The Kent County Board of Commissioners adopted Resolution 86 to approve a Brownfield Plan tied to a housing project presented by Flat River Outreach Ministries (speaker identified as Wendy Price).

Wendy Price, introduced herself as executive director of Flat River Outreach Ministries and described a housing project in Lowell consisting of three buildings with 17 units (three-bedroom units) designed to house up to 40 people. Price said the nonprofit has partnered with ICCF Community Homes and Eastbrook Homes and secured both financial and in-kind support from community partners in the Lowell and greater Grand Rapids area.

Commissioner Hildebrand and others thanked Price and Flat River Outreach Ministries for the broader community services the organization provides — including food pantry and thrift-store operations — and noted a board invitation to tour the new units. Commissioner Faber and Chair Green, both of whom serve on the county Brownfield Authority board, said this project is the authority’s first active use and that the county’s tool is available to local units that lack their own brownfield authority.

Josh Spencer, identified in the meeting as a county staff member working with the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, said that officially the number of other projects in the Brownfield Authority queue is zero because other proposals are still in preliminary conversations; he said at least two projects are working toward submission and several communities are exploring the tool.

Administrator Vandenberg clarified that local units that have their own brownfield authority may still opt to use the county’s Brownfield Authority for specific projects; county oversight can provide long-term monitoring to help preserve affordability over time, staff said.

The motion to adopt Resolution 86 was moved by Commissioner Faber and supported by Commissioner Pacla. The board adopted the resolution by voice vote; the chair announced the motion carries. No roll-call tally was recorded on the floor.