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Ashland County approves resolution urging responses and continued summer access for Great Lakes Visitor Center
Summary
After amendments and a lengthy discussion about staffing and federal budgets, the Ashland County Board passed a resolution asking the U.S. Forest Service to maintain summer hours for the David R. OB Great Lakes Visitor Center and requesting responses from state and federal legislators and the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture; vote was 15–1.
The Ashland County Board of Supervisors on a 15–1 vote approved a revised resolution asking that the David R. OB Great Lakes Visitor Center remain open during the summer and requesting written responses from recipients, including state and federal legislators and the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
The board opened extended debate on the resolution, which had been passed in committee the prior year but was brought forward again after concerns about the center’s hours and staffing. Board members and community representatives told the board the center is currently closed Sundays and Mondays and that U.S. Forest Service staffing shortages were limiting hours.
Supervisor Bill Metzinger proposed an amendment to add a request that recipients respond to the county explaining what they will do about keeping the visitor center open; the amendment was accepted as friendly. The board also directed the county clerk to forward the resolution to state and federal legislators and the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and to request a response from each, language that was inserted as an additional “be it finally resolved” clause during debate.
Speakers during the discussion included supervisors who emphasized that the Forest Service’s staffing and budget determine the center’s hours and urged the board to seek federal budgetary support. The board discussed moving a clause from a “be it further resolved” paragraph into a “whereas” clause for clarity; technical corrections (an apostrophe and a typographical fix) were also noted and corrected before passage.
The board recorded a roll-call vote of 15 yes, 1 no. The clerk will send copies of the adopted resolution to the recipients named in the text and seek written responses as requested.
Clarifying details: the board added language requesting responses from recipients and specifically named the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture because the U.S. Forest Service is an agency within the Department of Agriculture. The board noted the immediate concern was summer staffing; it did not specify new funding from the county.
