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A special meeting of the Houghton County Board of Commissioners will be held Friday at noon to discuss the residency status of Commissioner Scott Ala.
Ala confirmed he has been in Florida and has a Florida driver’s license at another special meeting two weeks ago.
The board voted to send a letter asking for Ala’s resignation since he no longer meets the residency requirements to continue serving on the board.
Ala says he received that letter and has a response to it.
“I am moving forward, filing the paperwork for retirement for the end of June. It’s been a nice run. I’ve really enjoyed representing the city of Houghton and I think right now it just doesn’t look like I’ll be able to properly represent them in a way that I’m accustomed to doing,” said Ala.
Ala recommends that the County Board leave the seat open until the election in November, but either way, he will not be there to fill it.
Ala says he spent over 15 years as a County Commissioner and even though things have been difficult lately, change could be coming.
Ala said, “I would say at this point I just would like to be hopeful about the fall people that will have the potential of being voted in.”
During his time on the board, Ala said he participated in some uncomfortable decisions, including closing our local 911 service and he helped the county resolve a major issue with Michigan Works! where the county avoided being on the hook for $100,000.
The Board of Commissioners will be asked to allow Ala to retire at the end of the month at their special meeting Friday.
“I can honestly tell you I love Houghton County and I felt honored to serve all the individuals I have over the years and you just hope that other people will always put the county first above anything else,” Ala said.
