Mary Valentine

That, in fact, was the case as a large crowd gathered at Muskegon Community College Monday night to discuss the future of two Secretary of State’s branch offices in Muskegon County, with much of the audience hailing from the White Lake Area.

The forum, hosted by State Representative Mary Valentine, featured a panel including long-time White Lake developer Del Underwood — owner of the White Lake Shopping Centre, which includes a SOS branch; Muskegon County Board Chairman Ken Mahoney; local Realtor David Medendorp; and Greg Wilkerson, who owns the property where the SOS office on Apple Avenue in Muskegon is currently located.

The situation came to a head in November when Michigan Secretary of State Terry Lynn Land announced both of the county’s SOS offices would be closed in favor of a new location, 1072 E. Sternberg at the south end of the county. The proposed Sternberg Road location was to be a Plus office, offering more wide-open spaces and updated technology.

The announcement was a “surprise” to Valentine, who said she found out of the move the same way as her constituents, in the newspaper. After considerable public outcry, Land’s office recently again redrew the district boundaries — eliminating Sternberg Road as an option — allowing for a more central site, including the current Apple Avenue location.

Valentine suggested the Sternberg Road plan was “Lansing swooping down” to tell citizens how to do things. “This (was) at great expense to save a tiny bit of money,” she said. How much the move would actually save was disputed, especially when considering the costs of outfitting the Sternberg Road location with the necessary technology. Valentine also said placing the office so far away from the majority of Muskegon County’s population results in a “hidden tax,” resulting from the amount of driving people would incur to drive to the nearest office. She was bothered by the relocation process as well, saying it “just doesn’t pass the smell test.”

Mahoney echoed Valentine’s suggestion of a hidden tax, and was bothered by the nebulous nature of the relocation process, saying the process itself causes citizens to “have to react” to the decision “instead of being a part” of the process. Mahoney said in the future he’d like to see similar decisions made more transparent in the process.

The White Lake office was highly praised for the friendliness of the staff and the quick in-and-out service. Laketon Township resident Ann Taylor said her son would drive out of his way to go to the Whitehall office, and pleaded with officials to keep that location open, saying, “Please, please, not now!”

Valentine has introduced legislation last week that would keep open the Whitehall location.

Crystal Hoffman of Norton Shores — there representing the Fred Johnson for Congress campaign — said she drives the extra distance to Whitehall to do all her SOS office business. “It would be a shame to close (the Whitehall) office.”

Underwood, who opened the Whitehall location in 2000, said he has signed a lease with the state to continue to host the office, but the state could cancel the agreement with 90 days notice. “I think we have a really nice location,” he said. “I’ve had so many people tell me what an inconvenience (the closure) is going to be, especially the older people.”

If the Whitehall location was to close, White Lake residents would have to travel to Muskegon, Fremont or Hart to do their SOS business in person. Land’s office contends that more and more people are doing their business online, making trips to an office unnecessary.