Strife between the Board of Light and Power (BLP) and Grand Haven City Council is showing few signs of extinguishing, but more of the events that led to the current situation are being revealed.
BLP General Manager Dave Walters provided an update on his retirement agreement negotiation with the BLP board, and reiterated several concerns involving City of Grand Haven and BLP elected officials during the December 21, 2023 board meeting through a written statement. The concerns included:
The actions and activities of two individual BLP board members and three Grand Haven City Council members that have not been in the best interests of the constituents they represent, or the employees and organization they oversee.
The handling of whistleblower complaints.
The response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request involving emails of BLP board member Andrea Hendrick.
Walters had raised concerns about his work environment and the actions of specific elected officials during his last two performance reviews, but felt his concerns had not sufficiently been addressed. Several misleading statements had been made by elected officials and quoted in local media. Additionally, some elected officials had made it clear that they planned to eliminate his position and force him out. The email below between Grand Haven City Council member Karen Lowe and BLP board member Andrea Hendrick from two years ago shows their intent.
Walters along with the BLP board and vice chairs, had worked out a tentative settlement agreement involving his early retirement, and Walters made the announcement during the October 19, 2023 board meeting. He explained that a toxic work environment and the threat of having his job eliminated by the proposed charter change on the November 2023 ballot had spurred the settlement talks and the October 19 announcement. A follow-up statement was provided on October 21, 2023. Today, over 60 days later, a final agreement has not yet been reached.
In his December 21, 2023, statement he said, “There is no question that inaccurate portrayals of BLP activities have entered into the ‘public record’ in recent months, and into our public debate.” To corroborate his claims, Walters referenced an email written by former Grand Haven Mayor Catherine McNally, “Mayor’s Perspective Upon Leaving Office.”
Mayor McNally stated, “In my opinion, Hendrick, Cummins, McLaughlin, and Lowe have not honored their oaths to support the Grand Haven Charter. [] For the last two years, they have done everything possible to undermine the working relationship between council and the BLP.”
In his October 21, 2023, statement, Walters said, “It is not a secret that both [board members Hendrick and Knoth] have openly expressed their desires to replace management leadership since the day they were sworn into office on the board.” Walters added, “As we all know, these elective city officers have worked cooperatively with each other, surrogates, and political allies, [] to dissolve the board and eliminate my position, as established in the city charter. They have no doubt tried to conceal the level of their involvement in such matters from the public.” Walters called for the BLP board to “further review and investigate the extent of the alleged misconduct.”
Walters also referenced a whistleblower claim that was alleged against the BLP just prior to the November 2023 election in September. It “was initiated by this same group of elective city officers.” He then asked, “Was this investigative measure initiated to divert the public’s attention away from their own behavior during a campaign in which some of them were running for office, and all of them were supporting the charter amendment that ultimately failed?”
Rather than bringing the concerns to the BLP board, the whistleblower brought the claims to the Grand Haven City Council through Attorney Sarah Howard to Attorney Ron Bultje. City council did not direct the whistleblower to the BLP board, but proceeded to launch an independent investigation which Mayor McNally and Council member Mike Fritz voted against. Walters commented on this series of events, “I believe the council inappropriately usurped the [BLP] board’s responsibility and authority in such BLP employment matters.”
Finally, Walters addressed the response to emails requested from the BLP via FOIA. “I am also totally confused by the latitude being afforded a public official, and their private attorney, by the BLP and the city attorney, to delay the process of turning over documents the city attorney has now determined are public records under the FOIA. [] Why is the city attorney still withholding these public documents more than a month after completing his review?”
There are many unanswered questions and allegations of impropriety that warrant investigation. It appears that several elected officials and some unelected officials have taken actions that are not in the best interests of those they represent, and the public deserves to know the whole truth of what has taken place behind the scenes.
To read Walter’s full December 21, 2023, statement click the document link below.