At the June 17, 2024 meeting of the Grand Haven City Council, Councilman Ryan Cummins announced he will be resigning his seat and his last meeting will be August 5, 2024. Cummins explained that in February he was appointed the Interim City Manager for the City of Saugatuck, and an employment agreement was recently approved for him to be the full-time Saugatuck City Manager. Cummins also recently resigned from his position on the Marine Patrol Unit for the Ottawa County Sheriff’s office so that his attention can be dedicated to the City of Saugatuck. (1:43:45)
The 9.5 years Cummins was actively serving the City of Grand Haven were not without controversy. Most recently, Cummins was named in a complaint filed by former Board of Light and Power (BLP) General Manager David Walters. Walters claims that while serving on the Grand Haven City Council, Cummins was actively involved in taking actions that undermined the BLP, interfered with and disrupted Walters’ job performance, and had a detrimental effect on his professional reputation. During the May 20, 2024 meeting, the Grand Haven City Council voted to cover legal expenses for Cummins related to Walters’ claim.
Emails from 2022 and 2023 involving members of the Board of Light and Power Charter Change Coalition (BLPCCC) include Councilman Cummins. The BLPCCC sought to remove the independence of the BLP by placing it under the control of the city council, making involvement in the BLPCCC of any BLP or city council elected official a conflict of interest. The controversial ballot initiative led by the BLPCCC failed during the November 2023 election.
In June 2022, when the Grand Haven City Council was contemplating legalizing marijuana, BLP board member Andrea Hendrick’s business partner at I Site Consulting, Landon Bartley, gave public comment, but did not disclose their relationship. I Site Consulting Group assists cannabis businesses in finding locations to open dispensaries and navigate the permitting process at the local level. After Bartley spoke, former Mayor Catherine McNalley asked him a few questions which provoked an over-the-top reaction from Cummins. (47:29)
(The video is available after you click on it)
Months prior to his outburst, during the February 7, 2022 Grand Haven City Council meeting, Mayor McNalley added an item to the agenda to hear a legal briefing on the topic of marijuana from the city attorney. At the beginning of the February meeting (3:00), Council Member Cummins made a motion to discontinue the marijuana legal discussion in front of the public, and direct the city attorney to prepare a written opinion for the planning commission, followed by a reconsideration of the attorney’s advice in closed session. The motion passed 3-2 with Council Members Ryan Cummins, Kevin McLaughlin, and Karen Lowe voting in favor and Councilman Fritz and Mayor McNalley voting against.
There appears to be a lack of transparency with some of the past actions taken by the city council involving Cummins. Cummins sighted his position as Saugatuck City Manager as prompting his resignation, but I wonder if being named in the Walters’ complaint also played a role in his decision.