Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By ZACHARY MARANO
Bessemer — Gogebic County Sheriff Ross Solberg introduced a new road officer, Deputy Ryan Zawodny, to the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners at their regular meeting on Wednesday. Zawodny said he was originally from the Lower Peninsula and previously worked at the Ironwood Public Safety Department before starting to work at the Gogebic County Sheriff’s Office on March 13.
“I’m not a native Yooper but hope to stay here for a long time. I went to Northern Michigan University, originally for biology, but decided I’d like to do law enforcement, just to help people out in the community a little more. I met a girl from Ironwood, came over, started working in Ironwood Public Safety but decided the Gogebic County Sheriff’s Department would be better fit for me,” Zawodny told the board.
On Feb. 24, the Gogebic County Economic Development and Capital Improvements Committee, which consists of Chairman Jim Lorenson, Vice Chair James Byrns and board member Dan Siirila, met with representatives from U.P. Engineers and Architects Inc., who provided an overview of the buildings study they have been performing for the county.
Lorenson said that reviewing this study, he felt that the county needs to build a new jail. The committee concluded at the meeting that this new jail should be adjacent to or near the Gogebic County District Court.
Since that meeting, Lorenson said that he contacted several other architect firms about a jail design study and all the firms recommended that the board establish a jail committee at this stage. In the interest of not creating a brand new committee, Lorenson suggested that they use the Economic Development and Capital Improvements Committee as the core of the jail committee.
The other appointments to the jail committee will be Sheriff Solberg, Jail Administrator Trevor Jackovich, Deputy Brandon Tauer and County Administrator Juliane Giackino, with Undersheriff Jorge Cruz serving as an alternate. This suggestion was approved by the board.
Lorenson said that the new committee will meet in early April and come back to the board of commissioners with a recommendation on which architect firm should establish a jail design study.
The committee recommended that the board of commissioners seek proposals for the replacement of the flat roofs on the courthouse, which was also approved by the board.
Under appearances, Emergency Management and 911 Director Heidi DeRosso requested the Lorenson’s signature on a letter to State Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Waucedah Township, expressing the 911 Committee’s concern over the length of time it has been taking to template law enforcement radios.
“Radios are very expensive and we have these radios sitting in box waiting to get templated by the state. They are unusable until they are templated. In beginning, it would take a max of three months. But with COVID, it slowed stuff down and we’re working from home. But we have had two radios in September that we still haven’t gotten back, we have some from October and some from November,” DeRosso said.
The board authorized Lorenson’s signature and the 911 Committee’s subcharge recommendation, to remain at $2.50 from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023.
The board also heard a presentation from Jeff Bankowski, partner, and Adam Smiddy, managing consultant, of the consulting services company Guidehouse regarding the administration of American Rescue Plan Act monies. This was the third consulting company that the board heard from. Lorenson said that the board would consider which firm to pay for services from at their next regular meeting on April 13.
The board also approved:
—A resolution in support of improving rural Michigan’s physical and mental health and emergency ambulance services.
—A resolution approving redemption of all callable outstanding Gogebic County capital improvement bonds, series 2009, prior to maturity.
—A Gogebic-Iron County Airport PFAS testing grant agreement between the Michigan Department of Transportation and the board of commissioners.
