Kathleen Kline-Hudson and I began our careers in Livingston County at about the same time. While our jobs were quite different, in one way they were alike: we were both paid to keep a close eye on the growth in the community: she to help guide it; I to help tell the story.
Those were exciting times, indeed, three decades ago, when construction equipment overtook farmland, housing developments sprung from fields, and big-box retailers discovered the community. In 1990, the population of Livingston County was about 115,000 people. Today, as Kline-Hudson retires as director of the Livingston County Planning Department, the population is 195,000, a growth rate of about 69% during her tenure.
That’s a lot of growth, and Kline-Hudson studied it and helped guide it. She helped lead the county’s census efforts three times, and crunched the resulting numbers like only a self-proclaimed data nerd could. She created data books and community profiles. She drafted Livingston County’s first master plan in 2002, and its second in 2018 (which won state and national awards). She also shepherded along the Fillmore and Lutz county parks.
While her work in the planning department would be considered contribution enough to the betterment of the community, for Kline-Hudson it wasn’t enough. She was active in the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, and she’s been involved in Livingston County’s Habitat for Humanity, the Human Services Collaborative Body, the United Way County employee campaign, as well as organizations dealing with issues of aging, transportation, and housing.
A Kalamazoo native, Kline-Hudson came to the Livingston County Planning Department after earning a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Michigan. She began as a principal planner and worked her way up to become director of the department in 2009.
Kline-Hudson said that in retirement she wants to serve as a volunteer on community committees, and she has hopes of serving as a local planning commissioner. She’ll also keep working on her art business, in which she specializes in acrylic paintings and beautiful Michigan art.
At her retirement party Thursday, Kline-Hudson was presented with a Congressional Proclamation from U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, honoring her for all she’s done to make Livingston County a better place to live.
As it was read into the Congressional record, Kline-Hudson’s service is one of “passionate advocacy for creating more diverse, equitable, and accessible communities.”
For that, we all owe her a great debt of gratitude.
Here’s the Congressional proclamation honoring her:
To see the official proclamation on the Congress.gov website, click here.
