County board tackles resolutions

By Lisa Enos

MCP Correspondent

LUDINGTON – The Mason County Board of Commissioners approved several resolutions during its meeting Tuesday morning.

• Ludington State Park manager Jim Gallie attended the meeting and asked the board for a letter of support to aid him in obtaining a Coastal Zone Management Grant. The item was a late addition to the agenda, which the commissioners voted to support. The grant will be used to help create a park management plan.
• A resolution to reduce the number of members on the Council on Aging Board to seven — one from each county commissioner district — was passed with some discussion. There are two people from Hamlin Township currently serving on the board and it was decided that the board will have eight members to start, until one of the two Hamlin Township members’ term expires.

• Two separate resolutions were presented on the subject of appointing new members to a Remonumentation Peer Group, a group which is responsible for monumenting and remonumenting the original U.S. government public land survey corners.The first was to appoint two peers from outside the county — Patrick Bently and James Carter of big Rapids as recommended by County Surveyor John Schulke.

“I feel that we need surveyors that have not done surveys here and they’re defending their surveys, more concerned with perpetuating the corners they’ve already set,” said Schulke. That motion was defeated.

A subsequent resolution to appoint James Nordlund, Rex Pope and surveyor John Schulke (and alternate, Noah Penn) to the Remonumentation Peer Group passed. The board also voted to approve a 2013 Survey and Remonumentation Grant of $33,142 and to approve contracts with Nodland and Asociates, Rex Pope and John Schulke to conduct work related to the surveying and remonumentation of several corners throughout the county.

• The board also approved the purchase of a scanner system for the Mason County Register of Deeds and approved a resolution to secure services (not to exceed $10,700) to upgrade the county’s terminal server. The funds will come from a computer network fund, equipment replacement fund and the register of deeds automation fund.
• The board approved an agreement between Mason County and the City of Ludington so that the City of Ludington will provide administrative services for a block housing grant.
• R2 Design Group was given the go ahead by the county board to prepare bid specifications for work at the county jail, which includes repairing foundation cracks, replacement of 7 showers and other interior and exterior work as well as solicit bids for cleaning the air ducts. The work will take place after another test is performed to ensure that the jail is free of black mold found earlier this month.
• The board approved a Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness grant for the fiscal year 2012-2013. Sherif Kim Cole, Undersheriff Jody Hartley, Commissioner Mary Nichols, Jordan Devries of the Mason Lake Conservation District and Tom Routhier of the Mason County Equalization Department were appointed to the Mason County Local Emergency Planning Commission.
• Jack Harper was reappointed to the Tax Allocation Board and Ronald Sanders reappointed to the West Michigan Community Mental Health System Board.
• The board voted to support exploration of a state certified snowmobile trail in Mason County which would run from the Mason County Fairgrounds to a connector trail northeast of Free Soil. District 4 Commissioner Curt VanderWall property owners between the two trail heads will be eligible for liability insurance — paid for by Michigan Snowmobile Association — if such a trail is established.
• The board also approved a Homeland Security Grant Program intergovernmental agreement between Mason County and the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission, and to transfer ownership of 11 Motorola pagers which were purchased for Mason County by the WMSRDC with Homeland Security grant funds.