Menominee County roads nab $3.5 million federal grant

MENOMINEE, MICH. – The road improvement projects the Menominee County Road Commission oversaw during the past three years wouldn’t have happened to the same extent without support from the Menominee County Board of Commissioners, said Road Commissions Engineer/Manager Darrell Cass at a January County Board meeting.

Cass also discussed upcoming road improvements and funding, including a $3.5 million federal grant award to be used to reconstruct Road 388 from Hermansville to Faithorn. “We’re happy that got selected. That’s $3.5 million of U.S. DOT money that’s going to be coming to Menominee County,” he said. “It’s going to be a major project.” Cass said.

The Road Commission will manage the $3.5 million project on County Road 388 between County Road 577 and US-2, which Cass described as a 9.5-mile drop. It will be repaved and widened with travel lanes measuring 12 feet in width and 3-foot shoulders, according to a State of Michigan announcement.

The grant is funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program. Case said the Michigan Infrastructure Technical Assistance Center’s help with the grant application was appreciated.

The local project will include centerline rumble strips for safety and two pedestrian crosswalks at stream and rail crossings. As a result of the improvements, weight restrictions in some areas are expected to be removed.

Cass thanked the County Commissioners for the $760,000 in American Rescue Plan Act Funds the commissioners allocated to the Road Commission in 2022 for local graveling and asphalt road projects. Local townships also contributed funds, so the total capital expenditures for road improvements totaled about $1.2 million, he said.

Managing the various projects in 14 townships was daunting at first, Cass said, but all but one project is completed. A Stephenson, Michigan, road improvement project will be completed in 2025, he said, noting the gravel has been purchased and funds set aside.

As of this month, the Road Commission transitioned to using an online system, OxcartPermits.com, to help manage Menominee County residents’ requests for driveway permits and culverts, Cass said. “On Feb. 1, we plan on going live with it, so if a resident wants to get a driveway permit or a culvert, they can go online” to make their request, Cass said at the Jan. 14 meeting.

At the two regular January County Board meetings, on Jan. 14 and Jan. 28, the commissioners announced appointments to various boards, committees and authorities operating in Menominee County. First, they heard interested candidates introduce themselves, a requirement according to County Board bylaws.

The Commissioners appointed:

Michael Lyons to the Menominee County Library Board for a five-year term.
Brent Desjarlais to the Menominee County Park & Recreation Committee for a three-year term.

Connie Wells to the UP State Fair Authority for a two-year term.

Dave Pomeroy, Todd Rye, Nita Curtis and Faye Phelps to the County Fair Board for three-year terms.

David Anderson to the Planning Commission-Recreation/Tourism for a partial term ending April 30, 2026.

Leonard Kosewski to the Planning Commission-Transportation/Communication for a three-year term beginning Feb. 1.

Natalie Lashmet to the Planning Commission-Educational School for a three-year term.

Thomas Phillips to the Remonumentation Committee to represent the townships of Menominee County indefinitely, until he resigns or is removed by the County Board.

At the Jan. 28 board meeting, former Friend of the Court Director Jodie Barrette, who retired Jan. 17, was recognized for her 26 years of service. Barrette was first hired in 1998 to work in the Menominee County Clerk’s Office, then transferred in 2010 to the Friend of the Court department. She was promoted to director in 2015.

Barrette “worked diligently to serve the families of Menominee County and led the Menominee County Friend of the Court office with a focus on customer service, effectiveness and efficiency,” County Board Chairperson Larry Phelps said.

“We appreciate all the work Jodie has done over the many years,” said Menominee County Judge Mary Brouillette Barglind, who attended the meeting virtually.

Barglind has appointed Robyn Bourgeois to take Barrette’s place. Bourgeois has worked in the Friend of the Court department for 18 years.
“Beyond doing just her job duties of child-support enforcement, she’s also been doing the responsibilities of other positions because we’ve had some shortages,” Barglind said. “So she’s been doing custody-parenting time. She’s been training new employees. She’s been speaking around the state. She’s been a speaker the state has called upon as an expert in certain child-support matters. She’s done basically everything in that Friend of the Court office. I’m excited to move her up.”

County Administrator Jason Carviou said to offer Bourgeois an increase to a step 3 required the County Commissioners’ approval. “I believe it’s justified,” he said. Bourgeois is moving up from a union position without supervisory responsibility to an executive level, department-head level position, Carviou said.

“If we were hiring from the outside, someone who has 18 years of child-support experience and is bringing that experience, I believe it would warrant that step 3 to be competitive with the market. We need the County Board’s approval to do that,” Carviou said.

Barglind pointed out Bourgeois is losing a defined-benefit pension plan for a defined-contribution 401K plan.

Phelps agreed the change in pension plans was significant. “We’ve had examples of people hesitant to leave union positions because of their pension plan, who were more than qualified to step up into these positions,” Phelps said. “We still have the option to evaluate it.”

Noting Bourgeois’ experience, the commissioners approved a pay increase for her to about $73,923 or $35.54 per hour. Bourgeois started in the role the day after Barrette’s last day.

In other business, the commissioners approved 2025 service agreements with Bailey Property Association and West Shore Fishing Museum as well as with the Menominee Animal Shelter.

At a Jan. 7 organizational meeting, the commissioners unanimously re-elected Phelps as chairperson. They elected Nick Hanchek as vice chair and Larry Johnson Jr. as vice-chairperson pro tempore.

The board welcomed Commissioner Donald Park, who voters elected Nov. 5, to the board. Other County Commissioners include Zak Aubert, Jeff Carlson, Steven Gromala, Patricia Mueller and Connie Westrich. All were in attendance at the Jan. 7 meeting, when the board also approved the 2025 meeting schedule, including a new start time for board meetings of 5:30 p.m.

The board is scheduled to meet on the second and fourth Tuesdays of most months, except for November, when it will meet on Wednesday, Nov. 12. In December, the board will meet on the first and third Tuesdays, Dec. 2 and 16.