Jan Wyant for Grand Traverse County Commissioner - District 6

Local Issues Demand Attention: Housing and Childcare for Workers, Protecting Our Water Shed, Encouraging Community Involvement, and Streamlining Access to Agendas and Meeting Minutes.

Tired of just wringing my hands about the state of affairs, I decided to take action and run for office. I have a granddaughter now and the recent setbacks in women's rights are unacceptable. Let's make a change from the ground up!

A fun fundraising event on The Discovery.

Verify your district and exercise your right to vote on August 6th at the primary election.

Folks this is an election year. Please vote wisely. This is from yesterday's BOC meeting. Big failure in leadership. Now more taxpayer money will need to go out to fight this lawsuit.

‎Traverse Talks-A Podcast: Traverse Talks: Twin Lakes Park, A County Management Failure, a Lawsuit is Coming on Apple Podcasts ‎Show Traverse Talks-A Podcast, Ep Traverse Talks: Twin Lakes Park, A County Management Failure, a Lawsuit is Coming - Jun 6, 2024

Twin Lakes Park:
County commissioners rejected a settlement offer along 6-3 partisan lines Wednesday in a lawsuit over the ownership of Twin Lakes Park. Two Long Lake Township landowners – James Gallagher, trustee of the James K. & Patsy A. Gallagher Trust, and Chazz McCall, trustee of the Charles William McCall Trust – abut the park and are suing over Grand Traverse County’s transfer of Twin Lakes to Long Lake Township in September.
The plaintiffs argue that the very origins of Twin Lakes Park make the transfer of the property illegal. “A dedication for a specific purpose, i.e. a County Park, may not be changed by the legislature, a municipality or its successors, nor the general public, whether the use be public or private and even though the changed use may be advantageous to the public,” the complaint states. The plaintiffs are seeking “a judgment declaring that the publicly dedicated lands are restricted to ownership by Grand Traverse County for use and improvement as a County Park.”
Attorney Brace Kern, representing Gallagher and McCall, emailed township and county officials on May 3 with a settlement offer. The email said that “in exchange for dismissing the lawsuit, including all other claims that could be brought...the County and Township must agree to rescind/void the transfer of Twin Lakes.” The outcome must be that “the deed transferring Twin Lakes is voided and the County will return to owning, using, and maintaining Twin Lakes as a County Park,” Kern wrote.
Kern warned that “this will be the only time that this offer will come at no cost. If you refuse this settlement offer, all future offers to settle will require the payment of damages in addition to the above requirement.” Long Lake Township officials rejected the settlement offer at their May 14 meeting. County commissioners discussed the offer in closed session for more than an hour Wednesday before coming back into public session and voting 6-3 to reject the offer, with all three Democratic commissioners – Walter, Lauren Flynn, and TJ Andrews – opposed to the motion.
Commissioners did not discuss the offer in more detail publicly nor did they share their reasons for their votes. Kern declined to comment on potential next steps for his clients.

People of GT County please pay attention to some of your current commissioners. This is unethical and they do not care. We need people with integrity on this board. Why didn't they follow policy and talk to the neighbors? What is next? Is this the way we want our taxpayer dollars spent? Lawsuit after lawsuit many that we the taxpayer has no idea about. In a few years will the township give this park up to the builders? It could happen.

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Happy Day! Guilty on all 34 counts! Byeeee!

If you read The Ticker when the candidates were featured one of the lawsuits I mentioned was the Twin Lake Park transfer. The Podcast below is an interview with the attorney in that lawsuit for the neighbors of this park.

Holding these commissioners accountable is a must. Can we afford another 4 years of their shenanigans?

Rob Hentshel
Brad Jewett
Penny Morris
Darryl Nelson - District 6 - This is who I am going up against.

Ron Clous who is no longer on the board but is running for Drain Commissioner this election.

Please make time to listen to what is going on in our community. This podcast is 20 minutes long. It is worth the listen.

Vote Jan Wyant - Honesty, Integrity and Compassion

Traverse Talks-A Podcast: Traverse Talks: The lawsuit continues! Brace Kern the lawyer representing the plaintiffs discusses the legal issues. This podcast Will provide you with a better understanding of the lawsuit against the Grand Traverse County Commissioners over the transfer of Twin Peaks Park two Long Lake Township.

Go Fern Spence District 4! Had fun hanging out with these amazing people!

Explored county buildings alongside other candidates and commissioners today.

