Hi! I hope you had a nice week. Thanks to all those who came to the Tavern meeting last Wednesday. There were thirty of us and we had some lively discussion regarding the ACCOA. We talked about regular Tavern stuff before we got to the ACCOA. Geri passed out a template letter for the county clerk. Basically it said that we do not consent to using the machines for our ballots in November. They should be paper counted. I remember Stephany telling me she wanted the machines as they were easier. But I heard someone say last night that we don’t want EFFICIENCY, we want ACCURACY. So who cares how long it takes to count ballots if we are assured it is an accurate election. I have attached a template in case you weren’t at the meeting. Feel free to word it however you want….this is just an example that others in Michigan have sent to their clerks. Marc and Kathy Chiasson have spent a lot of time looking for sites for an indoor pickleball center. Kathy is also starting to write a proposal for the city. They had said they would sponsor the pickleball club in writing a grant for such a project. And submitting a proposal for the project is the first step to getting it in the city’s recreation plan. A couple of people have resigned from the Harbor commission and there is a FOIA for lots of harbor-related information….I’m not sure if the two are related. We now have five children who come to the Pioneer Homeschool Initiative. The parents homeschool their kids while we help with reading, jumping rope and collage making. I actually jumped rope on Monday. Luckily, I didn’t put my back out! 🙂 And then on to ACCOA. We had several former employees and other interested people who wanted to know what is going on there. We did find out the ACCOA bought a piece of property next to the Mill Pond for ‘future use’. Why is the board spending money this way? We heard many comments from the group on the treatment the staff have received, the things that seem inappropriate for an executive director to do and whether or not there is any improper use of funds. Several people in the group left with some action items and research topics so when we meet in a couple of weeks, we can sort out a plan. Our main goal is to see why the ACCOA, who is supposedly responsible for the seniors, has taken on this affordable housing project, not exactly related to seniors, and discontinued so many activities for our own seniors at the Lincoln center. And, of course, the executive director Lenny Avery is at the center of a lot of our questions.
The county commissioners met earlier that same day. There were 22 people in the audience including several veterans who came to comment on the board’s turndown on the property in Lincoln. Rich Bray stood up during public comment and asked the board to take care of Alcona County’s veterans. Eileen, Bruce and Mary (no last names) also stood to ask the board for better treatment of our vets. Gary Wnuk stood and said the seniors are not being served by the ACCOA and that it needs better oversight. (Gary and the grassroots group put together a resolution which I have also attached). Ted Fine did a presentation for Habitat for Humanity focusing on the amount of repairs it does for citizens of Alcona County. He said there is a need for housing in Alcona County but when treasurer Cheryl asked whether he was in touch with the housing commission , he said no, he was only in touch with Lenny from the ACCOA. Dan Gauthier then presented two possible locations for the veterans, one at the EMS building and one by the Building Department by the jail. Tony Atkinson said the Village of Lincoln has donated another piece of property in Lincoln just across the side street from Lincoln Outdoor Center. The board approved a motion to move forward on that piece of property for the veterans. Claims of $1,492,561.27 were paid for the last two week period. There were a couple of budget adjustments that were made. One for the ACCOA, one for the building department who are also updating their computers. Cheryl explained the state of Michigan foreclosure report she submitted. Clerk Stephany said there was a 15.5% increase in the cost of insurance. She said closing the jail did not help the insurance costs. There was a correspondence from Renee at the Road Commission asking about the bonds but there was no discussion about it. Bill Thompson is going to write three grants for recycle – another tire, electronic waste and hazardous waste. There is a bump and run on October 8th and one in March on the ice. If I heard correctly, the plans for the library to turn to a district are stalled due to several issues. Carolyn said this is substance abuse recovery month. Calls in Spanish are coming into either 911 or 211 (I did not hear) so they have someone who can speak it as opposed to using a dictionary. If you do not know, Carolyn is in charge of 211 here in northeast Michigan which is a number you can call if you need help with housing, utilities, prescriptions, clothing, literacy, home repair, child care, transportation, emergency shelter… they will refer you to help. At the last public comment Pat Smylie stood and thanked the board for their cooperation on the veterans project and read a letter he had received from the board to the veterans. Everyone left feeling good about the relationship between the board and the veterans.
Tomorrow, Rick Kacel volunteered to help Bob and I staple bird netting in the pavilion at the corner. We will be there around 2 to start getting that done before the winter. Then pickleball starts at 4. If you’d like to see how the game is played or would like to try it, bring a chair and come. 🙂
That’s it for now. Enjoy your weekend!
Your fellow patriot,
Lisa
