Holly Township Seeks Applicants After Parks Commissioners Fail to Swear In
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Jan. 19, 2025)
Holly, MI – Four people elected to serve as Commissioners on the Holly Township Parks Commission failed to take the Oath of Office after the Nov. 2024 election, including the Board Chair, leaving four vacancies to be filled.
The Holly Township Board of Commissioners is accepting applicants from residents who wish to fill the position. Commissioners must be 18 years old and reside in Holly Township, which also includes The Village of Holly.
Holly Township Parks and Recreation has its own separately elected board of commissioners and its own ½ mill voter-approved millage. The commission is made up of seven members who make decisions regarding the use of funds for the parks as well as long-term planning and event coordination.They oversee the management of The Holly Township Beach and Sorensen Park, including the nature center.
Under Michigan law, the Parks Commission is an independent body, though the Township does have the responsibility to appoint members when vacancies arise. Often an elected board such as a Parks Board will swear in members at the first meeting following an election, although members also have an option to swear in on their own with the Township Clerk or any notary public. In this case, four individuals who were elected did neither.
Holly Township Supervisor George Kullis told Oakland County Times that he became aware of the lack of swearing in when a resident came to him with the issue. Under the law, if those elected did not take the oath of office by Jan 1, their seats were vacated as of Jan. 2, giving the Township 45 days to fill the vacancies.
The Chair of the Parks Commission, Donna McBride, was one of the four who failed to swear in. The other three were David Lonteen, Jeff Caryl, and Kathleen Martin. Joe Hutchins was also re-elected to his position, but he took the oath independently according to Kullis. McBride, Caryl, and Martin did not respond to request for comment.
Kullis said that those individuals are welcome to apply for the vacancies, but that he is also interested in “seeing who else is out there that might want to serve.”
When asked why he would not just appoint the election winners, Kullis said that with vacancies it should be a public process.
He added that swearing in is part of the responsibilities of the elected officials. “When you run for office, you have an obligation to know what you have to do,” he said. “You ran for Parks Board, you should read the Parks Act.”
The vacancies will be filled by Feb. 18. Those interested are asked to submit a cover letter and resume, along with optional letters of recommendation, to Holly Township Offices at 102 Civic Center Drive, Holly, MI 48442.
Here is the full posting requesting applicants:
