County supports application for grant for Lake Emma Dam
by Angie Asam-Staff Writer
At the Oct. 25 meeting of the Presque Isle County Board of Commissioners the commissioners were introduced to Alan Janiszewski, who recently purchased the property that the Lake Emma Dam sits on from Kenneth Wilhelm.
Janiszewski came before the board to ask for its support in his application to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for grant funding to have the dam repaired. The dam has received temporary repairs and an assessment district has been set up to fund the final repairs in the future.
The Lake Emma Dam has been an item of discussion at the county board meetings for the past several years. The county established a lake level for the lake many years ago, however, the dam is located on private property. It has long been a battle and item of confusion whether or not it is the county’s responsibility to maintain the dam or not. Janiszewski was hopeful that the county would provide 25 percent of the match money for the grant with the other 25 percent coming from the assessment district or the property owners.
“I have been very proactive on this and I would like to see the dam get fixed as soon as possible. I would like to go ahead with final repair to the dam,” said Janiszewski who informed the board that he has already put $12,000 of his own money toward the project, which he will be reimbursed for from the assessment money over time as he provides proper receipts.
A lot of discussion ensued following as Janiszewski thought that the county being involved would give him a better chance at receiving the grant.
The commissioners, however, were unsure if it could be a part of the grant if it was going to be used for the improvement of something on private property as the dam is. The board is also concerned because if it was going to match the grant at 25 percent it would have to show the county had that money in the bank, something it doesn’t believe the county could do.
After more discussion the commissioners opted to approve a letter of support for the project, but not to pledge any county funding toward the grant. Commissioners were concerned about liability issues if it
IN OTHER COUNTY BOARD NEWS:
• Along with the discussion of the Lake Emma Dam the commissioners asked drain commissioner Charlie Lyon about a few issues it had become aware of as he had filed a class action suit against the state of Michigan for its assessment money without coming to the board for permission.
• The county honored Valerie Pardike who retired from the prosecutors office after 36 years and 10 months of service. It allowed prosecuting attorney Rick Steiger a chance to say a few words before presenting her with a gift.
• The board approved a snowplowing bid from Northeastern Excavation, the only bid it received. The bid had the same costs as a year ago.