision to replace Hambly with Kelley in the health officer's role.
It showed in a tense exchange between Cosby and Democratic Commissioner Doug Zylstra.
Zylstra: “My understanding is that folks reached out to prior to January 3, to give you names and resumes of folks who you may consider correct?”
Cosby: “Correct.”
Zylstra: “And you processed these resumes and information prior to January 3, correct?”
Cosby: “I looked through them, correct.”
Zylstra: “Okay, but you weren’t an officer of Ottawa County? You weren’t a County Commissioner. Under what authority were you reviewing documents when you weren’t a county commissioner and you had no authority to review, officially, any documents whatsoever?”
Cosby: “No, I think that was in preparation for my eventual position as County Commissioner and also responsibility to the county. Why would I not be able to review those, Doug?”
Zylstra: “I mean, you were not a commissioner at that time. We can all review information but obviously, a decision was made prior to the 3rd, when you weren’t a commissioner…you hadn’t taken the oath, you weren’t an officer. It doesn’t for me make sense.”
Cosby: “I can look at whatever resume or applications come in my direction, regardless of my position.”
Zylstra: “Right, but you made a decision as a commissioner, but you weren’t actually a commissioner.”
After the exchange, commission chair Joe Moss, an Ottawa Impact Republican and the group’s co-founder, argued that commissioners are entitled to prepare for decisions before or after taking the oath of office.
The decision to hire Kelley was taken to a vote during the January 3 meeting.
“I’ve made many decisions prior to the 3rd, I spent the last two years, two and a half years, making decisions Commissioner Zylstra,” said Moss. “Are you going to attack me for my previous decisions to get involved in Ottawa County, to rally parents against inappropriate health mandates, to help assist citizens as they take back control of their government?”
An opinion authored in 2021 by former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox – ironically over the very same issue of hiring and firing health officers in Ottawa County – stated that commissioners have to have a good reason for replacing a county health officer.
“Under Michigan law, the board of commissioners is expressly authorized to ‘remove an officer or agent appointed by the board if, in the board’s opinion, the officer or agent is incompetent to execute properly the duties of the office or if, on charges and evidence, the board is satisfied that the officer or agent is guilty of official misconduct, or habitual or willful neglect of duty,’” the report reads.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Cosby mentioned an opinion authored by the county’s own legal counsel that states otherwise but FOX17 has not seen or verified the existence of the opinion.
FOX 17 will continue to follow this story as it develops.
