It appears the decision on whether Hillsdale County issues bonds for the construction of a new facility for Lifeways Community Mental Health will not be up to the voters.
The Hillsdale County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 on Tuesday against a resolution placing the issue on the ballot for the August Primary.
Commissioners Brad Benzing and Doug Ingles voted in favor.
Commissioners Brent Leininger, Kevin Collins, and Mark Wiley voted no.
The move is a reversal of a resolution that narrowly passed last July, when the board, responding to a citizen petition, opted to place the issue on the ballot.
At that time, a group calling itself Citizens for Hillsdale County collected more than 2,000 signatures in an effort to force a referendum on the proposal.
That effort fell short by several hundred votes, but some commissioners felt the group sent a strong enough signal to warrant a vote of the people.
However, at Tuesday’s meeting, Commissioners Collins and Wiley agreed that the group has had enough time to get the required signatures.
The Commissioners are expected to discuss the next steps in the process at their next regularly scheduled meeting.
Lifeways currently occupies a county-owned building at 25 Care Drive in Hillsdale.
That building is slated to become the new home of Hillsdale District Court when a lease on the Courthouse Annex building expires.