Laketown Township manager candidate Bob Genetski, the current Allegan County Clerk and Register of Deeds, has withdrawn from consideration for the manager position. The board has a special meeting scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, January 30, 2025, at the township hall, 4338 Beeline Road. The new manager search is on the agenda as well as general discussions on past spending and revenue for the township in preparation for reviewing the draft 2025-2026 township budget.
Genetski’s withdrawal from consideration
In an email dated 1:34 p.m. Tuesday, January 28, Genetski asked that his name be removed from consideration for the manager position:
“Please remove my name from the list of candidates for the Laketown Township Manager position.
“It has been a blessing to be considered for the job.
“I look forward to working with you and the Board and serving the hardworking taxpayers of Laketown for a long time as their County Clerk and Register of Deeds.
“I have great confidence the Board of Trustees will find a shared vision on a manager that all five members can support.
“May God Bless you and Laketown for a great 2025,” he wrote in the email.
Background
Longtime Manager Al Meshkin announced in July 2024 his retirement effective January 3, 2025. In September 2024 the search for his replacement began under the guidance of Ryan Cotton of the search firm MGT. A search committee composed of all of the members of the current board of trustees as well as members of the board that served through November 20, 2024, narrowed the field from more than 40 applicants to five, and conducted interviews with the five in October. The field was then narrowed to three candidates. The search committee then recommended to the board that Genetski be retained as the new township manager.
On November 13, 2024, the township board unanimously approved negotiations with Genetski within certain financial parameters. In early December a tentative agreement was reached between Genetski and the township that was well within the compensation parameters set by the board. Despite this, in December and January, the board did not approve ratifying the contract with Genetski, with Supervisor Steven Ringelberg and Treasurer Jim Johnson supporting ratification, and Clerk Jim Delaney and Trustees Mike Koeman and Mark Timmerman opposing ratification.
On January 8, 2025, the board by a vote of four members in favor (Johnson, Delaney, Koeman and Timmerman), and one member opposed (Ringelberg), passed a resolution also offering the township manager position to Brandon Mersman, city manager of Bronson, Mich, while also leaving the Genetski contract negotiations outstanding. Supervisor Ringelberg at the time said that he opposed offering the same position to two candidates simultaneously because they both might reject the offer. Further, Ringelberg said that if he was a candidate he would think, “If you want me to come and work for you as your township manager, make me an offer. If you’re going to offer it to two people, why are you wasting my time?”
Attorney Ron Bultje had said he was “baffled” at the idea of simultaneous negotiations with both Mersman and Genetski, as reported in The Holland Sentinel on December 13.
“I don’t quite understand the concept of negotiating with two candidates,” he said via Zoom. “I’ve just not seen competing candidates negotiating simultaneous contracts and then having an employer pick which one they want. I can’t imagine candidates being willing to do that, wanting to do that.
“I’ve done this job for a long, long time, I don’t know how you negotiate simultaneous contracts and what we (would) ask Genetski or Mersman to do. Are we trying to get lowest bidder on the job? I’m just baffled, frankly.”
Mersman withdrew from consideration for the position soon after receiving the township’s proposal regarding the manager position. On January 15, 2025, the board unanimously revived the contract offer to Genetski, and as noted Genetski has now withdrawn as well.
What’s next
The board could decide its next step at the Thursday meeting.
“Everyone on the board loves Laketown Township. I am confident that the board of trustees going forward is going to work together in the best interest of Laketown Township and that we will identify and retain a great new professional manager for Laketown Township,” said Ringelberg.
The board has a number of options including keeping Ringelberg on as an interim manager until a new manager starts, hiring a temporary professional manager to serve until a new manager is hired, beginning a new search immediately, or waiting for some period before re-commencing the new manager search.
Cotton’s firm, MGT, will continue to assist with the search until a new full-time manager is retained by the township, and those continuing services will not cost the township extra money. Cotton has suggested that the board take some time over the next few months to work together and establish a reputation as a cohesive well-functioning board prior to going back out into the market for a long-term full-time manager.
Ringelberg, who is an attorney and who has also been chief executive officer and chief financial officer for several privately held companies that are much larger than the township in terms of staff and budget, worked full-time with Meshkin and the township staff starting on December 16, 2024, to ensure a smooth transition once Meshkin retired. On December 30, the board appointed Ringelberg interim manager without pay effective upon Meshkin’s retirement. On January 8, the board approved a salary for Ringelberg.
