Copyright M Live Michigan
OTTAWA COUNTY, MI -- Ottawa County commissioners have settled two more lawsuits stemming from the 2024 actions of a prior board. One of the lawsuits involved the Holland Sentinel, which sued to have closed-court testimony released involving an alleged $4 million settlement offered to Health Officer Adeline Hambley -- later deemed an unenforceable deal. Commissioners agreed Tuesday, Oct. 28 that, as part of a settlement with the Sentinel, they would release minutes of a Nov. 6, 2023 Ottawa County Board closed session that led to the disputed Jan. 19., 2024 court hearing. In exchange, the Sentinel will dismiss the lawsuit. A majority of commissioners in early 2023 sought to have Hambley terminated, but a legal battle ensued and commissioners later that year began work on a settlement. Following a closed session Nov. 6, commissioners voted “to accept Counsel’s recommendation regarding litigation and settlement activities” and at least some commissioners believed it was to pay Hambley $4 million to leave. Former board Chair Joe Moss, co-founder of the highly conservative political platform Ottawa Impact, says the vote was simply to continue negotiations. Hambley and her attorney also believed there was $4 million agreement and they asked a judge to weigh in. Muskegon County Judge Jenny McNeill heard testimony during a publicly closed hearing Jan. 19, 2024 and later ruled that Moss’ motion following the Nov. 6 closed session was too ambiguous to be enforceable. She acknowledged, though, that a general settlement agreement had been reached. The second lawsuit settled Tuesday involved paying $6,299 to Chester Township to cover attorney fees over a disputed $563,000 grant for cleanup of Crockery Lake. Commissioners, under Moss’ leadership in December 2024, voted to give Chester Township a $563,000 grant for the cleanup. Several new commissioners took office in January 2025, stopped the payment and asked a judge to decide if the grant was given legally. Ottawa County Circuit Judge Jon Hulsing recently decided it was not. The settlement agreement ratified Tuesday preempts any appeal attempt from Chester Township. Commissioners voted 7-4 to settle the Sentinel case, with Moss, Sylvia Rhodea, Kendra Wenzel and Allision Miedema voting no. They voted unanimously to approve the Chester Township case. Rhodea, upset that new commissioners derailed the grant, said she thought the county “bullied” Chester Township. “I’m very much disappointed in how the county handled this,” she said.
