City Clerk Amanda Rodriguez (left)swears in Leah Kuipers as finance director
The Wayland City Council Monday night appointed Leah Kuipers as the city’s new finance director/deputy city manager.
Kuipers, who had been working in the financial department of Wayland Union Schools, replaces Kate Balfoort, who stepped down last month to take a position with the City of Kentwood.
Though Kuipers’ start date with the city will be on Monday, April 13, she will still be working with Wayland Union Schools until the end of April. According to the Employment Agreement, the starting annual salary for the new Finance Director will be $99,000.
Legal Assistance Center aid sought
Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker presented to the council the work being done by the Allegan County Legal Assistance Center (ACLAC). Eighty-six Wayland city residents have been assisted in the past year in matters involving divorce, custody, personal protection orders, and parenting time.
ACLAC provides tools and resources to help people represent themselves in civil court matters. The ACLAC does not provide legal advice, or act as an attorney, but it does provide legal information free of charge.
Sheriff Frank Baker also was on hand, and told the council about how the ACLAC is a vital resource for law enforcement. Baker said that when people call officers to their home at 2 am, the police want to help. Unfortunately, police cannot give legal advice, but with the ACLAC, they have a resource that they can refer people to for the legal help they need.
Judge Bakker and Sheriff Baker thanked the Wayland City Council for their support of the ACLAC.
Meals on Wheels seeks support for hot meals
City Manager Erik Wilson included an email from Allegan County Administrator Robert Sarro about the senior meals program. The email was in response to a representative from Community Action of Allegan County (CAAC) who presented concerns at the last council meeting about hot meals not being delivered to senior homes.
“Sadly, the county is observing significant misinformation being released by other parties,” Sarro wrote in the email. “The county and Meals on Wheels (MOW) have amended their agreement to allow delivery to occur as little as one day a week if the client requests such and their assessment supports it, up to five days a week (every weekday, excluding holidays) with the option of a hot meal (heated in-home by the driver with the client’s permission).”
Meals on Wheels of West Michigan started delivering the senior meals March 11. Feedback from the deliveries, according to Sarro, has been positive, with many of the clients preferring fewer deliveries. City Council took no action on this information.
Items approved by the City Council
A request from The Catz Den to rent the Wayland City Park for a fall crafts show was approved. The craft show will be on Saturday, Sept. 26 from 7 am to 5 pm, with space for up to 50 vendors.
Also approved was a hard cap on city employee health care costs. The action was necessary to be in compliance with Public Act 152, which limits public employer contributions to medical benefit plans.
Finally, the council approved the auctioning of a standby generator that was installed in the public safety building in 1978. With the installation of a new standby generator last month, the old unit is no longer needed.
