ALPENA — Alpena County recently sent a letter to the Alpena County Road Commission informing it that the county intends to hold a pair of public hearings regarding a possible expansion of the road commission board.

Currently, there are three road commissioners on the board and the county is considering bumping it up to five.

County Administrator Jesse Osmer said increasing the number of road commissioners on the road commission board would provide more transparency, better communication, and increased representation for residents.

He said adding to the road board would not cost the county any more money, as the road commission would work under the same budget it does now, but would likely have to tweak the road commissioner’s pay and per diem amounts.

Osmer said currently, the road commissioners make $300 a meeting, plus an annual salary of $4,500 annually. They also receive a per diem of $30 for any meeting under four hours long. That equates to a total of about $8,460 a year, Osmer said.

“We are a big county and we have eight county commissioners and only three road commissioners that oversee roads, and I think having five would provide better representation and coverage county-wide,” Osmer said. “We have been kicking the idea around for about three years, and I think it is time to act.”

Current road commissioner Ton Spaulding, who has been on the road commission board for eight years, said his opinion is that an expansion of the road board isn’t needed. He said the current board, Managing Director Ryle Brege, and other staff work well together and address projects, concerns, and operations basically as one.

“I don’t think we need a five-member board because I think we get business done just fine,” he said.

Osmer said the move could help make the road commission run more smoothly from an administrative aspect. He said a board of three prevents even two road commissioners from even having simple conversations about complaints or everyday business because it would be a quorum and a violation of the Open Meetings Act.

“Not being able to talk at all about projects or simple operations is not helpful and being able to have simple conversations could help resolve things more quickly, instead of having to wait for a meeting,” he said.

Spaulding said currently, there is no banter between road commissioners about business outside of scheduled meetings, and he said that should be the case, no matter how many people are on the board.

“Whether it is a five-member board or three-member board, we shouldn’t be talking about business outside of an open meeting,” he said. “That is the way it should be.”

The topic will be discussed further at the board of commissioner’s meeting on April 22 and representatives from the road commission are invited to attend to speak.

Osmer said the county is only obligated by law to have one public hearing, but in order to give residents additional time to comment on the issue, two public hearings will be scheduled. He said there will be one in May and another in June. He said if the commissioners elect to move forward with the road commission board expansion, candidates would be interviewed by the Alpena County Personnel Committee, and then recommendations made to the full board of county commissioners.

He said the commissioners could make appointments around August or choose to wait until the beginning of the new year.

The Alpena County Road Commission is responsible for maintaining about 660 miles of primary and local roads in the county and is responsible for the maintenance of 21 local bridges.

​Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.