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    • Allegan County Clerk among candidates for Laketown Township manager
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    Allegan County Clerk among candidates for Laketown Township manager

    Umito Posted on

    Laketown Township. — Five candidates will interview Wednesday to become Laketown Township’s next superintendent, including some familiar faces.

    The township manager search committee met on Wednesday, October 23 to review and select candidates in a closed session. Five candidates were chosen and their names were revealed on the municipality’s website on Monday October 28.

    Among them are a county elected official, a local school board member and an out-of-state candidate. Each will be interviewed by the manager search committee on Wednesday October 30.

    Laketown is looking to hire a new superintendent after current township manager Al Meshkin announced in July his plans to retire on Jan. 3, 2025. He has been the township superintendent for 35 years.

    More: Laketown Board of Trustees will partner with new trustees to choose a new superintendent

    Candidates for the position, listed alphabetically by last name, are:

    • Peter Bratt, director of operations and skilled trades for Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Parks.
    • Andra Dumbrell, director of human resources for Harbor Transit.
    • Robert Genetski, County Clerk and Register of Deeds.
    • Brandon Mersman, city manager of Bronson, Michigan.
    • Karen Sherwood, deputy township manager and director of human resources for Grand Haven Township.

    Bratt is also an elected official in Wisconsin, serving as a District 7 alderman on the Mequon City Common Council.

    Dumbrell is also expected to take office later this year. She is one of four candidates vying for four trustee positions on the Grand Haven Township Board of Trustees.

    Genetski is a former state representative and has served as Allegan County clerk since 2017, winning terms in 2016 and 2020. He is running unopposed for a third term on November 5.

    More: Laketown Township sets timetable for search for new manager

    Mersman has served as Bronson’s city manager since 2015 and is originally from the Netherlands.

    Sherwood, a former school principal, is currently a member of the Saugatuck Public Schools Board of Education. She was appointed to the board in December 2023. Sherwood is not running for re-election to retain her seat in November.

    A special meeting to conduct first-round interviews will begin at 9 a.m. on October 30. The committee will interview Bratt at 9:15 a.m.; Genetski at 10; Dumbrell at 11; Sherwood at 11:45 a.m.; and Mersman at 12:30 p.m.

    The meeting will be held at City Hall, 4338 Beeline Road, and is open to the public. After the interviews, committee members will rank the candidates and choose two to invite back for a second interview on November 6.

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    Earlier this month, the Laketown Township Board of Trustees created a special committee to manage the search for a new manager. It consists of the five current board members – Supervisor Linda Howell, Treasurer Jim Johnson, Clerk Amber Davis and Trustees Jim Delaney and Patrick Dietrich – and three candidates who won their primary elections in August and are running unopposed for board seats in November – supervisor candidate. Steven Ringelberg and director candidates Michael Koeman and Mark Timmerman.

    The committee met on October 23 to choose candidates to interview. There were about 40 candidates in total, which were narrowed down to 11 who were presented to the group by search consultant Ryan Cotton of MGT.

    — Contact journalist Mitchell Boatman at [email protected].

    Umito
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