HART - Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, the Hart City Council gave their final approval for participation in and the Articles of Incorporation for the new West Mich Fire Authority. Councilors Catalina Burillo, James Cunningham, Betty Root, Karen Thomson and Mayor Amanda Klotz all voted in favor. Councilors Dean Hodges and Andrew Mullen were absent.
Hart Fire Chief Dwight Fuehring and Oceana County Emergency Manager Troy Maloney were present and took questions prior to the vote. Fuehring, Maloney and Pentwater Fire Chief Jonathan Hughart have been working on the new fire authority initiative for the past year.
The group’s official name will be the WMFA, however, for logos and promotion, they will go by West Michigan Fire & Rescue, Fuehring told The Oceana Echo following the meeting. The authority will have a governing board with representatives that have already been selected from each entity participating in the authority: City of Hart - Amanda Klotz; Golden Township - Bill Kolenda; Hart Township - Gabe Kurzer; Pentwater Township and Pentwater Village will share one position - Greg Hopkins and Weare Township - Larry Doran. In addition to representatives from each municipality, two at-large positions will be appointed to the board.
The July 27, 2026, Revised Draft of the Articles of Incorporation with regard to Budget and Audit states in part, “Each incorporating municipality’s share of funding for the authority’s budget shall be based on a formula comprised of the following three factors: (1) the respective Incorporating Municipality’s (IM) taxable value as a proportion of the combined taxable value of all IMs; (2) the respective IM’s population as a proportion of the combined populations of all IMs; and (3) the number of fire and emergency service runs during the prior fiscal year in an IM as a proportion of the combined fire and emergency service runs in all IMs. Each of the foregoing factors shall be weighted one-third of the total amount due, and the aggregate shall constitute the IMs respective share of the Authority budget for that fiscal year.”
Fuehring said that at this point the authority is “unofficially official” until all entities bring it to their boards for a final vote. To date, the City of Hart, Pentwater Township, Pentwater Village and Weare Township have all voted to join the WMFA; Golden Township and Hart Township will be giving final consideration to, and holding votes on, whether or not to join the WMFA soon.
Fuehring said he will be named as the new authority’s Chief Administrative Employee, or Fire Chief. “By November, we are hoping to be fully operating as one department.”
Anyone with questions or wishing to see a copy of the WMFA draft agreement should contact their village, township or city office for more information.
In other business, the city council discussed suggested updates to the lease agreement between the City of Hart and The Starting Block (TSB) kitchen incubator located at 1535 Industrial Dr. in Hart. TSB was scheduled to meet Sept. 10 to discuss the revised lease. City Manager Nichole Kleiner recommended giving their board time to consider the revised lease agreement before any further council action was taken.
The city is currently seeking bids for a Hart Energy roof replacement estimated at $40,000. Requests for proposals are now open for the new five-year Parks & Recreation Plan (due Sept. 25, 2026) and the Plum Street Realignment Project (due Oct. 1, 2026). A shared service Utility Technician position has been posted internally and will be open to the public Sept. 23, 2026.
In conclusion, Kleiner reminded everyone of the Community Open House and Update to be held at the Hart Historic District, Monday, Sept. 28, from 5-6:30 p.m. Tours will be available starting at 5 p.m., followed by a community meeting at 5:30 p.m. where the city will share what’s been happening and who is involved so far. The city is hoping that many new faces will make the effort to come out, hear more, share ideas and help be a part of the next chapter in this location’s history.