Community invited to tour new fire station in Grand Traverse County A ribbon cutting and station tours will take place Wednesday, May 22 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

After Grand Traverse County commissioners voted 7-2 last week to purchase the former Camp Greilick/GO-REC property for $3 million from the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, the county will host its first public input session on park plans Tuesday (May 21) at 7pm at the Conservancy's headquarters at 2846 North Three Mile Road.

After Voting to Purchase GO-REC, County Will Seek Public Input on Park Plans Tuesday After Grand Traverse County commissioners voted 7-2 last week to purchase the former Camp Greilick/GO-REC property for $3 million from the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, the county will host its first public input session on park plans Tuesday (May 21) at 7pm at the Conservancy's headquar...

Sage recommends Jan Wyant for your vote.

Jyl and Jim, thank you for your support!
Whitewater Township

From: Nancy Ackerman Will

We are often asked why we care who owns Twin Lakes Park. What difference does it make?
Consider this analogy:
You gave your wife a wedding ring in a public dedication of your love for her. Your wife later gave the ring to her sister and told you that you are married to her now. What's the difference? You would still be married to a woman, right? And from the same family, right? So what's the difference between "end users"?
Or are vows given during a public dedication too sacred to be transferable?

Is there a reason the Road Commission doesn’t want oversight when spending our tax payers money? Is the commission going out to bid for projects?

Transparency is needed. Folks this is our money we need to get involved!

This week, I attended meetings with East Bay Township and the County Board of Commissioners. Notably, East Bay allocated $1M to complete the 3 Mile Road trail, while the County invested $3M in Camp Grelick. I am curious about how these investments will benefit individuals struggling with housing, transportation, food, and childcare expenses. In total, $4M has been dedicated to these initiatives.

Vote Jan Wyant GT County Commissioner District 6

Let’s focus on local issues and not worry so much about tourists having enough parks for hiking and biking. Let’s fix some real issues.

BOC Meeting this morning at 9AM. Government Center

Take a moment to read this from today’s Record Eagle.

“We demand transparency from our local officials and promote public input on the preservation of our county park.”

When we have a County Board of Commissioners who routinely refuses to follow their own policies and who have deeply entangled conflicts of interest in county business, we have to clean house.

I am listening to the Farming Crisis panel
And have an interesting takeaway.

We either import labor or food.

The candidates are going to be in the Ticker soon and I wanted to share my story here before it comes out on the Ticker.

I come from a household of nine siblings, where I am the seventh child. Growing up in a rural farming community, I learned the value of hard work at an early age. Side by side with my family, I worked in the fields, growing vegetables and flowers to take to market. This upbringing instilled in me a robust work ethic that continues to guide me to this day.

In 1990, fate intervened, and I met my husband. Six years later, with two young children and another on the way, we made the decision to relocate to Traverse City. My husband had fond memories of the city from his time here in the 80s and harbored a deep desire to return.

In 2003, we embarked on a new journey together, founding Wyant Technologies. Since then, we have dedicated ourselves to providing proactive IT and cyber security services to our community.

Our family has flourished in Grand Traverse County, with all three of our children, their partners, and my granddaughter putting down roots here. It is my wish that they continue to thrive in this region, both personally and professionally, for years to come. Sadly, I've witnessed too many individuals forced to leave due to the rising costs.

As a candidate, I'm committed to addressing these challenges and ensuring that Grand Traverse remains a vibrant and accessible community for all.

I am running for Grand Traverse Board of Commissioners because I am concerned about the direction in which our current board is steering our community.

Three ongoing lawsuits that caught my attention are BATA, the Road Commission and Twin Lake Park. These issues underscored the need for accountability and responsible governance.

Why is the BOC ready to spend $3M on a park when we have homeless people, roads that ruin tire rims and a sewage system that needs updating to handle all the new construction?

Why did the BOC abolish the county’s planning commission in 2018?

Why were the monthly meetings moved from 7PM to 9AM?

When I am elected, I will be transparent to the constituents. I will help appoint qualified candidates to fill board positions. I will be involved with making policies that are strategic and thought out so we can get it done right the first time and will support the growth of our community for many years to come.

I have integrity, am honest and compassionate. I love our community and hope to bring positive change to help all the residents of Grand Traverse County.

Please help me get the message out by donating to: secure.actblue.com/donate/janwyant

With your help I will be able to purchase yard signs, door hangers and mailers. Thank you for your support!

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