Coldwater DDA reviews bylaws, shifts election timing and elects 2026 leadership
January 21, 2026 | Coldwater, Branch County, Michigan
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Members of the Coldwater Downtown Development Authority met on Jan. 21, 2026, to review bylaws, discuss a shorter mission tagline and elect officers for the coming year.
Kristen, the DDA director, told the board she had reviewed the bylaws and recommended two changes: condense the mission statement into a concise tagline for outreach and adjust the timing of officer elections. She said sections 3.3 and 4.2 currently create a gap because board terms end in September while officer elections have been held in January, and she reported consulting the city attorney on options. "I had a recommendation of doing a vote to... extend the term" but the city attorney suggested instead that future elections be moved to October so terms ending in September would avoid a leadership gap, Kristen said.
Board members discussed forming a small group to draft proposed language. Several volunteered to work with Kristen; she said the formal bylaw amendment process requires written notice and later council approval and therefore cannot be completed at the Jan. 21 meeting.
The body then conducted its 2026 officer elections. The chair called for nominations; a member nominated Mike Hewitt for president and, after an unopposed voice vote, Hewitt was declared elected. Courtney was nominated, seconded and elected vice president by voice vote. Al Rakesh was nominated and elected to serve as the third member of the executive committee, the role identified in section 6.5 of the bylaws.
The chair noted that committee chairs are appointed by the incoming president; interim committee assignments were announced at the meeting.
What happens next: the volunteer group will draft potential mission/tagline options and the board will include the proposed election-timing and mission-statement changes in the formal notice for a bylaw amendment to be voted on at a future meeting. The board will present any approved amendment to the city council as required by the bylaws before it takes effect.
Kristen, the DDA director, told the board she had reviewed the bylaws and recommended two changes: condense the mission statement into a concise tagline for outreach and adjust the timing of officer elections. She said sections 3.3 and 4.2 currently create a gap because board terms end in September while officer elections have been held in January, and she reported consulting the city attorney on options. "I had a recommendation of doing a vote to... extend the term" but the city attorney suggested instead that future elections be moved to October so terms ending in September would avoid a leadership gap, Kristen said.
Board members discussed forming a small group to draft proposed language. Several volunteered to work with Kristen; she said the formal bylaw amendment process requires written notice and later council approval and therefore cannot be completed at the Jan. 21 meeting.
The body then conducted its 2026 officer elections. The chair called for nominations; a member nominated Mike Hewitt for president and, after an unopposed voice vote, Hewitt was declared elected. Courtney was nominated, seconded and elected vice president by voice vote. Al Rakesh was nominated and elected to serve as the third member of the executive committee, the role identified in section 6.5 of the bylaws.
The chair noted that committee chairs are appointed by the incoming president; interim committee assignments were announced at the meeting.
What happens next: the volunteer group will draft potential mission/tagline options and the board will include the proposed election-timing and mission-statement changes in the formal notice for a bylaw amendment to be voted on at a future meeting. The board will present any approved amendment to the city council as required by the bylaws before it takes effect.
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