By James Windell
Based on the interest in the proposed Community Recreation Director agreement, which the South Haven City council did not approve on April 7, it was not surprising that the topic would come up at the South Haven Area Recreation Authority regular meeting on April 15, 2025.
What was surprising was the intense emotions that the City Council’s decision to postpone approval generated.
Scott Reinert, SHARA Recreation Administrator, noting that the South Haven City Council did not support the agreement for a Community Recreation Director, said, “Honestly, we’re trying to determine our next steps. It’s up to the City Council’s discretion as to where we go from here.”
Reinert went on to talk about the 10 members of the team that worked over several months to come up with an agreement that would meet the needs of the South Haven Community as well as satisfy the millage approval for a Community Recreation Director. “I thought the City Council would support us,” Reinert said.
SHARA board member Maureen Lewandowski weighed into the discussion by stating that she did not understand the City Council’s reluctance to approve the agreement, “After voters voted on it.” Ross Stein, Chair of SHARA, said that he did not know why the City Council needed a voice in the operation of a recreation director or why they needed “control” over this person.
City Council Member Joe Reeser, who is the city’s representative on SHARA, admitted that he voted against approval. “I voted that I needed more information,” Reeser said. “But I thought that if we sat down and talked about it we could resolve it.”
Both Stein and Reinert pointed out that the 10 people who had worked on this agreement brought relationships and skills to get this agreement accomplished and Reinert added: “I thought we came up with the best solution for South Haven.”
City Manager Kate Hosier, who was in attendance at the SHARA meeting, said that as a member of the group that came up with this agreement that they recognized that they were aware that this would be the first year for a Community Recreation Director and “we knew there would be start-up costs. It was evident to us that the City did not have the resources that the school had. We were trying to get something off the ground. It’s not going to be perfect, but we wanted a start.”
Reinert reported that additional discussions have taken place since the SHARA meeting, and that the agreement language between South Haven Public Schools and the City of South Haven has been modified to reflect the intended collaborative approach to the hiring and goals of the position.
“We believe we’ve come to alignment, and I think we can get this approved at the next City Council meeting,” Reinert said.
