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At Tuesday’s Houghton County Board of Commissioners meeting, Tom Tikkanen commended State Representative Greg Markkanen and Senator Ed McBroom for bringing up a contingent of lawmakers from downstate to personally tour damage that remains from the Father’s Day flood. While the Department of Natural Resources has begun work on a recreational trail between Houghton and Chassell, several others are still waiting to be fixed.
Representative Beau LaFave from Iron Mountain was the only other legislator with a district with boundaries located entirely within the Upper Peninsula. Commissioner Tom Tikkanen said the importance of those who attended left him impressed.
Another major focus of the commissioner’s reports was the cost of transport for mental health patients. Commissioner Al Koskila relayed a story he was told from Sheriff Brian McLean about having to go as far as Auburn Hills. Current arrangements force area law enforcement agencies to shoulder the responsibility with little to no compensation in return.
Koskila said he knows of vehicles at the Sheriff’s Department that are tallying upwards of 200,000 miles, accelerating the timeline for replacement. That brings with it significant costs to the county.
