Southwest Michigan Building Authority
February 2, 2017
A special meeting was held at the Oshtemo Township Hall, Chair Jeff Sorensen called the meeting to
order at 2:00 p.m.
PRESENT:
Jeff Sorensen, Chair, Cooper Representative
Deb Everett, Secretary, Oshtemo Representative
Libby Heiny-Cogswell, Oshtemo Representative
Carol DeHaan, Treasurer, Cooper Representative
Larry Stehouwer, Citizen at Large
Also present were Building Official Jerry Reitenour, Attorney James Porter, and Administrative
Operations Assistant Crystal Bartel.
Financial Institution
Ms. Bartel advised she has been working with a representative at Mercantile Bank to establish an
account, obtain credit cards, and begin direct deposit of payroll.
Motion by Sorensen, second by DeHaan to authorize Building Official Reitenour to sign the Mercantile
Bank Borrowing Agreement on behalf of SMBA, obtain credit cards for himself, Building Inspector
Garrett Reitenour, and Administrative Operations Assistant Bartel with a limit of $2,500 for each.
Carried 5-0.
Motion by DeHaan, second by Stehouwer to authorize SMBA payroll direct deposit; Ms. Bartel will
upload after payroll is approved by Mr. Reitenour. Carried.
Other Business
Vehicle Purchase
Motion by Heiny-Cogswell, second by DeHaan to authorize Mr. Sorensen and Mr. Reitenour to
determine if a retired Oshtemo Fire Department pick-up truck will meet SMBA needs and negotiate a
purchase price using industry standard appraisals. Carried 5-0.
Attorney Porter advised he will provide the draft Employee Handbook for review, he is awaiting Cooper
Attorney Homier input on the revised by-laws, and is working to establish the retirement plan for SMBA.
Ms. Bartel advised she is working to merge duplicate addresses in the building permit program and will
be working with Oshtemo and Cooper assessors’ offices to address other database issues.
Meeting adjourned at 2:30 p.m.
Deb Everett, Secretary
Next meeting – February 23, 2017 – 8:30 a.m.
