Community Updates: Friday, December 9

New Changes Coming to the Grand Rapids City Commission Schedule Next Year

On Wednesday, December 7, the City of Grand Rapids sent out a press release to announce that the Grand Rapids City Commission will be making changes to its upcoming 2023 meeting schedule. Beginning next year, the first City Commission meeting of each month is scheduled to begin at 2:00pm -- several hours earlier than the start of its 2022 meetings. The second City Commission meeting of each month will not experience a change in scheduled start time and will begin at 7:00pm. According to Joel Hondorp, the Grand Rapids City Clerk, the City hopes that this new schedule will encourage more Grand Rapidians to participate in City Commission meetings by making them more accessible:

"The new schedule allows those who cannot attend or watch the traditional evening meetings to now catch at least one at a more convenient time. This new schedule allows us to be more transparent and open local government up to more residents and stakeholders."

The schedule given in Wednesday's press release can be viewed below:

Additionally, in a separate press release that was also sent out on Wednesday, the City of Grand Rapids announced that an Oath of Office ceremony will be held at City Hall at 7:00pm on December 14. At this event, multiple elected individuals will be officially sworn into office, including: 

• Max Frantz, City Comptroller
• Lisa Knight, Second Ward Commissioner-Elect
• Drew Robbins, First Ward Commissioner-Elect
• Kelsey Perdue, Third Ward Commissioner-Elect
• Sheila Garcia, Library Commissioner
• Lauren Woolsey, Library Commissioner
• Kristin Kopec, Library Commissioner

Lisa Knight, Drew Robbins, and Kelsey Perdue will be officially taking over for Commissioners Joe Jones, Kurt Reppart, and Senita Lenear (respectively) on January 1, 2023. 

For more information about the changes to the City Commission meeting schedule, click here. For more information about the upcoming Oath of Office ceremony, click here.

Grand Rapids Human Resources Director to Retire in Summer of 2023

In a press release sent out on Monday, December 5, the City of Grand Rapids announced that Desireé A. Frugé, the Human Resources Director for the City, will be officially retiring on August 2, 2023. According to the release, Frugé has been with the City of Grand Rapids for almost 20 years and has worked hard to recruit new City staff, improve the overall well-being of City employees, and ensure that the City's workforce is as diverse and inclusive as the greater Grand Rapids community is. Mark Washington, the Grand Rapids City Manager, made the following statement in Monday's press release:

"Our organization has benefited greatly from Frugé's hard work and dedication to the City of Grand Rapids. She has helped attract top national talent to our City, she's revamped the human resources department through a reorganization and has helped maintain staffing levels during the greatest resignation by spearheading wage and benefit studies, implementing a popular wellness program and adopting better work-life balance programs for employees throughout our organization."

The City of Grand Rapids has stated that it will begin looking for eligible candidates to take over as Human Resources Director within the next few months.

Also in the News:

• The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) has announced that, in January of 2023, Concerts Under the Stars will be returning to the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium. For more information, visit the GRPM's website here.

• The Rapid has announced that, as of Thursday, most of its bus fleet (around 70%) now has active air purification systems installed to help keep its riders healthy. 

• The City of Grand Rapids, in partnership with Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. and Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University, has announced that ArtPrize 2.0 will begin on September 14, 2023. 

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