Shelby narrows down police chief search to 2 candidates.

Shelby narrows down police chief search to 2 candidates.

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

SHELBY — The Shelby Village Council has narrowed down its search for a police chief to two candidates — Daniel Adams of Byron Center and Steven Waltz of New Era.

Waltz is a lieutenant for the Muskegon Police Department, and Adams is a sergeant for the Grand Rapids Police Department, said Shelby Village Interim Administrator Bill Cousins.

The council’s personnel committee met Wednesday, Sept. 23, to informally interview four candidates for the police chief position. Three candidates were interviewed, and a fourth candidate cancelled at the last minute because he/she was offered a position in another state.

“After the interviews, the committee discussed the performance of each of the candidates and their supervisory skills that would be beneficial if selected to be the chief of police in Shelby,” states a memo from Cousins to the council. The committee voted unanimously to invite Waltz and Adams to be formally interviewed by the village council.

The council voted 6-0 Monday, Sept. 28, to schedule a special meeting for Monday, Oct. 12, to conduct the formal interviews of Waltz and Adams from 4-5 p.m. and 5-6 p.m. (Councilman Bill Harris was absent.)

In order to have face-to-face interviews while maintaining social distancing, the interviews will take place at the Ladder Community Center on State Street.

The Village of Shelby has been without a permanent police chief for nearly two years after the resignation of Ryan Furman Oct. 31, 2018.

Former Oceana County Sheriff Robert Farber has been filling in as an interim police chief.

The regular meeting Oct. 12 beginning at 6:30 p.m. — following the interviews — will be held via Zoom video conferencing due to COVID-19 restrictions.

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