Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By RICHARD JENKINS
Hurley — The Iron County Board of Supervisors’ Finance Committee Thursday approved the purchase of two temporary bridges to span the washed-out section of County A over Oronto Creek at Saxon Harbor, a key step to keep the harbor accessible during winter.
Forestry and Parks Administrator Eric Peterson said the bridges were cheaper than expected. The county will be renting them to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to further reduce costs.
“The good part about these bridges is the forestry department will rent them to DOT for their use at $3,000 a month, and if they’re in there a year — which is anticipated — we’re going to be getting $50,000 worth of bridges for $14,000,” Peterson said. “We get to keep them (after the road is permanently repaired).”
Peterson said he had expected the bridges to cost around $56,000, but the actual price was just over $49,000.
In previous discussions about the bridges, Peterson said he would also be able to use them in other areas of the county in the future.
The committee also discussed how to handle the overtime accrued by the various salaried administrators in the wake of the July 11 storm.
While little opposition was voiced to paying the overtime, several committee members had expressed concerns, when the issue was raised last month, that it would be setting a precedent of paying any overtime salaried employees accrued.
On Thursday, there was a consensus that if the county adopted a resolution stating overtime could only be considered when a state of emergency was declared and the county board still had the option of rejecting the request, then it wouldn’t set a bad precedent.
“As long as there was an emergency declaration declared, I think we’ll be fine,” said county board chair Joe Pinardi. “If it’s an overtime occurrence because of an emergency declaration ... I believe that would be the limit.”
The resolution will be presented at the next county board meeting.
In other action:
—The committee approved hiring Denise Reed-Lotzer as the county’s new sanitarian. She was one of two people interviewed, according to Health Officer Zona Wick. The Iron Belt resident previously worked at the Iron County Sheriff’s Department and is the daughter of former county clerk George Reed.
—Clerk Michael Saari reported Mary Tijan resigned from the Human Services Department Friday. Tijan is accused of stealing money from the department while employed there. Saari said while Tijan is still owed for accrued vacation and sick days, it would be a topic of negotiation between the District Attorney’s office and Tijan’s attorney.
—The committee approved purchasing a three-quarter-ton plow truck for the courthouse. The Ford will be purchased in Ashland for $25,158, the lowest priced truck shown to the committee. The county will wait until the bidding period closes before deciding what to do with the old plow truck, although it may be traded in for a plow on the new vehicle.
