The Houghton County Board of Commissioners held a
Special Meeting on Wednesday, February 13, 2008, in the
5th Floor Conference Room of the Courthouse,
City of Houghton.
The meeting was called to order by the Chairman, Paul
Luoma, at 12:00 p.m. After the Pledge of Allegiance the
following commissioners responded to roll call: Edward
Jenich, District 1; Dennis Barrette, District 2; Scott
Ala, District 4; and Paul Luoma, District 5.
Commissioner Anton Pintar, District 3 was absent.
A motion was made by Commissioner Jenich and seconded
by Commissioner Ala to approve the agenda as presented.
The motion was carried by a voice vote. Ayes 4, Nays 0.
Public Comments None
Correspondence Commissioner Luoma said the Board
received a letter from Joel Sheltrown asking the Board
to pass a resolution in favor of HB 4323. Commissioner
Luoma said a letter of support was sent to our
Representative which should be sufficient.
New Business
1. Houghton County Revolving Loan Fund management.
Commissioner Ala spoke in favor of the contract
arrangement with Phil Musser. Phil Musser introduced
KEDA board members in the audience. Some spoke in
support of Phil Musser and his economic development
consulting company and its administration of the
Houghton County Revolving Loan Funds. Commissioner
Jenich said he agrees with Commissioner Ala that Phil
has done a tremendous job with the economic development
for Houghton County. Commissioner Jenich said this
meeting is not to judge Mr. Musser’s credentials but was
called regarding the budget. He said the County’s budget
has been approved for the year and it is too late to do
anything this year. His concern was that the Revolving
Loan fund equity is being used to contract management
services and it will deplete the funds. Janet Metsa,
KEDA president, summarized the discussion saying, her
understanding is the County is willing to keep 2008
financing in place and to review how it will be done in
2009. Commissioner Ala made a motion to go ahead and
make the request to pay Phil in the new fashion that was
proposed. The County would pay SEDS, his consulting
company the identical amount that was paid in previous
years, which is $20,000. The $20,000 would be paid
monthly instead of one payment annually. The motion was
seconded by Commissioner Barrette. A discussion
followed. The motion carried by the following vote.
YES: Ala, Barrette, Jenich Luoma 4.
NO: None 0.
Absent: Pintar 1.
2. Travel request
a. Ron Ekdahl – Houghton County Building Department.
Commissioner Jenich made a motion to approve the
Houghton County Building Department travel request for
Ron Ekdahl. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Ala.
The motion carried by a voice vote. Ayes 4, Nays 0.
3. Houghton County Road Commission – Commissioner’s
benefits. Commissioner Ala made a motion to approve the
Road Commission benefit package as presented. The motion
was seconded by Commissioner Barrette. The motion
carried by the following vote.
YES: Ala, Barrette, Jenich, Luoma 4.
NO: None 0
ABSENT: Pintar 1.
Public Comments
Kathy Beattie, Houghton County Treasure, said she and
a member of her staff had been collecting money from the
Rescue Sled donations boxes that were located at
different establishments. She did receive some nice
comments. She said the housekeeping staff at the Ramada
Inn collect all the returnable cans left in the rooms
and donated those proceeds to the Rescue Sled fund. A
motion was made by Commissioner Jenich and seconded by
Commissioner Ala to write a thank you letter to the
housekeeping staff of the Ramada Inn for their
contributions. The motion carried by a voice vote. Ayes
4, Nays 0.
A motion to adjourn was made by Commissioner Ala. The
meeting was adjourned.
_____________________________________
Paul Luoma, Chairman
_____________________________________
Mary Schoos, Clerk
[BACK]
