CASSOPOLIS — The Cass County Board of Commissioners decided to make a statement to both its residents and surrounding counties Thursday evening.

During the regularly scheduled county board meeting, commissioners unanimously voted to approve a resolution to uphold the second amendment of the constitution, which states that U.S. citizens have the right to keep and bear arms. The decision affirms the county’s support of the second amendment and urges state and federal elected officials to protect the second amendment.

The resolution was introduced by Commissioner Skip Dyes, who said it was prompted by both resident concerns about diminishing gun rights and by a failed proposal last month to make Berrien County a sanctuary community for the second amendment. Had it been approved, the vote would have made neighboring Berrien County symbolically safe from the imposition of additional gun control laws. Dyes said Thursday’s vote was not in response to any current or proposed state or federal laws.

While Thursday’s vote does not make Cass County a sanctuary community, it does send a message to Cass County residents and other Michigan counties that Cass County is committed to upholding the constitution and its residents’ second amendment rights, Dyes said.

“We want people to know that we believe in gun rights, and we believe in the second amendment and the constitution of the United States,” Dyes said. “We wanted to reaffirm to the public that we support the second amendment.”

Board Chair Roseann Marchetti said the resolution was meant to show to residents who have expressed concerns about their second amendment rights that the county is dedicated to protecting the constitution.

“Every single elected official in Cass County takes an oath to uphold the constitution. That’s the very first thing we say in our oath,” she said. “We uphold the constitution of the United States, so we felt we had to go along and have a resolution to show people that are interested in the county that we are dedicated to upholding the constitution.”

Also Thursday, commissioners heard a presentation from Bali Kumar, chief executive officer of Lean and Green Michigan, which is the statewide administrator of the Property Assessed Clean Energy program. PACE is a long-term financing tool for commercial property owners to pay for energy efficiency, water efficiency and renewable energy upgrades. When using the PACE program, property owners receive 100 percent prefunding for energy-saving upgrades on their facilities and pay the PACE loan back through a special assessment on their property taxes.

Thanks to the 2010 Property Assessed Clean Energy Act, Michigan municipalities can opt in to creating PACE districts, which allows property owners in that district to access the financing available through the PACE program. To take advantage of PACE financing, the property owner signs an agreement with a private lender and the local government, and the loan repayment is then added to the property owner’s tax bill. Using such a tool, local governments can help reduce property owners’ operating expenses, drive economic development, protect the environment, and increase property values, according to Lean and Green Michigan.

“What can you do with PACE? Anything related to energy efficiency, renewable energy or water conservation,” Kumar said during Thursday’s presentation. “That can be lights, HVAC, insulation, upgrades in solar, wind or geothermal energy, low flow toilets, low flow showerheads, basically anything that helps property owners save on their utility bills.”

To create a PACE district with Lean and Green Michigan, a municipality votes to join by passing a resolution of interest and publishing a report that outlines the parameters of the program. Once the declaration of interest is passed, a public hearing must be hosted, after which the municipality can vote to approve the district.

After Thursday’s presentation, Marchetti, who invited Kumar to present, said she is hopeful that the Cass County Board of Commissioners will vote to approve a PACE district in the coming months.

“This would be a great tool,” Marchetti said. “In Edwardsburg, we have so much going on there, and building and construction is going on all over the county. I think it would be great here.”