Year in Review: The highlight reel of Coldwater news in 2022

COLDWATER — Writing the Year in Review column for 2022 feels a bit loaded. It's almost easier to say what didn't happen than what did.

Last year was no exception, as the greater Coldwater area faced rejection of a millage that would have financially supported Branch County's nursing home facility, a looming budget strain for the county and a midterm election that heralded a sea change in Michigan.

Here's what we deemed the most impactful topics of 2022:

Maple Lawn Millage

What is next for Maple Lawn?

The county-owned nursing home continues to hold its with cash flow month to month, but its long-term financially viability is uncertain after voters balked in November at a five-year millage that would have supported the facility.

Voters turned down a five-year .99 millage Nov. 8 that would have provided long-term funding for the financially troubled county-owned nursing home. The tax would have generated $1.656 million per year, or $8.28 million over five years.

The state is seeking repayment of $874,976 in Medicaid funds based on reduced occupancy during COVID-19 for the past two years.

Before the state agreed to delay repayments, Maple Lawn Administrator Jayne Sabaitis went to the Branch County Commission and received permission to borrow up to $1 million in American Rescue Plan funds to cover cash flow to keep paying employees and expenses. She has not yet needed that county money.

In 2016, the Branch County commission approved $9.96 million in 30-year revenue bonds to add 31 more private rooms and completely renovate the nursing home — even though it had lost money in four of its previous seven years. Maple Lawn is using Medicare, Medicaid and federal reimbursement — which comprise about 90 percent of its revenues — to make those payments.

Quincy Schools kerfuffle

What began as a fairly benign school board meeting in Quincy ended in controversy after staff aired grievances over pay scale confusion and unruly behavior in the middle and high school lunchrooms.

At the heart of the issue is what many schools across the state and the country face: low staffing challenges. Because the district is struggling to attract new staff, the superintendent began working with administrators to identify strategies to reduce the numbers of students in the lunchroom at one time.

Since the issue was brought to the board's attention, staff have separated the seventh and eighth grade lunch periods, reducing the numbers to 90 students rather than the nearly 200 students that previously frequented the room at once.

The challenge included the layout of the building because the high school and middle school are joined. Compounding that was the employee shortage since the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown. Officials said they are continuing to work toward creative ways to bring on more staff.

County faces staffing, budget challenges

Other areas of Branch County also saw challenges in attracting workers.

The county itself saw 20-30 open positions at the beginning of the year.

In January, administrator Bud Norman said it was a similar outlook for the national economy, where the U.S. saw up to 11.09 million vacancies in November 2021. Over the year and heading in to 2023 planning, multiple areas of the county requested either raises or more staffing.

By the end of the year, the county had its books balanced, but warned of a possible financial crisis in 2024 if current trends continue. Commissioners approved the 2023 budget in December, but had to dip into its savings by more than $1 million to do so.

The county slashed funding for some safety net funds that benefit children and said expenses need to be cut or more revenues identified to ensure the county is solvent into 2024.

Solar power farm's quest to come to fruition

One of the most drawn-out issues of the year ... will stretch into another year as a decision on the long-proposed solar farm in Ovid Township will now have to wait at least until Jan. 9.

Apex Clean Energy is asking for the township's blessing on a special-use permit to build a Colwater solar farm. At issue are setback requirements, complaints of residents and evolving zoning rules and procedures in local government.

The 150-megawatt solar farm would span 1,109 acres under lease in Ovid Township and 571 acres in Coldwater Township.

Michigan Midterm Elections

The morning after the November midterm election, Democratic Michiganders awoke to discover they'd kept the governorship, secretary of state and attorney general offices — in addition to passing all three statewide proposals and flipping the state House and Senate for the first time since the '80s.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June, voters approved an amendment to enshrine abortion rights in the state's constitution. Proposal 3 establishes a "fundamental right to reproductive freedom" which includes — but is not limited to — the right to seek abortion. It also protects a right to contraception and infertility care.

Michigan voters also adopted Proposal 2, a wide-ranging constitutional amendment to establish early voting, preempt efforts to enact more stringent voter ID rules and expand access to absentee voting.

Perhaps the most bipartisan support came for Proposal 1, a ballot proposal that modifies term limits for state legislators and requires them, the governor and others holding top elected offices in the state to disclose information about their finances that could reveal potential conflicts of interest.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Year in Review: The highlight reel of Coldwater news in 2022