By Jim Bloch
There’s a new director atop the Marysville Public Safety Department.
Meet Matt Reeves, 42, who grew up in the city and has served in both the fire and police departments.
Reeves had been the interim chief following the retirement of 30-year veteran Tom Konik in October.
Reeves officially became director of the public safety department Jan. 8.
“I started in the fire department in 2000 as a paid-on call firefighter and became full-time in 2004,” Reeves said.
He graduated from the Macomb Police Academy and added policing duties to his fire department work in 2021.
City Manager Randy Fernandez posted the open directorship position soon after Konik retired. To help in the selection process, the city hired Troy-based company Empco, Inc., which specializes in testing services for public safety agencies and municipalities.
Matt Reeves at a Detroit Tigers baseball game.
The company evaluated three internal applicants for the position and two external candidates.
Konik also began his career in Marysville in the fire department. In 2013, with the city still experiencing a revenue crunch as a result of the Great Recession of 2008 and with Police Chief Tim Buelow retiring, the city council approved combining the administration of the police and fire departments into a single public safety department. Konik, who had experience as a police officer, became the director of the joint operation.
Reeves and a number of other public safety employees, both police officers and firefighter/EMTs, were recognized in 2019 for saving a resident’s life. On Jan. 21 of that year, Alan Free put his car in reverse as his heart went into malignant arrhythmia. He slumped over the wheel with his foot on the gas pedal. Unaware of what he was doing, Free backed his car down his 75-foot driveway, across the boulevard that separates the access road to his house from Gratiot Avenue and backed across the five lanes of traffic before crashing into the Advia Credit Union across the street.
“This impressed me, the entire teamwork that occurred to have the outcome we have today,” said Dr. Doru Bali of the Lake Huron Medical Center in Port Huron, addressing the city council in March 2019.
“I’d like to continue pursuing the goal of meshing together the two departments,” said Reeves, talking about his main objective as the department’s second director.
Konik and his wife Kathy moved to Florida.
“Congratulations to you and many years as Marysville’s new public safety director,” said Kathy Konik to Reeves via Facebook.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
