Chairwoman and secretary step down from CDC
by Amanda Polaski– Staff Writer
A somewhat uneventful Presque Isle County Development Commission and Economic Development Corporation (CDC/EDC) meeting last Thursday turned into big news when chairwoman Kammie Dennis announced her resignation. In support of Dennis, secretary Linda Taylor followed with a resignation announcement of her own. The two resignations are the latest changes for the CDC/EDC, which has a history of rotating committee members and chairs.
THERE HAVE been three different chairs of the committee since 2005. Dave Viegelahn resigned as chairman in December of 2005, and was replaced by Clarkson Most, who then resigned rather suddenly in June of 2006. The seat remained vacant until Dennis was nominated to fill it. Furthermore, since March of 2006, there have been nine members who have resigned from the CDC/EDC board: Doug Elliott (March, 2006), Art Ross (March, 2006), Pete Pettalia (May, 2006), Jim Braidwood (May, 2006), Clarkson Most (June, 2006), Jessie Palmer (January, 2007), Val Jaroch (March, 2007), Dennis (July, 2007), and Taylor (July, 2007). Dennis, who has been closely involved in an ongoing rift between the Presque Isle County Tourism Council, of which she is the executive director, and the Presque Isle County Board of Commissioners, said the decision to tender her resignation was not an easy one to make.
?I hold great affection for Presque Isle County and the corporation that we have developed, but I have a deeper love, and that is tourism,? said Dennis in a letter addressed to her fellow board members. ?The Presque Isle County Tourism Council has been given some new challenges, and the board is excited with the new direction?I need to step aside and donate my time and energy to the number of big projects that will be taking place over the next few months.? Dennis informed her board members that her decision came with a lot of regret, and she acknowledged ?challenges? that have been ?put upon the CDC/EDC.?
?I?VE NEVER been a quitter ? never,? said Dennis, ?but actions were taken, and things were done, and we thought we could move forward. In the eyes of the County Board, I cannot move forward. If we wanted to do something?I couldn?t even go to the county board because I?m Kammie.? At times emotional over her announcement, Dennis said she was saddened that she had to ?push herself away from something she believes in.? ?This board was formed for the right reasons and with the right people at the table,? said Dennis, who had been with the CDC/EDC since its beginning. ?We used to work together ? economic development and tourism go hand-in-hand. We should work together. I have spent a lot of time on a lot of boards?and I?m certainly not in it for the money. It?s time to put my energy elsewhere.? Taylor, who has been on the CDC/EDC board for five years said she has been witness to negative changes over the years. ?In the five years I have served, I?ve seen (the CDC/EDC) go from?an achieving organization to one with petty roadblocks,? said Taylor. ?In support of Kammie, I also plan to tender my resignation.?
Both resignations were accepted with regret. Executive director Bill Valentine said both Dennis and Taylor would be missed on the CDC/EDC
IN OTHER CDC/EDC news:
? The CDC/EDC board had recommended Gary Pietsch of Rogers City to fill a seat on the board, but Pietsch respectfully declined the invitation. The board agreed to nominate Kathy Grass of Millersburg. Grass has accepted the invite. The recommendation will be forwarded to the county board for approval.
? Business coordinator Adele Woskobojnik announced her resignation. She will be relocating. Her resignation was accepted with regret.
? Valentine explained that due to the Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) at the Rogers City Airport, there are some height restrictions that must be abided by. Nothing can be 50 percent higher than the AWOS sensor. Valentine said the good news was that only one tree on one county Renaissance Zone lot would have to be removed to meet the height requirement. The bad news: four lots can have buildings no more than 15-feet high, which renders them almost useless for future development.