MARQUETTE — Marquette County officials are working to temporarily fill an elected position following the death of mine inspector John “Yogi” Carlson last week.

According to a notice released on Tuesday, Marquette County Clerk Linda Talsma, Marquette County Prosecutor Matt Wiese and Marquette County Probate Judge Cheryl Hill will meet at 3 p.m. Wednesday to appoint a temporary replacement to serve as the mine inspector until Dec. 31.

The process of appointing a replacement county mine inspector is set by Michigan law.

In order to be considered for the position, the individual must be a citizen of Michigan who can read and write in the English language, the statute states.

“Interested parties must appear at the public meeting and be prepared to present written support of qualifications to meet the terms of the law,” the notice states.

The appointee must also have “at least 10 years actual experience in mining, or a person holding the degree of mining and engineering, or an equivalent, and who shall have practiced his or her profession as a mining engineer for at least two years.”

The mine inspector is responsible for visiting active mines to check for safety violations, checking sand and gravel pits and monitoring fences around caving grounds to ensure proper maintenance and educating the public about the dangers that may exist in fenced caving grounds.

The appointment comes as concerns about protecting the public from potentially dangerous former mine pits, shafts and subsidence due to past mining activities in several areas have recently surfaced.

The city of Negaunee, which owns at least 900 acres of former mining property, had been working with Carlson to build and repair fences around areas of concern.

Steven Bertucci, who will appear on the Democratic ballot on Nov. 3 for a four-year term in the elected position, said he has been approached by county officials to possibly fill the gap.

Bertucci won the Aug. 4 primary with 3,854 votes. His two challengers on the ballot, Allan E. Koski and John A. Hamel, received 3,537 and 3,130 votes, respectively.

In a phone interview Tuesday, Bertucci expressed his gratitude to Marquette County voters.

“I am very happy that I got the votes I got. It shows people have confidence in me,” Bertucci said.

If appointed to temporarily fill the remainder of Carlson’s term, Bertucci said he expects to be busy with inspections.

“If they appoint me, I am going to start checking on fences,” Bertucci said. “Up here, you can’t visit abandoned mine sites in January. It’s just not possible.”

He said after viewing the last four years of mine inspection reports, he noted some areas that may need to be added.

“I lived in Ishpeming. I know a few places that were fenced in as a kid and I don’t see them on here,” Bertucci said.

Of Carlson, Bertucci said “he will be missed.”

“I would like to send my condolences to his family. We were on the same crew at the Empire, and he was one of the ‘coffee guys’ before this whole COVID(-19) thing started,” Bertucci said. “I was looking forward to talking to him. I was kind of hoping he could be my sounding board.”

There will be no Republican challenger for the position during the Nov. 3 general election, according to the Marquette County website.

Lisa Bowers can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 242. Her email address is lbowers@miningjournal.net.