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Mackinac County commissioners approve full-time maintenance post, millage ballot language and roughly $1.6 million in bills
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Summary
At their March 12 meeting in St. Ignace, the Mackinac County Board of Commissioners approved converting a vacant part-time maintenance position to full time, cleared ballot wording for a Community Action millage for the August election, confirmed animal-shelter staffing and committee appointments, and approved regular and additional bills totaling about $1.6 million.
The Mackinac County Board of Commissioners on March 12 voted to convert a vacant part-time maintenance position into a full-time post and to approve ballot language for a Community Action millage to appear on the August election ballot.
County Clerk Hillary Vowell presented an estimate that moving the maintenance position to full time would increase costs by approximately $12,000 annually; Commissioner Austin Kimberling moved the change and Commissioner Daryl Schroeder seconded it. The board approved the personnel change on a roll-call vote: Yes — Kimberling, Kling, Schroeder, St. Louis-Scott; Absent — Patrick.
The board also approved Community Action Director Joe Nolan’s proposed millage ballot wording for placement on the August ballot. Commissioner Judy St. Louis-Scott moved the motion, Commissioner Kimberling seconded, and the motion passed by voice vote.
Nut graf: The meeting’s substantive decisions focused on personnel and near-term finance items—shifting a maintenance job to full time, advancing a local millage question to voters, confirming staffing and appointments at the county animal shelter, and approving routine and additional bills that together total roughly $1.6 million. These votes set short-term budget and staffing expectations for county operations and put a local millage before voters this summer.
In related business, LMAS Director Nick Derusha presented the agency’s 2025 annual report and said new programs introduced last year left the agency with revenue exceeding costs by about $200,000. The board accepted a resignation from Animal Advisory Committee member Samantha Thompson, received an application from Katie Jones to fill the vacancy, and approved a recommendation to move the Interim Shelter Manager into the permanent Shelter Manager role. Commissioner Austin Kimberling moved to accept the resignation, approve the appointment and make the Interim Shelter Manager permanent; Commissioner Judy St. Louis-Scott seconded and the motion passed by roll call.
Commissioner Judy St. Louis-Scott presented terms for appointees to the Brownfield Development Committee (one-year terms: Al Garavaglia and Bob Brotherton; two-year terms: Elizabeth Suggitt and Dean Reid; three-year terms: Fred Ryerse and Bridgett Sorenson). The board approved those terms on a motion by Commissioner Kimberling and second by Commissioner Daryl Schroeder.
The board also voted to cancel the second March meeting because several members expected to be absent for spring break. Because of that cancellation, the board agreed that two commissioners would review Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians 2% funding applications by email and authorized County Clerk Hillary Vowell to submit the applications to the tribe after that review.
Finance actions: The board approved the regular bills for March 12 totaling $1,417,927.70 (motion by Commissioner Austin Kimberling, second by Commissioner Judy St. Louis-Scott; roll-call vote recorded as Yes: Kimberling, Kling, Schroeder, St. Louis-Scott). The board also approved additional bills totaling $178,707.51 and approved budget amendment #26-07; the transcript lists amounts associated with the amendment as $1,500, $900,000 and $24,000. Those items passed on roll-call votes recorded as Yes: Kimberling, Kling, Schroeder, St. Louis-Scott.
Sheriff Ed Wilk briefly notified the board that new ADA website regulations require full compliance by 2027, flagging an upcoming timeline for county departments to address web accessibility.
The meeting concluded after the board reviewed a January bank report and adjourned at 5:25 p.m. on a motion by Commissioner Kimberling and second by Commissioner Schroeder.
Votes at a glance: approve agenda (voice vote); approve Feb. 26 minutes (voice vote); convert maintenance position to full time (roll-call: 4–0 yes, 1 absent); approve Community Action millage ballot wording (voice vote); accept animal committee resignation/approve appointment and Shelter Manager permanence (roll-call: 4–0 yes, 1 absent); approve Brownfield committee terms (voice vote); cancel second March meeting (voice vote); authorize Clerk to submit Sault Tribe 2% applications after two-commissioner review (voice vote); approve regular bills $1,417,927.70 (roll-call: 4–0 yes, 1 absent); approve additional bills $178,707.51 (roll-call: 4–0 yes, 1 absent); approve budget amendment #26-07 (roll-call: 4–0 yes, 1 absent); adjourn at 5:25 p.m.
All attributions in this story are drawn from board action recorded in the March 12, 2026 meeting transcript and motions recorded by roll call or by voice vote. If a numeric total or further budget detail is needed (for example, the ledger lines associated with budget amendment #26-07), those specifics were not provided in the transcript and are listed as shown in the record.