Commissioner Jim Farero was concerned about the proposal’s language, which used the word “increase.” He thought it would be confusing to voters, since the millage is actually less than the 1.4 mills voters approved in 2000. That millage, however, expired in December, so, technically, any new millage is an increase.

A similar request failed by 400 votes in the November 2004 election.

The hospital is asking for 0.2 mills less this time because it has created new revenue sources from added services, such as CT scanning and mammography.

The millage will raise $889,515 in operational expenses for the hospital.

The board stated that, at the present time, the county is not offering any property for sale. This was in response to a request for land that included 300 feet of lakefront to be used to build garages for condominiums on North State Street across from the airport.

Commissioners voted to reappoint Dr. Carl Hawkins as County Medical Examiner.

During a Thursday, January 27, meeting, commissioners were given updates on the county’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and the Planning Commission.

Representing the EDC, Jennifer McGraw got the board’s attention by telling them she was graduated from Engadine High School in 1985 and out of the 23 students in her class, only three remained in the area. She speculated the others had left to find employment.

“That statistic alone, in my mind, should point out why it’s important to keep the door open, important to keep the ideas flowing, and important to keep up the momentum on the progress the EDC has made in the last short period of time,” said Mrs. McGraw.

She told the board the EDC works with the First Step Project, a counseling service for people interested in starting up a business, or who have a business and have questions. So far, 75 people have been counseled. They also work with the Northern Initiatives Program, which provides loans for people starting businesses. The EDC receives a referral fee from this program.

The EDC worked with the City of St. Ignace and the County Planning Commission to get the Hot Spot Grant, which will provide high speed, wireless Internet service for a fee to visitors at the marina, library, and Little Bear East Arena.

The new Michilimackinac Historical Society began with an EDC committee studying how historic sites bring in tourism dollars to an area. From that committee, the historical society was formed last fall, and now has more than 120 members. The society runs as a sponsored non-profit organization under the EDC.

Ken Drenth, chairman of the County Planning Commission, told the board that the state requires a county to reference its Master Plan when applying for competitive grants. Mackinac County’s Master Plan was written in 1967. It needs to be made current, and that project is the main focus of the Planning Commission. The most difficult part of the plan, said Mr. Drenth, is getting the information needed to write the fact book, which is information that supports the Master Plan.

A survey has been sent to residents, and the results are being tabulated. An additional survey will be sent to business people.

The Planning Commission also is requesting proposals to complete the fact book.

In other business, commissioners agreed to cover 50 percent of the cost of a new heater for the Mackinac County Animal Shelter kennel area. Commissioner Joe Durm, who made the motion for the payment, said the county is fortunate to have George and JoAnn Ford, who are with the Mackinac Animal Aid Association, working on this project.

The money will come from the shelter’s budget. Mr. Ford said his organization has not been able to keep the kennel area warm enough to keep the animals’ water from freezing. The Association put in new doors to help keep the area warmer, but discovered that the original heater was not large enough for the room. Animal Aide put in a new heater for about $1,400 and the water no longer is freezing.

The following committee liaison appointments were made by Chairman Dawn Nelson: Community Action Agency, Larry Leveille; Hiawatha Behavioral Health Board, Joe Durm and Larry Leveille; Mackinac County 911 Board, Larry Leveille; Straits Area Narcotics Enforcement, Larry Leveille; UP Resource Conservation and Development, Jim Farero; Manistique Lake Dam, Carl Frazier; EUP Regional Planning and Development, Dawn Nelson, Jim Farero, and Cindy Oliver; Planning Commission, Joe Durm; and Wage and Classification Committee, Dawn Nelson and Larry Leveille.

The next regular commission meeting will be Thursday, February 24, at 1:30 p.m. in the County Building.