At the start of the Special Meeting on Friday, Commissioner Joe Moss gave the invocation, asking for wisdom for the Board for the decision that lay before them. He also prayed for a comfort and a peace that surpasses all understanding for the families and students mourning from the recent shootings in Colorado and Minneapolis and the assassination of Charlie Kirk. He asked for continued courage, conviction, and compassion for the people of the United States as well as encouragement.

The prayer set the tone of the meeting, at least for four of the Board members. Commissioners Joe Moss, Allison Miedema, Kendra Wenzel, and Sylvia had arrived prepared to discuss and perhaps to compromise, but ready to talk through the merits of the candidates who would fit best the values and principles of Ottawa County. What they were met with was a stone wall.

The other seven commissioners, John Teeples, Josh Brugger, Phil Kuyers, Jacob Bonnema, Doug Zylstra, Jordan Jorritsma, and Jim Barry, had not come to debate. As has been evident throughout the selection process, they gave the impression of impatience, that there was more important work to attend to and that the position should have been filled already.  

The seven commissioners had one candidate in mind and one candidate only, Patrick Waterman. And this wasn’t Waterman’s first interview with the County. He previously was the Ottawa County Deputy Administrator for ten months back in 2022-23, until he quit. Commissioners Moss, Miedema, and Rhodea were on the 2023-24 Board during that time and claimed their interactions left a level of distrust. It also was during that time that the Board closed the DEI office.

Following his employment with Ottawa County, Waterman accepted a role with the City of Wyoming as Deputy City Manager. During the interviews last week, Commissioner Moss asked Waterman why his current job description lists championing DEI as one of his essential functions and probed to understand his view on the ideology. Rather than confirm his stance either way, Waterman merely denied that DEI was listed as part of his job description, leaving observers to make assumptions.

In addition to having concerns about his ideology, Commissioner Moss shared that the experience of two of the other candidates far surpassed Waterman's. Commissioner Miedema built on Moss' comments by reading notes from the Citizen Work Group interviews. It appeared that Waterman’s evaluations were the only ones listing concerns, both about experience and characteristics. On top of the evaluations, Commissioner Wenzel read what she said was one of several emails she’d received highlighting a mistrust in Waterman.

Commissioner Rhodea was less direct, mentioning that leaders who doled dangerous ideology or did nothing to protect their citizens over the last few difficult years, should not be hired or promoted.

The more that came out and stacked against Waterman, the more the seven supporting him seemed to dig in their heels.

There was an offer by those not wanting Waterman to support any of the other four candidates so that there could be agreement. None of the seven budged though they had bantered about how beneficial it would be if the Board could be unified in its decision.

They were at an impasse.

Included in the back and forth was criticism of the way Commissioner Moss had interviewed Waterman. Several times Moss' line of questioning was referred to as “personal attacks.” Commissioner Moss did set the record straight, saying nothing about what he’d done was a personal attack. He’d asked questions about facts, and for them to call it anything else was creating a “narrative.”

No apology or correction followed. Just silence. And just like that, Chair Teeples called the vote. There would be no debate of merits, no compromise, no further consideration. The discussion, and the search, was finished.  

As can be presumed, seven voted for Patrick Waterman and four voted for another candidate, Matthew Farrar. There was a heaviness in the room. It could be ventured that no one was pleased with how the meeting had transpired. A vote was then called for the contract negotiations for Waterman. There were the same yes’s and no’s as the previous vote.

At the end of the meeting, the Chair allowed each commissioner to share a few words. People were thanked, the process was given props, and though the disappointment felt thick, those outvoted were gracious.

While Commissioner Moss said he was excited to move forward, Commissioner Wenzel mentioned being saddened that though given an opportunity to unify, the rest of the Board chose not to.

Commissioner Rhodea held to her hope in the young people coming up who are grounded and courageous, saying they are greatly needed in our nation and community. And Commissioner Miedema said she was grateful to serve and above all, "This is the day that the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

So, for a meeting that began with a somberness reflecting on the week’s tragic events, and concluded with frustration and division, be encouraged that there are those on the Board who continue, as Miedema said, to be “grateful to serve” and as Rhodea said, “to be committed to ongoing accountability to our community values.”

And that while today was a new day that the Lord hath made, so is tomorrow, and the next day and the next.