Garrett Neese/ Daily Mining Gazette Hancock City manager Mary Babcock speaks to the Houghton County Board Tuesday.

HOUGHTON — The Houghton County Arena could soon have a new owner.

Hancock officials spoke to the Houghton County board Tuesday night about a proposal to purchase the arena from the county.

Hancock would purchase the arena from the county for $1. It would also take over operations from Portage Lake Multi-Educational Services, which has overseen the arena since the 1970s.

Portage Lake Multi-Ed had indicated it wanted to step down after this year.

“We would really like to move forward with this, but we would also like to have an opportunity to be able to work with the Portage Lake managing group right now and have a year with them,” said Hancock City Manager Mary Babcock.

The city got a 10-year capital improvement plan from Portage Lake Multi-Educational Services.

The county would likely have to absorb the current $390,000 in debt, Commissioner Glenn Anderson said.

The proposal from the city also includes keeping Michigan State University extension and the Houghton County Fair offices in the arena for at least the next 10 years. The county is obligated to provide free space for MSU Extension, meaning it would need to look elsewhere if the city did something else with the space, Anderson said.

“It’s not saying in 10 years, we would not continue that agreement … I just used that for figures in our proposal,” Babcock said.

Hancock would assume an estimated $760,000 in costs over 10 years. Of that, $350,000 comes from the 10-year capital improvement plan compiled by Portage Lake. Projects there include a new Zamboni, an elevator to provide handicapped access to the Wiitanen Room on the second floor and exterior upgrades.

Hancock Mayor Paul LaBine said the purchase would be important to preserve consistency of service, and would help with placemaking for the city.

“Perhaps there’s a sense of urgency that wasn’t there before, to work with the current people, and keep the scheduling on track and keep it within a municipal status,” he said. “That would be the best for everybody.”

The board did not act on the proposal Tuesday, but referred it to the county committee overseeing the arena, which includes Vice Chair Roy Britz and Commissioner Gretchen Janssen.

In other action, the board:

• Voted 3-2 against a motion of support for Canal View – Houghton County in relaxing continued masking and surveillance testing, except in cases of suspected or confirmed COVID. The motion also called for recognizing that Canal View had followed applicable state and federal regulations and guidance. As background, the motion, which followed an open letter posted on Facebook by Canal View Administrator Kim Salmi, cited the availability of vaccines and the loss of workforce as healthcare workers opt for more flexible gig models. The board is holding a special meeting at 1 p.m. Friday to reconsider the motion.

• Approved directing Administrator Elizabeth Bjorn to prepare cost estimates for two new employees in the county prosecutor’s office requested by Prosecutor Brittany Bulleit. One would be a full-time assistant prosecutor, while the other would be a legal assistant, crime victim advocate or combination of both. A report by the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan found the county had a shortfall of 2.5 attorneys in the prosecuting office as of 2018.

• Approved purchasing two vehicles for $105,000 — one for a sheriff’s department detective and one to be used by the emergency manager. The purchases were made with American Rescue Plan Act funds.

• Approved about $115,000 in spending from 911 funds on equipments for fire departments, including new radios. The board also approved $32,800 in 911 funding for a new vehicle.

• Approved the sale of Lot 26 at the Houghton County Airpark to William Hyrkas. The lot is expected to be used for a future high school for the Copper Island Academy.

• Approved participating in the Community Development Block Grant emergency repair program for roofing. About $33,000 would be available for repairs, with a maximum of $5,000 per house. The program runs through June 30.

• Scheduled the county budget hearing for 9:30 p.m. Sept. 29.