Road commission to hire drivers for winter

The Cheboygan County Road Commission plans to hire two additional temporary, part-time drivers to help handle the added workload of keeping roads clear once winter weather arrives. With the added workload that snow plowing, sanding and spreading salt brings throughout the winter months, the road commission annually hires extra help and tries to bring back drivers who have worked for the road commission before. “We originally asked for four, but we had six last year,” said Cheboygan County Road Commission engineer and Manager Brent Shank. “We just want to make sure that we can have up to six.” Cheboygan County Road Commission Chair James Johnson said it made sense to have the same number of temporary drivers as last year. The board agreed that it wouldn’t be a problem to hire two additional drivers. Over the last several years, the temporary drivers have only come in to help with plowing when the area has received more than four inches of snow and the roads need to be cleared. These new hires will be on an on-call basis. “We definitely need them,” said commissioner Clarence O’Connor. Also at the meeting, the board voted to set the date for the public hearing regarding the road commission’s abandonment of Lathers Road in Burt Township for its December 3 meeting at 9 a.m. “We have received all of the proper information according to our policy,” said Shank. The board will hold the public hearing regarding that abandonment and its regular meeting will follow. The board also set the public hearing to review the 2016 budget for the December 17 meeting at 9 a.m. The road commission also received two letters, thanking all of the crew members for the work done on a couple of roads in the county. One was from a resident on Walters Road in Forest Township and one from a resident on Lance Lake Road in Nunda Township. Shank told commissioners he is working on a report to show how the funds from the taxpayer-supported millage have been used for road rehabilitation projects and how the remaining funds are projected to be used.