The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners approved a design plan for the Leland Dam walkway replacement, along with other things scheduled as action items on their Aug. 20 regular meeting agenda.
The board approved a design option using Ipe wood, a durable and long-lasting hardwood often used for decking. According to a memo from Machin Engineering, the concept for this design is a close match to the pedestrian bridge on the south side of Boardman Lake in Traverse City. At 30-40 years, this project will have a longer design life than the previous walkway.
Now that the board has settled on a design, Machin will submit a request for proposals on the project. The total estimated cost of the project is $126,400, but the bids may vary significantly due to the timing of construction, changed conditions, labor rate changes, or other factors, according to communications from the structural engineer.
Questions about the integrity of the Leland Dam walkway were raised last year. In May 2023, the county board unanimously approved $66,600 in funds requested by the dam authority to repair the walkway and roof at the dam. At the time, Dam Authority Chairman Steve Christensen reported that the wolmanized lumber walkway above the dam was deteriorating and becoming a safety issue.
Per the suggestion of Interim Administrator Richard Lewis, the county board changed the job title for the human resources (HR) department head from director to manager, with all other aspects of the job description remaining the same.
The position is currently vacant, as former HR Director Heather Cade resigned in June to work in the private sector. She worked for the county for about five months. Lewis said he thinks the job description and pay scale for the position are accurate, but that the job title is misleading, as the HR department just consists of one staff member – the director.
The board also set a special session for 9 a.m. Wednesday to delay/redefine their administrator search process. When the search began in February, the board began looking for someone with a “deep” financial background to serve as a combined administrator and chief financial officer (CFO) to help set up the county’s struggling finance department.
After interviewing candidates for this position in May and June, the county board was not prepared to offer the combined administrator/CFO position to any of them. Since then, some board members have made comments suggesting they want to revert the job title to just “administrator,” and have Interim Administrator Lewis set up the finance department instead.
The board’s special session took place after this edition went to print early Wednesday morning.
Also on Aug. 20, the county board held a public hearing to establish a property assessed clean energy (PACE) program and create a PACE district. The resolution says PACE promotes “renewable energy systems, energy efficiency improvements, water usage improvements and environmental hazard projects by owners of certain real property.”
The county board unanimously approved the resolution. According to the resolution, “no county moneys, general county taxes or county credit of any kind whatsoever shall be pledged, committed, or used in connection with any PACE project.”
In other business the board:
• Approved a cloud-based service agreement with Fidlar Technologies for a total cost not to exceed $3,000. The board previously authorized the county clerk in December to enter into an agreement with Fidlar to issue and file all vital statistics within her office, and this will allow them to store the information being processed.
Deputy Clerk Jennifer Zywicki said that the software will allow county residents to apply for a marriage license or request birth and death certificates. Zywicki added that the clerk’s office will continue storing these vital records in paper form, and they will begin scanning existing records to the cloud.
• Went into closed session to discuss attorney-client communication. After returning to open session, the board authorized Michigan Municipal Risk Management (MMRMA) “to initiate a special legal services assignment regarding MMRMA claim #2402726.”
