Board of Commissioners Discuss Houghton County Arena Improvements, Twin Lakes Water Level Management And Hancock Overlook Tree Clearing

The Houghton County Arena is in need of improvements.

That was one of the topics discussed at Tuesday’s County Board of Commissioners meeting.

Commissioner Scott Ala says he has spoken with Portage Lake Multi-Ed, the group that operates the arena, and they estimate about $500,000 in upgrades are needed over the next five years.

The main issues involve the ice plant and the facility itself, which Ala said has been let go for a number of years.

Ala says the arena, built in the 1970’s, relied heavily on public donations for it’s construction.

He says they are looking into forming a group to begin fundraising for the project.

In other business, the board approved a resolution authorizing the County Drain Commissioner to maintain the water level on Twin Lakes.

The resolution was needed to act on a court order to maintain the level.

To do that, the county will remove the existing structure and install a simple stopwatch structure to maintain a winter low and summer high.

The view at the Hancock Overlook will be better when many of the trees and shrubs are cleared out of the way.

The board approved a motion to make the Quincy Mine Association the permit holder for the area to authorize the Michigan Department of Transportation to clear a portion of the hillside.