County board reorganizes with four new commissioners
It is nearly an entirely new set of faces around the table for the meetings of the Presque Isle County Board of Commissioners. With only District 1 commissioner Cliff Tollini returning, four new commissioners and a new county clerk attended their first meeting last Thursday.
New to the table were commissioners Joe Libby, Robin Hughes, Robert Crook and Robert Brietzke along with newly-elected county clerk Darrin Darga.
Without opposition Tollini earned the election as chairman of the board and Libby, without opposition, was elected vice chairman of the board.
The board then went through the routine procedures of the organizational meeting by adopting the rules of order, as approved by the board in 2015.
A listing of the depositories used by the county was approved with Alpena Alcona Area Credit Union, Huron State Bank, Awakon Federal Credit Union, Nicolette National Bank, First Federal Northern Michigan, Multi-Bank Securities, Michigan Class and Choice One Bank on the list.
No changes from 2024 were on the schedule as the board will meet the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. and the final Friday of each month at 9:30 a.m. for the second monthly meeting.
Upon taking the seat at the head of the table Tollini announced his choices for committee assignments. The executive committee is Tollini and Libby; finance and auditing is Tollini and Crook; personnel is Libby and Crook; courthouse and grounds is Libby and Hughes; public health and safety is Brietzke and Hughes; and district health board is Tollini and Brietzke.
Special appointments included Libby and Tollini to the Northern Counties Association; Tollini and Hughes to the Michigan Works Consortium; Libby and Crook to the Michigan Townships Association; Tollini to the Multi County Authority for Solid Waste; Brietzke and Hughes to Northeast Michigan Council of Governments (NEMCOG); Libby and Hughes to the CDC/Economic Development Corporation and tourism; Tollini to the planning commission; Crook to the Straits Regional Ride; Libby to the recycling alliance; Brietzke and Crook to the conservation district; Crook and Brietzke to the senior citizens committee; Tollini and Libby as the liason to the Presque Isle County Road Commission; Hughes and Brietzke to the Northeast Michigan Community Service Agency; and Hughes and Crook as members of the Huron Undercover Narcotics Team (HUNT) committee.
The board also approved a resolution to limit spending up to $1,500 by department heads for supplies with any amount above that needing board approval. The chairman may approve emergency spending up to $8,000.
If the courthouse is to be closed for weather or other emergency situations, the chairman of the board will have that authority. The vice chairman is the alternate. The organizational meeting adjourned at 11 a.m. after an hour in session.
