Good morning! I hope you have no plans this winter weekend and have decided to hibernate like the rest of nature. 🙂
I went to the county commissioner’s meeting on Wednesday. All the commissioners were present. The beginning of the meeting was a special meeting to close the public hearing for the CDBG grant. That took a couple of minutes and the regular meeting started.
Geri Klingenberg started with public comment. She talked about the train derailment in Ohio wanting to bring awareness to the air and water problems a derailment can cause. She said we could request the track warrants and see what box car components come through here. There was no other public comment.
There were no presentations. Claims were paid for 02/01 – 02/14 for $274.289.91. The MDHHS wants to extend their lease at the Harbortown Marketplace for another 5 years. The board motioned to approve and sign the contract. Passed. There was a motion to add Donald Higgs to the list of approved medical examiners for Alcona County. Passed. The 2022/2023 budget amendments included unanticipated revenue in several accounts due to interest, donations and grants. The board approved the budget amendments.
Deposit Resolution 2023-07 was passed to diversify county funds per the auditor by adding a credit union account and not having the county’s money in one place. Passed by the board. Finance report – $60,000 will be moved from the EMS fund balance for a power cot for the refitted ambulance. $1.500 will be moved from contingency to the IT equipment fund for a new/used copier. A separate bank account will be created for the opioid money of $56,398.00. There was a motion for the settlement purchase of items for Homeland Security (Scott Rice involved in this). Scott Rice talked about creating a part-time intern position. The board supported his suggestion.
There was a LOU from the teamsters about rewriting and addressing job descriptions. They said it’s been 22 years since it’s been done. There was some board discussion about keeping the county building open during lunch. The treasurer’s office is getting ready for the new tax season. The clerk was out doing a post election audit (Trena was there in her stead), she will be attending a clerk’s conference and then a lawsuit meeting in the coming weeks. Committee Reports – Lincoln library is getting bids for some construction work, the building department is moving, EMS is looking at a response vehicle(an SUV) that will be equipped but will be used instead of an ambulance, Harrisville grocery and laundromat are closing. There was a motion to do Phase I on the veteran’s building. EGLE says there is no contamination but the board passed 3-2 to do it. The nay were Adam and Craig. The county will foot the bill instead of sharing the cost with the veterans. Greenbush Market is open with Marathon gas. Carolyn gave an update on the ACCOA saying they are moving forward on many fronts (hired a 501(c)3 attorney, appointed Phil Potter to the board, 3 vacancies remain, the notice has been posted for board openings, the president has met with the architect, they hired an acting interim executive director, planning an election for directors and reviewing the 2022/2023 budget and the contract with the county). The opioid payment was received.
Rick Kacel and Gary Wnuk commented on keeping the county building open during lunch. Rick suggested they stay open late one day a week like the Secretary of State’s office and Gary was in favor of keeping it open at lunch. Meeting adjourned at 2:43 pm. The next meeting is March 01, 2023.
I went to the special meeting in Mikado last evening. I got there a couple minutes late and since the room was full I was in the doorway. I missed the beginning of the meeting but what I heard was that supervisor Corn resigned, the clerk/deputy clerk Leisa Sutton resigned, Regina Waszkiewicz resigned from the Fire Dept, snow plowing and grass mowing (but gave two weeks notice) and from the zoning commission. Other resignations from the fire department were Mike Corn, Ethan Good, Kyle Good and Stanley Waszkiewicz (forgive me if I get the spelling wrong). I do not know the reason why all this occurred but Mary Weber from the Alcona Review was there so I am sure there will be some sort of article in the paper.
I get to wondering who is going to step up in the county and help out. I know in the past I have been told, “I can’t do it, I’m not smart enough, I’m too busy, I’m too old, I stay out of politics, other people will be better at it, I’m not here in the winter, I have health issues, I’ve done my share in the past” … many reasons why people don’t get involved. We, as members of this community, are all so very important in keeping this county running. We all have skills that can be used. Even if it’s just going to a meeting and letting everyone else know what happened. 🙂 We are all born with talent, and it can be used to make this community strong. Many hands make light work. It seems like it’s time for more of us to come out, help out and join with your neighbors to keep Alcona the way it is. After all, this is why we live here. And if not you, then who? And if not now, then when? Please think about getting involved in some small way. 🙂
Your fellow patriot,
Lisa
