Grand Traverse County board charges BATA members with 'willful neglect'

Mar. 3—TRAVERSE CITY — The Bay Area Transportation Authority Board of Directors last month increased its members from seven to nine, with the new seats to be held by at-large members appointed by a vote of the BATA board.

It's something that doesn't sit well with Grand Traverse County Commissioner Brad Jewett, or with a majority of the county board, which voted 6 to 3 along party lines Wednesday to charge two members with willful neglect of duty.

They are BATA board Chair Richard Cochrun and Secretary Robert Fudge, both of whom were appointed by the GTC board. Jewett is in his fifth year on the BATA board.

Cochrun and Fudge are expected to come to the April 5 county meeting and answer to the charges. If the board chooses to move ahead, their appearance will be the first step in having them removed from the BATA board.

Jewett on Wednesday said increasing the number of board members is a ploy to get two members that were not re-appointed by the county board back on the BATA board. Those members are Linda Joppich and Nicole van Ness.

Joppich gave public comment at Wednesday's meeting, saying she doesn't want to be back on the BATA board.

"You're doing a real disservice to taxpayers by getting so involved with this," Joppich told board members.

Bruce Moore, who also spoke, was upset that the item was added to the agenda at the beginning of the meeting when it could have been added Friday, the day following the BATA meeting. It was also added after the first public comment. Moore said people would likely have commented on it if they had known about it.

"That's a clear decision to blindside everyone on this issue," Moore said. "What you have done is not illegal, but it is absolutely not a best practice."

Jewett also opposes the BATA board appointing its own three at-large members, saying that is "cherry-picking" members who will do the bidding of BATA's administration. It is also something not done by any other board or authority in the county, he said.

The BATA board currently has four members that are appointed by the GTC board, two by the Leelanau County Commission and one at-large member who has always been appointed by the BATA board, according to Kelly Dunham, executive director of BATA.

When contacted by the Record-Eagle on Thursday, Fudge said he has gotten a lot of phone calls since Wednesday's GTC board decision. He also received an email from county Administrator Nate Alger requesting his appearance at the April meeting.

"I think it's ridiculous," Fudge said. "I don't know why (Jewett) did it except maybe he didn't get his own way."

Fudge said in Jewett's five years on the BATA board he never complained about how the one at-large member was seated.

Cochrun did not return a call from the Record-Eagle.

Commissioner Darryl V. Nelson supports reviewing the bylaws and having Cochrun and Fudge come and talk to the board. As an independent authority, BATA is not beholden to the county board, but is to the taxpayers, he said.

Commissioner Ashlea Walter said it can't be assumed the at-large members the BATA board appoints will vote with the executive director. County board members should also keep in mind the taxpayers just voted overwhelmingly to renew the bus service's millage.

"That is how people hold an organization like BATA accountable," Walter said.

Commissioner T.J. Andrews said the county board should engage an attorney on the matter, especially in light of their July removal of Justin Reed and Nicole Miller from the Northern Lakes Community Mental Health Authority board after claims the pair neglected their official duty after they voted against the wishes of some GTC commissioners, who appointed them.

Their removal is being challenged by the Northwest Michigan Lawyers Committee, a local arm of the American Civil Liberties Union, who say the board's actions were illegal and violated Reed and Miller's Constitutional right to due process. The NMLC in January asked Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's office to resolve the issue of whether they have the right to hold office.

"I do have a concern that once we appoint people to BATA, their responsibility is to BATA," Andrews said. "It doesn't sound to me like the two members who voted were going against anything we told them as a board to do or not do, so I'm confused as to how they neglected a duty."

Walter, Andrews and Lauren Flynn, all Democrats, voted against charging Cochrun and Fudge.

The video and minutes of the Feb. 23 BATA meeting show that the Board Bylaws and Rules of Procedure were amended to say the board shall consist of nine members. The Articles of Incorporation were also amended to say the Board Governance Committee is responsible for identifying gaps in representation on the board and shall strive to maintain balance in board composition when appointing at-large seats.

Balance should consist of members to represent Traverse City; riders; rural townships; urban townships such as Acme, East Bay, Elmwood and Garfield townships; and a multi-modal transportation (TART, Norte, Groundworks) representative, according to the Articles.

The amendments were not approved without contentious debate. New member Joe Underwood, who also represents GTC, said the move was "pure, unadulterated empire-building" that puts the authority of spending taxpayer dollars in the hands of people who are not accountable to elected officials.

"This is an absolute travesty of the public trust," Underwood said at the BATA board meeting. "You might as well be in Russia."

Dunham responded that the same thing can be said of the county board when it ignores recommendations for appointments made by the BATA board. She said the increase in members is a way to rebalance the composition of the board to give it a broader base of representation.

"It is not about the individual," Dunham said when contacted this week. "It is about the seats, the representation. No one is trying to bring back an individual. We're trying to have a well-rounded board."