Delta County MI Board Meeting: What Happened? (January 5th 2023)

Escanaba exists inside Delta County Michigan which is attracting some interest as vacation and investment destination. While they are different governing entities they sometimes need to coordinate to achieve longer term goals (i.e serving their population). In order to determine what potential economic initiatives and activities might come to a fruitful end we will need a level of knowledge of the activities of both (i.e what brings me here to understand as I engage in theory development). 

Why?

Well, politics is politics and as we know good and bad can come of that. At its root, all governance is about coordination different elements to create value for people (i.e. the ultimate stakeholders.) Being focused on helping their community and raising standards of living within the county can make a big difference in opening doors. We want to start sketching a path to prepare the economic landscape for the next generation. (In case there is confusion that is ALL our children. 💁). Each generation is built on the actions of the prior. Keeping them in mind helps people anchor their decisions (Feedback for Delta County Master Plan-2020). 

Information Blank Spot

I really wanted to watch the video of the meeting but I couldn't. 😢😭 The county page doesn't appear to have the January 5th 2023 meeting uploaded yet and I am not seeing it on YouTube either (They may not have a YouTube Channel). I think the county should do what Escanaba does and upload the videos just so people can watch at their leisure (In todays 24/7 world not everyone can login specifically at that time. The videos may be somewhere but I'm not seeing it at the moment. I used the search term "Delta County Michigan", "Delta County Commission Board", and various Boolean combinations. If you find where they are hosted please share with me. 🙇 FYI. I asked via their contact page if they had the agenda/minutes from the last meeting. You can contact them HERE if you desire. *update below**Additional update.)

New Team 

This is an interesting article that came out in our local and beloved Daily Press (FYI This is a good spot to put advertisements for local demographics.). Delta County Board has rocky start to new year. the article is not flattering so I'm not going to repeat some of it but it has something to do with Open Meeting/Sunshine laws. I'm very neutral for the moment because while I understand some of the personalities, I just can't have an opinion based on one article. It takes time to understand and its important to be receptive but not preemptive of judgement (In other words, its not my place to make judgement on things I don't know but it is my place to seek to understand if personalities help or hinder development for everyone else. ). 

Norm and Storm

Consider that just like any team you are likely to experience a little storming before there is a level of norming.  We can learn about how teams go through different stages An Exploratory Study of Group Development and Team Learning. The principles of applied psychology as it relates to government and/or business is still present as each person and team makes choices for a variety of reasons that relate to information (i.e. usually limited information and time), resources available to meet those challenges (This is why economic coordination to create a stronger local economy improves future adaptability of the community.) and personality (The neuroeconomic choices that leads to final choices. Self reflection and strategic decision making often improve those choices and outcomes. Consider Neuroeconomic Foundations of Economic Choice, The Neurological Approach, Decisions and Uncertainty  Psycho-Graphic-Delta)

The next meeting is January 17th, 2023 at 5:15 PM. You can see the limited agenda HERE. I still didn't see an agenda of either meetings but I have to admit I didn't spend a lot of time looking. That may require linking properly and if they are not up then I would believe it would be smart to start putting up the agenda for transparency reasons. Before anyone gets excited growth is a process of continuous improvement and over time that adds up to create momentum and prosperity. The details are sometimes important because there are likely lots of stakeholders interested in these meetings and related information. If I was an investor and wanted to invest money into the county I would want to obtain information that leads to decreased risks (From an investment standpoint, information is necessary for decision making that leads to more businesses within the county. See EV MI,  Start Up Invest Hedge)

*The administrator did respond. It takes time for the minutes to make their way onto the site. It looks like a month based on past agendas. I would likely shorten that to under a week to ensure the public has access. The video is available upon request through the County Administrator at https://deltacountymi.gov/administration/ I responded to the email and said thank you and then contacted the County Administrator to ask if they have the videos and/or are hosting them anywhere like Escanaba does. **01/17/2022 The County Administrator was gracious enough to reply and future meetings will be uploaded onto the County Site and YouTube. You can still request access to older videos. Its a feedback loop. It is a positive sign of adaptability and a learning organization. Let us see what the future brings! I'm so excited to watch!