The Mackinac County Road Commission will turn over part of the dust control work schedule to townships to streamline the process, it decided Tuesday, July 21. Commissioners agreed unanimously to continue accepting the bids, scheduling appointments, and purchasing supplies for dust control on roads, but townships in the county will provide people to ride along with the dust control companies to be sure the right roads are treated, and townships will be billed directly for the work.

Commissioners returned to the dust control issue last week after the commission had discussed whether to bow out of the dust control process and allow the townships to handle the bidding, scheduling, purchasing of supplies, and payment procedures during its July 7 meeting.

Mackinac County Road Commission Manager Dirk Heckman had requested the commission remove itself from the process during the last meeting, saying the commission could only schedule time with dust control companies on Fridays to show them where brine needed to be placed. The road commission typically does not work on Fridays, which means overtime has to be paid to the employees scheduled to conduct the tour.

Complaints had been received in the past when the wrong roads were treated, he said, so having the townships involved would reduce error.

The road commission would give the townships the bidding histories and companies it worked with in the past, but would otherwise be removed from the process.

Moran Township Trustee Mark Spencer objected to the proposal during both meetings.

"They're not our roads. That's the definition: They're your roads," Mr. Spencer said to the county road commission's July 21 meeting.

Riding along with the companies is not a problem, Mr. Spencer said. Bidding and scheduling the tours were his main concerns.

"The township is responsible to put a person in the truck," he said.

Mr. Heckman believes the billing process is unnecessarily complicated and turning the project over to the townships would help. When bids are received, they are submitted to the townships, who then choose who they want to hire. Once hired, the road commission pays for the dust control up front and bills the townships after the work is complete.

Road Commission Chairman Lester Livermore suggested the road commission continue to accept bids, purchase supplies for dust control, and schedule times to meet with the companies. The townships would then find someone to ride along with the dust companies and would receive the bill for the work. Commissioner Tom Doty agreed to the suggestion, saying it would be a bad idea for the commission to be unaware of what was going on with the dust projects.

The only township representatives present at the meeting, Mr. Spencer and Hudson Township Supervisor Al Garavaglia, also said they agreed to the suggestion.

Bois Blanc Permit Application

Procedure Changed Mr. Doty recommended that all permit applications be submitted directly to the road commission office for work that will be performed on Bois Blanc Island. Doing so would reduce any chance of the contract being delayed. The commission unanimously agreed to the suggestion.

The change is in response to complaints levied by Eric Gibbons of Gibbons Excavating. Mr. Gibbons contacted the road commission saying the commission's representative was delaying work permits that affected his company. Mr. Gibbons claimed the representative, who also owns a competing business, was able to use his position to obtain an unfair advantage.

The road commission does not believe the representative has done anything wrong, but recognized that the way the permit process originally was handled could be abused, Mr. Livermore said during the meeting.

All work permit applications will now be submitted directly to the road commission office first. Originally, permit applications on Bois Blanc Island were sent to the representative, who would inspect the worksite and send the application and recommendations on how work should be done to the commission.

Under the new method, once the permit is received, word will be sent to the representative about where the proposed work will take place. The representative will then inspect the site and submit his recommendations to the commission. Mr. Heckman told The St. Ignace News the representative may not be used in all cases. Instead, the commission may request the applicant take photographs of the job site and provide other pertinent information about the work needed.