GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Kent County and the owners of DeVos Place have agreed upon a new contract to continue using the space as a large scale vaccination clinic based only on operational costs.
The agreement between the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention Arena Authority and SMG/ASM Global will only charge for actual costs to operate, which includes utilities, janitorial and maintenance services, security and EMS services.
Under the original contract, the county would pay $12,000 per day for the space. The price tag drew criticism from county commissioners and community members.
“We are very pleased with the outcome of our latest discussions with the CAA and SMG regarding the vaccination clinic at DeVos Place,” said Kent County Administrator, Wayman Britt. “All parties involved share the goal of operating the most efficient, safe and effective large-scale vaccination clinic in our region. We also share a commitment to be responsible stewards of public dollars and to strengthen the community’s trust.”
Kent County partnered with Spectrum Health and Mercy Health Saint Mary’s to open this regional vaccination hub – called the West Michigan Vaccine Clinic – on January 25, 2021.
As larger quantities of vaccine become available and the clinic is operating at full capacity, the partners anticipate that they will be able to vaccinate 140,000 Kent County residents per week.
Terms of the amended contract will be in place until March 31, 2021. After that, the parties will have the option to renew the agreement on a month-to-month basis.
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