Hi! Following are some notes from the last meetings I attended. First, the information on the upcoming candidate forum:
LWV of Northeast Michigan
625 Island View, Alpena MI 49707
October 4, 2022
You are invited to participate in the League of Women Voters of Northeast Michigan Candidate Forum for candidates for the Alcona Community Schools and Alcona County Commissioners for District 2 and District 3.
The forum will be held at the Greenbush Township Hall, 5037 Campbell Road, Greenbush on October 20, Thursday from 7-9 p.m. All candidates for the Alcona Community Schools and the Candidates for Alcona County Commissioners Districts 2 and 3 have been invited to attend.
The LWV is a non-partisan organization that does not support or oppose any candidate but seeks to inform the voting public in an unbiased manner. The LWV is providing this forum as an opportunity for candidates to express their views related to their candidacy. Statements expressed by the candidates are not endorsed nor opposed by the LWV. Also, the LWV does not certify any candidate responses to questions as accurate. Voters are encouraged to fact-check information shared at the forum.
Each candidate will be invited to present a short personal statement of 1 ½ minutes. Questions will be collected from the audience members present, screened for duplication, and to provide a diversity of questions and avoid inappropriate or irrelevant questions. Candidates will have 1 ½ minutes to answer each question. Closing statements from each candidate may be up to 1 ½ minutes. League members will function as timers and notify each candidate when the time is up.
At no time will audience members be allowed to speak. Three-by-five cards and pens will be available for audience members. They will be encouraged to write out questions and turn them in to LWV members who will pass the questions onto the screeners, and the questions will be passed onto the moderator who will ask the questions of the candidates.
Campaign literature is encouraged and a table for this purpose will be provided outside the forum room
The schedule will be: Alcona Community School Board Candidates then County Commissioner Candidates. All candidates for Districts 2 and 3 will respond to the same questions.
Now, for some reason, I am still in the same font as the above information, but this is Lisa now. The commissioners met yesterday at 1:30. There were 17 of us in the audience, 14 of us from this group. All board members were present. There were several public comments. Bob was first and had four things he wanted to share with the board from asking whether or not the ACCOA was a land speculator, the signs at the ACCOA saying you have to be vaccinated to enter or wear a mask are now illegal. It is medical discrimination and they should be taken down. Gary Wnuk asked the board about a large amount of personal information he is required to give to the assessor in order to prove he lives on his property. He reminded the board they took an oath to uphold the constitution of the US and the request for this information is unconstitutional. Geri stood and said she supported the Grassroots Conservatives resolution for more ACCOA oversight, that she does not consent to using MEDC money for our county and does not consent to using machines for our upcoming election. She said the social credit score is on its way. I stood and talked about what happened to me at the ACCOA last Friday – in a nutshell, I was told twice (by Robin Oliver and Lenny Avery) that the ACCOA had run out of food when I tried to get a meal although four other people were able to go in, get a meal and fill out their NAPIS form. Although Lenny did produce a meal eventually, he charged me $8 even though for seniors 60 and older, which I am, the meals are a suggested $3 donation. There is no charge. He also discriminated against Bob and would not let him become a member. He said Bob had to be 60 years old when the bylaws clearly state any Alcona County senior 60 and older, and their spouse can be a general member of the senior center. I had spoken to Bill Thompson about it and I wanted to make sure the rest of the board knew. Terri Goldstrom stood and said the ACCOA needs more oversight. Doug Cheek was on the agenda to give a presentation about broadband but he was not present. The board signed an agreement with Connected Nation and used ARPA funds to the tune of $49,500 for consulting fees. The board approved the EMS contract until December 2025. Claims in the amount of $1,300,056.51 were paid (period 09/21-10/04). That’s a lotta dough! 🙂 There was a budget amendment made to the fair fund as they took in more than expected. The November 16th board meeting was changed to the 14th at 1:30 in honor of opening day. 🙂 The board made a motion that was passed to go back to MGT for their data management. They had switched to Munetrix and found it more difficult to use. The cost difference is $14. The staff had recommended the change. The board made a motion for a part-time employee at the Register of Deeds to move to full-time. It failed three to two. Commissioners Small and Thompson voted yes. They did leave the door open to come back in 6-9 months. There was a resignation of a deputy sheriff effective Oct. 17th. (Was I the only one thinking this is a blow to our already thin staff?) The treasurer said funds from the tax sale have been received, nothing on the class-action lawsuit, and dog license reminders went out. The deputy clerk said 44North was doing health insurance quotes and local clerks were getting mail-in ballots processed. I wondered if this means they are already counting ballots for the November election – four weeks early? Adam asked Pat Smylie from the veterans to get with him after the meeting so they could get a meeting date with the Village of Lincoln regarding the new property. Bill Thompson gave an abbreviated version of the last ACCOA meeting 🙂 and said the library becoming a district has been put on hold. They might try to make Curtis Township library a branch, as becoming a district library was going to be detrimental to the employees. The bridge on 41 will be opening Oct. 15th, wells at the old landfill need to be tested and he said the clinic (I assume the health clinic) wants a generator but it seems there is a glitch in the schedule due to some wires underground that have to be investigated before holes can be dug. Carolyn said 211 was taking calls from Florida. There was no response from the ad in the newspaper on the opioid crisis so letters were sent out with an invitation to a meeting. And there is demolition on a house on the northwest part of Cedar Lake. Last public comment was Craig Johnston who stood and asked the board why they do not do a newspaper article on the union negotiation outcome since it is public knowledge and the Alpena newspaper does that exact same thing. He would like the board to be more transparent in this area. Gary stood and said too many things done at the last minute at the ACCOA and not responding to FOIA requests gives the impression of non-transparency and that it is self-inflicted. Lenny Avery, ACCOA Executive Director, was the last public comment and he gave the board a community assessment report from NEMCSA regarding the top five problems in the 15 counties they handle. And, unlike me, I did not write them down because I was thinking that knowing the top 5 for Alcona County alone would have been more useful. I do think homelessness was one. The board adjourned until the next meeting on Oct. 19th.
And last night 23 of us gathered for a Tavern meeting. Terri gave an update on the Village of Lincoln meeting. Judy gave us an update on what happened at the Grassroots meeting. And then we talked about the ACCOA. There was a lot of information shared from those who were able to get a meal last Friday to even more questions everyone has. Craig Johnston was able to give us a little perspective from a former commissioner’s view as to what power they have over the ACCOA. There were several suggestions as to what can be done about what is happening there. Most agree the focus of the senior center should NOT be the organization to handle an affordable housing project. The ACCOA should be focusing on the seniors. And to have more proof that it is not the case, I have attached a form I got this morning from a friend. This shows that the ACCOA has now branched into children. There was agreement that if the ACCOA had a Q&A with the community so we could ask questions and get answers, it might help with the ACCOA image right now. Also we learned that a millage for seniors can be given to any group the county board chooses to give it to. Right now, ACCOA was written into this millage, the next one will not designate ACCOA to get the funds. Also, Kim Fleming is stepping down from her board position and Rolland Lynch (the quiet guy on the end of the table) will be running.
Lastly, I am going to be collecting questions for the ACCOA should a Q&A actually happen. If you have one, or ten, please send them to me. I will compile them and we can go over them in two weeks. The next Tavern meeting will be on the 19th at the Old Place Inn in downtown Harrisville. The library was already booked for that evening.
Have a great rest of your week! Remember that we are the news. If you have anything that relates to what is important in our community please share it. And don’t forget to check out www.alconaconservatives.com! Start a conversation there.
Take care fellow patriot,
Lisa
You will never be criticized by someone who does more than you, you will always be criticized by those who do less.
