Faces of the City November 2025: Mike Vandermolen

November 3, 2025

Faces of the City

A monthly feature that highlights the dedicated employees who help keep our city running. Get to know who they are, what they do, and the paths that brought them here—putting a face to the city you live, work, and play in.

November 2025 — Mike Vandermolen

This month, we’re spotlighting Mike Vandermolen, Systems Administrator in the City’s Finance Division / Information Technology Department. Mike has been serving the City of Muskegon for an impressive 26 years.

A bald man with glasses smiles warmly, standing outdoors. He wears a black polo shirt with logos. Green trees and a park setting are in the background.

In his role, Mike provides essential technical support to every corner of city operations, from office staff and public works to fire, police, and the water filtration plant. He ensures the City’s network, servers, and phones remain operational and secure, keeping the systems that power city services running smoothly. Mike also partners closely with departments to identify technology needs, improve efficiency through software solutions, and lead modernization efforts that help staff better serve the community.

A person with glasses and a bald head is fixing a circuit board on a white desk using a screwdriver. Wires and electronic devices are scattered around.

Recently, Mike completed a major migration and update of the city’s internal intranet system and helped transition all staff mailboxes to the cloud, a project that improved both reliability and accessibility for employees across departments.

When asked what he enjoys most about the work, Mike says it’s the people and the problem-solving. “It’s enjoyable to work with all departments across all levels of government. Many days I get to travel to different locations around the city to provide support. It’s very rewarding getting to solve problems, and in this role, I eventually get to meet and work with just about everyone who works for the city.”

A man stands at a desk in an office, working at dual monitors displaying code and a website. The space is organized, with sticky notes and a lava lamp.

Mike’s path to this role began with a lifelong fascination for technology. “I loved technology and computers as a kid; I played with the family Texas Instruments TI-99/4A for hours writing programs that couldn’t even be saved,” he recalls. Though he began in a different field, that passion led him back to computers and eventually to the City of Muskegon in 1999 as a computer technician. Over more than two decades, Mike has seen technology evolve dramatically and continues to embrace the challenge of learning something new every day.

A man in a black shirt works attentively on a server rack, surrounded by colorful cables in a data center. The scene conveys focus and technical expertise.

Outside of work, Mike enjoys a mix of creativity and motion. He loves juggling and continually works to improve his skills, recently took up drumming, and can often be found walking his dog or going for a bike ride around Muskegon.