County passes limit on commissioner meetings

COPPER HARBOR - Keweenaw County officials have put to rest a lingering issue about board members' attendance at meetings.

District 1 Commissioner Joe Langdon first raised the issue with at the June 18 board of commissioners meeting as part of a larger discussion about county expenses.

"We're spending about $2,550 for the per diems and expenses to attend meetings," Langdon said, recommending board members make a list of meetings they attend and bring that list to the next meeting.

At Wednesday's meeting, the board approved a list of meetings commissioners were expected to attend and subsequently be reimbursed for by the county.

"Once we adopt this, if you attend any other meetings not on this list, you're on your own," said District 5 Commissioner Randy Eckloff.

Board Chair Don Keith said he agreed with the list in its present form, but could foresee a need to add more meetings in the future.

"There are issues brewing where we have collaborative needs with Houghton County, and yet Houghton County has representatives at those meetings and we don't," Keith said, citing the Houghton County Medical Care facility as an example.

Eckloff said the decision to attend a meeting on the county's behalf should be made by the board and not by the individual commissioner.

"To go to a meeting we don't agree you should go to and then come and get money for it, that's a bunch of B.S.," Eckloff said.

Commissioners currently receive a per diem of $25 per meeting, plus mileage at .45 per mile.

"Our expenses are up about 30 percent, and we just need to pull that back a little bit," Langdon said, agreeing with Eckloff on principle.

"This really shouldn't be a commissioner decision, it should be a board decision," Langdon said.

A motion by Eckloff to adopt the current meeting list passed unanimously with District 3 Commissioner Jeff Turnquist absent.

Keith said Wednesday's meeting marked the first meeting the Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners had met in Grant Township.

"We appreciate the hospitality to have us here, and it's a sincere wish of mine that this become a tradition," Keith said.

The board voted May 12 to move some of their summer meetings to different locations in the county. The next meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 6 at the Lac La Belle Fire Hall.

Also at Wednesday's meeting, the county passed a resolution approving a rate of 5.6976 mills as the operating tax millage rate. A truth in taxation public hearing prior to the meeting elicited no public comment.

Langdon provided an update on the county's alternatives to bring the historic courthouse in Eagle River into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The second floor of the courthouse is not wheelchair-accessible.

A former lounge area could be converted into an ADA-compliant audio-visual room, Langdon said, as the doorways to that room are already wide enough for compliance.

In addition, another small room on the first floor could be converted into a bathroom, with rails and sinks possibly being repurposed from a former county-owned facility on Mount Horace Greeley.

"The construction for that project was considerably less than we had thought," Langdon said.

A committee researching the issue is still determining the best method for video monitoring and is awaiting bids on some developing technology, he said.

Resident Carol Rose Fouts, who is hearing-impaired, requested to be included in future conversations regarding audio aids for the courthouse.

"I would like to invite myself to your meetings," she asked.

Langdon said he would advise Fouts of future meetings.

Once the county decides on a system, Langdon said, construction could be completed and equipment installed within two weeks.

Action was tabled on both an off-road vehicle ordinance and terms for the county's Brownfield Redevelopment Authority members.

Jane Nordberg can be reached at jnordberg@mininggazette.com