Marquette County takes steps toward airport project
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MARQUETTE -- The Marquette County Board of Commissioners looked at several items Tuesday, including a measure which would see a K.I. Sawyer project take a step forward.
During the meeting, the county board signed off on the preapproval of a Federal Aviation Administration Cares Developmental Grant which would provide funding for the demolition of 14 buildings at the Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport complex. The $3.3 million grant would give $2,698,150 for the demolition of the 14 business district buildings, which had formerly been in use as part of the U.S. Air Force base.
The rest of the money features more than $270,000 for engineering and construction administration purposes and more than $405,000 in expenses for the State Historical Preservation Office.
Airport officials say that the funding from the grant, which they expect to be quickly approved, should be in the county's hands in October. Once the funding is in place, the demolition will get underway in what is expected to be a four-month-long project.
The board also approved a proposal from the company ElectionStats to update the county's website. The change would allow for an easily navigable election results database on the county's website.
"It makes a lot of sense if you see what's going on around the country," said Chairman Gerald Corkin. "County clerks and clerks in general with all the pressure and grief they have to take concerning elections, anything that will help to explain to the public the facts of what's going on will certainly be helpful."
Marquette County Clerk Linda Talsma says that the current website setup makes election records very difficult to navigate and says that this update will help.
"Part of my job entails sharing election information with the public and giving the public an avenue that is easy to navigate election results," Talsma said in a letter to the board. "Currently my reports are not that -- reports can range anywhere between 60-260 pages of data, making it very difficult to look at the county website and find answers to various questions."
The board voted to award the company, which has already done this in seven states, $9,500 with an additional $5,000 each year after to streamline the website elections data.
Randy Crouch can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 542. His email address is rcrouch@miningjournal.net.