CASSOPOLIS — At the risk of unraveling a century of partnership, the Cass County Board of Commissioners balked Sept. 1 at signing a five-year agreement with Michigan State University Extension.
MSU Extension needs a decision by the beginning of the 2011-2012 fiscal year Oct. 1, which gives commissioners until their next meeting Sept. 15 to make up their minds.
Exasperated district coordinator Brad Neumann, who overseers a seven-county area (Berrien, Cass, Van Buren, Branch, Calhoun, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph from Hickory Corners), said 21 counties already approved agreement letters without reservation, but Chair Minnie Warren, D-Pokagon Township, said adamantly, “Trust us for one year. This is the first time, then we’ll think about whether we want to go five years. Do you have the wherewithal to go back and ask them for one year so we can get comfortable with this?”
Neumann responded, “I spoke with one of our associate directors this afternoon and we really are looking for that long-term commitment. If it comes down to this particular item, it means no Extension presence in Cass County if the agreement is not signed. That’s the magnitude. We’ve had a partnership that’s lasted for 100 years and we want to work with you. For a little detail like that to let the partnership unravel, it’s not going to happen. I can certainly ask the question about that possibility.”
What appeared initially to be a routine matter consumed more than 40 minutes.
County Administrator Charles Cleaver also described himself as “nervous” with a five-year agreement.
The MOA, or memo of agreement, gives Cass County citizens access to 30 Extension educators with varied expertise, from farm business management to food safety.
Extension proposes charging a two-part “annual assessment” of $46,688, based on a $31,000 fixed amount per county plus a variable amount calculated at 30 cents per resident.
The county must also pay $27,500 toward the 4-H position since it overruled MSUE’s part-time recommendation.
Though longtime county director Dan Rajzer retired after the fair, Neumann said MSU wants to augment swine educator Beth (Franz) Ferry, a Dowagiac graduate, with the field crops expertise of Bruce MacKellar from the Van Buren County office in Paw Paw and Mark Thomas from Kalamazoo, who also has Dowagiac ties.
Thomas is a Product Center innovation counselor “we’d like to move into the county. He works with entrepreneurs in food, agriculture and natural resources, helping them with the start-up of their businesses, financial planning and market-sector analysis,” Neumann said. “He’s directly tied to resources at MSU, such as the School of Packaging or our food laboratories and nutrition analysis services. Mark offers entrepreneurship classes and he’s been with Extension for over 20 years. Turns out he was born in the county in the Dowagiac area and I believe has served with members of this board on the Michigan Works! board. Mark has a background in community economic development” to “complement” the Edward Lowe Foundation and Cassopolis business incubator. Thomas lives near Lawrence.
“He could not only help individuals with their budding business ideas,” Neumann said, “Mark could serve as a sounding board for the county.”
Neumann, who previously visited the board in March, began, “As you know, MSU Extension has been working with county governments on developing standardized agreements for our partnership in the 21st century. The intent of this agreement is to reduce administration and operational costs, better align our programming to insure all county residents have better access to MSU Extension and deliver the kind of relevant education that will help Cass County farmers, businesses, families and communities. For the last year I’ve been working with county administration on such an agreement between MSUE and Cass County which tonight I’d like to present the details of that agreement and I ask for your approval prior to the start of the fiscal year. Approval and implementation of a standardized umbrella agreement will mark an important milestone — finalization of MSUE’s redesign,” which created four broad program “institutes” for agriculture, children and youth, health and nutrition and greening Michigan.
Neumann said of seven counties he oversees, five follow a Jan. 1 calendar year and two, including Cass, began fiscal years Oct. 1.
Cass County has entered into agreements in the past for individual positions, such as 4-H. Similarly, the standardized agreement details what each party brings to the table.
“Under our new structure, Cass County residents will have access to more Extension educational resources than ever before  by supporting the agreement before you. MSU will house a minimum of one educator in a county office and a minimum of a half-time program coordinator. In reality, Cass County will have two Extension educators for the foreseeable future, a nutrition instructor (Nora Lee) and a fulltime 4-H coordinator (Stephanie Smith). We have a nutritionist in the Berrien County office that works hand in hand with our instructor here. Besides the staff housed in the county, there are additional resources routinely present on a regional basis, such as Natalie Rector, nutrient management. We’re asking the county to continue to provide us with office space and utilities” in the 1899 courthouse “and an agreeable level of clerical support” shared with Parks and Recreation.
Neumann said the five-year framework could be terminated with a 120-day escape clause by either party “without repercussions or penalty,” which convinced Commissioner Skip Dyes, R-Calvin Township, that it’s not as “locked in stone” as some of his colleagues felt since the board approves the budget submitted each year.
“The county can make annual choices to contract with MSU Extension,” Neumann said, such as its decision to maintain the 4-H coordinator fulltime.
“We have never had a (five-year) standardized umbrella agreement,” Neumann informed Commissioner Charlie Arnold, R-Cassopolis. “We entered on a regular basis position-specific agreements, such as 4-H. They have 120-day opt outs because they don’t have end dates. They run to eternity unless one of us decides to change or terminate that agreement. This is consistent with that and there are 120 days to opt out.”
“I’d like to have our attorney look at putting a hold-harmless clause in there,” Cleaver said.
Commissioner Robert Ziliak, R-Milton Township, suggested MSUE consider offering a 10-percent discount for subsequent years to make the five-year term more “appealing. You want a five-year commitment, but I don’t think we’re in position to go that long when we don’t know where we’re going to be financially.”
“I’m concerned with tying us in for five years,” agreed Commissioner Gordon Bickel Sr., R-Porter Township. “That’s $230,000 over five years.”
“If we have an ongoing agreement with a 120-day opt out, why are we looking at five years?” wondered Commissioner Dixie Ann File, R-Cassopolis.
Neumann reiterated, “Currently, there are position-specific agreements. We’re interested in framework that speaks to the entire partnership — not just the 4-H position, but our agricultural education and our health and nutrition programs. The shift is to an over-arching agreement that speaks to all MSU Extension programmatic resources.”