Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
ONTONAGON COUNTY Clerk Stacy Preiss swears in District 3 commissioner Robert Nousiainen on Tuesday.
ONTONAGON - The Ontonagon County Board has a new commissioner.
On Tuesday, the county board selected Robert Nousiainen, of Bruce Crossing, to represent district 3, including Rockland, Stannard and Interior Townships. He replaces David Nykanen, who died just a short time after his election to the board last month.
Nousiainen will serve out the remainder of the term, which will be one year and a month. Commissioners emphasized they had two excellent applicants, Nousiainen and Bill Wing, of Stannard Township. Both presented their credentials.
Nousiainen served on the Stannard Township Board for 30 years, was appointed township treasurer and re-elected to that position and then served as a trustee. He described the many projects worked as a township official.
Wing served on the Gogebic-Ontonagon Community Action Commission, park committee and other volunteer organizations.
Nousiainen was sworn in by county clerk Stacy Preiss.
At the onset of the meeting, new domestic violence advocate Staci Bengogullari introduced herself. She will work out of the Ontonagon County Sheriff's Department.
The county board approved a resolution encouraging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to continue to dredge the Ontonagon Harbor from the depth and distance of the breakwall to keep commercial shipping viable in the port.
The county board also dwelt with a number of financial issues. It approved a 75-cent- hourly increase for non-union hourly courthouse employees to take effect Jan. 1, a $2,000 annual increase for elected and non-elected department heads, with part-time department heads pro-rated, based on hours worked; and $3,000 increases for the sheriff and undersheriff. Also, the health insurance opt-out cap should fall in line with the courthouse-transit agreement for 2018, 2019 and 2020.
While the county will advertise for a new transit director, the board named Lisa Walters acting transit director, with a temporary increase in pay, as she will perform both the transit director job and her present transit job, as well.
In other action, the county board:
-Authorized the purchase of eight tasers for the sheriff's department.
-Heard five people pledged to UPSET-NORTH as part of the Giving Tuesday of the Portage Health Foundation. As a result, UPSET will receive a $4,000 donation.
