ITHACA — Gratiot County commissioners spent a few minutes on June 2 discussing whether to pursue a bond to build a new facility for Gratiot Integrated Health, the county’s community mental health agency. The county’s own record of that discussion is brief, and nothing about it has resurfaced in board minutes since. We went looking for more.
What the county’s record says — in full. Item K.1 on the June 2 agenda: “Gratiot Integrated Health discussion for possible Bond for Contraction of a new facility.” The minutes then record: “The building is not ADA compliant. There is a sewer smell. Heating and Cooling problems. And space is limited.” No motion was made, no cost estimate is recorded, and no commissioner is quoted by name. We found no earlier or later board discussion of the same subject in any 2026 meeting packet.
What Gratiot Integrated Health is. Gratiot Integrated Health Network (GIHN) is the county’s designated community mental health authority, providing mental health and substance-use-disorder services and belonging to the Mid-State Health Network, a regional network of Michigan community mental health agencies. According to GIHN’s own website, it operates from at least two addresses in Alma — 608 Wright Ave. and 340 Pine Ave. — and its board meets monthly, alternating between the two.
What GIHN’s own public financial report shows. GIHN’s FY 2025 digital annual report, published on its website, lists total revenue of $26,726,293 (the largest share, $19,241,952, from Medicaid) against total expenses of $26,440,904.11. Of that spending, $526,286 — about 2% of the total — is listed under “Facilities.” That is a maintenance-scale operating figure, not a construction budget, which is consistent with commissioners discussing a bond — a separate, dedicated borrowing mechanism — rather than funding a new building out of GIHN’s existing operating revenue.
The county’s other connection to GIHN. Commissioners separately made two appointments to GIHN’s board of directors this year: Resolution 26-377, earlier in 2026, and Resolution 26-452 on Aug. 18, appointing Commissioner Jan Bunting’s fellow board member Anne Lambrecht. Those appointments are a routine county function — Michigan community mental health boards are appointed in part by their county boards of commissioners — and the record does not connect them to the facility discussion.
What we still don’t know. We have not obtained a building-conditions assessment, an engineer’s report, a cost estimate for a new facility, or a bond amount. GIHN’s own published annual report, which we reviewed in full, does not mention a building project. We do not know whether “the building” referenced in the minutes is the Wright Avenue or Pine Avenue address, or another GIHN location. We have not asked the county or GIHN for comment; both are welcome to respond at contactus@gcwhistleblower.com.