Jeremy Hickmott of West Branch Township

As township clerk, DDA administrator, zoning administrator, and more, Jeremy Hickmott is working to unite preservation and growth in West Branch Township.

In West Branch Township, just off I-75 in Ogemaw County, you can meet the township clerk, the administrator for the Downtown Development Authority, the zoning administrator, the fireworks organizer, and the creator of the West Branch Commons public space all at once. Jeremy Hickmott rose from an ambitious 16-year-old running for office to lead his township into a future that unites preservation and growth.

As a Redevelopment Ready Community (along with the neighboring City of West Branch), West Branch Township is open for business. This fall, West Branch Commons will bring a public gathering space to the community funded in part by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)’s Revitalization and Placemaking program, another component of the MEDC “Make It in Michigan” strategy.

Through highs and lows, rain and shine, Jeremy is leading the township towards growth, with an open attitude to new possibilities and sometimes humbling challenges.

What brought you to living in Ogemaw County?

I grew up in Richfield Township in Roscommon County and got involved in local government at 16, in the hopes of making the community better. Richfield was a retirement community with potential, and I wanted to take it down a more pro-growth track. I ran for local office multiple times and still hold the record as the youngest person to run for township office.

While my political tries in Richfield never played to the fullest potential, it helped me learn a lot. In 2008, I bought my first piece of property in a more depressed area of the township. By the time I sold the property in 2016, we had managed to clean up the most blighted property in the town and drive up land values. I also purchased a fire-damaged building and saved that from the wrecking ball. It’s still in existence today as a local pizza establishment.

After interacting with the local government over some issues with my distressed property, that knowledge of code enforcement helped me get the opportunity to work for the City of Bay City from 2017-2019. It was a smaller job with a huge impact. The codes I was responsible for were things like lawn length, graffiti, and signage issues. While these seem minor, they are the first things that community people and visitors see and they establish a community’s image. I looked at it that way – like I was responsible for the city’s image.

Working in Bay City was another great learning experience; seeing how the city was evolving with rehabilitation projects, changes to zoning regulations, and new development projects was a great way to see what worked and what didn't. I was also working in Ogemaw County with individuals on probation and parole, and in July 2018 I was hired by West Branch Township to be the township’s zoning administrator.

I firmly believe that my experience, both in neighborhood and blight issues and in code enforcement, led to the opportunities in West Branch Township. These were moments of opportunity that not a lot of people are given. I never expected my time in West Branch Township to evolve to what it has become.

You “wear many hats” in your roles with West Branch Township – how did you end up with all of them? 

In March of 2020, the West Branch Township Downtown Development Authority (DDA) had an open position for administrator/secretary. The outgoing person suggested I be hired. They had seen my work with the township’s first commercial solar ordinance, zoning ordinance updates, and the planning commission. I am still with them today over five years later, making me their longest-running administrator.

By August 2020 the opportunity for the clerk's position was clear. The clerk at the time ran for County Commissioner and there was no candidate running for clerk. To qualify, you needed to be a resident of the township for 30 days. In mid-August, a residential property owner reached out to me about a DDA infrastructure project in front of their house. It turned out they were planning to sell, and I purchased it. That got me in the township for the 30-day deadline and in October 2020, I filed to run as a write-in. I was the only candidate, so I was elected clerk by default. It was a rapid-fire chain of events and opportunities in an interesting time in the world. 

All the positions work well together. The DDA administration position and the zoning administration position have the most impact on each other, because the changes to the zoning ordinances and some of the more intense projects within the DDA district interact. I have also taken on side projects with the clerk position to enhance economic opportunities, develop further incentives, and apply for grants for township projects. 

Would you say the Redevelopment Ready Communities certification in 2024 is part of that?

The Redevelopment Ready Communities project is one I am most proud of so far. We got involved through our former economic development director Mary Bickell in 2021. There was a good bit of skepticism at first, as very few townships in Michigan have ever reached that level, and West Branch Township was a "corridor business district" and not a "traditional downtown."

The township, the planning commission, and community members worked for over three and a half years to develop policies and procedures we never had before. We created multiple zoning ordinance amendments, introduced outdoor seating regulations, started taking credit cards for all township payments, updated our master plan, and allowed for residential uses in our business corridor. A year later, we are still learning what the long-term benefits of the certification will be, but we have seen new development continue in the community and the township continues to lead the area. 

One new development is the West Branch Commons project. How were you involved in creating it?

The West Branch Commons started with my visits to other communities, Cadillac in particular. It has the "Cadillac Commons" which is a community gathering place I visit often. It’s a great social atmosphere.

When I started in 2020, I knew the township had the old West Branch Steel property which was mainly vacant, right in the center of the downtown corridor with a close to 100-year-old brick building on it. After a good bit of research, I went home and took a map of the four-acre site and colored pencils and started sketching a few designs. A friend of mine at Lapham and Associates cleaned up the designs and created an initial site plan.

The project was approved in February 2021 to turn the property into a large-scale community use space with two fire pits, a rehab of the historic building, an open-air market, and a large pavilion on the site. With the support of the MEDC and others, the project is anticipated to be completed by October 2025.

What advice would you offer to other local officials across the state?

Some of the best advice I could give to other officials is to never stop learning and looking for opportunities. Keep traveling to other communities, because you will discover something new to improve on and make even better for your own community. If you keep looking for opportunities, asking questions, and learning, you can get a lot done. Some of the best learning opportunities I’ve had never came from the classroom. They came from hands-on work, hands-on involvement, and – to be honest – getting into projects I might not have known everything about but wanted to learn about.

Finally, could you share some of the things you love most about Ogemaw County?

One of the best things that sets Ogemaw County apart: it has found a way to unite preservation and growth. A lot of communities, as they grow, tend to lose the historic elements that made them unique. West Branch and Ogemaw County have not.

You can get off I-75 and be right in the mix of new developments like Starbucks and Aldi, then across the street, there is a historic family farm with a rehabbed historic barn. The community banners say, "Where the Farm Meets the City," and it couldn’t be truer. My hope is that Ogemaw holds on to its ability to merge and manage preservation of history with a pro-growth approach. 

Learn more about how the MEDC is helping communities branch out and grow.