On Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, the Houghton County Board of Commissioners met for the first time this calendar year. Commissioner Tom Tikkanen was re-elected as chairman of the board, and Commissioner Roy Britz was re-elected as vice-chairman of the board. The main points of conversation during the meeting were discussing the renewal of a millage and discussing a request by Sheriff Saaranen for Board approval to send a current Houghton County corrections officer to the police academy to become a certified law enforcement officer.
Updates were given concerning recycling, and the Solid Waste Commission, the Recreation Authority, the Road Commission, and the Sheriff Department gave news concerning their respective activities. There were updates from county officers, including the county clerk, the Sheriff, the environmental health director from the Health Department, and the Veterans Affairs office.
The Recreation Authority had news concerning upcoming projects, including a project for Douglass Houghton Falls which will include creating a parking lot and security fencing. The road commission had given a total of 108.5” of snowfall through the end of December 2022. They are currently discussing the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds they received and how those will be used. Sheriff Saaranen spoke about how the camera systems in the jail are currently failing, and the plan to replace them.
The Sheriff’s department also requested approval from the Board to send a current corrections officer to the police academy to become a certified law enforcement officer at the officer’s request. Commissioner Britz was in favor, saying, “Law enforcement nationally is falling on its face with recruitment and retention.” The vote for this approval passed 5-0.
The VA Office gave updates about 2022, stating that they had 1,687 office visits, where about half resulted in claims sent to the VA. From those claims, veterans in the area received $16 million directly. This prompted Joe Battisfore of the VA’s office, to state, “That is not just doing right by veterans, but helping everyone in the county.” He went on to explain that because the $16 million went into the pockets of veterans, they now can spend at local businesses and support the local economy.
The big vote, other than the one concerning the academy approval for the corrections officer, was a millage renewal. Commissioner Joel Keranen questioned why it was a renewal for 1.369 mills, and not an increase. When he was told that would be a later discussion, he seconded the motion for approval of the millage, which passed with a vote of 5-0.
The meeting was adjourned after 1 hour and 50 minutes. There were no major disagreements within the meeting, and all votes ran smoothly.
