DHS office to stay in county: city manager wants talk specifics about Onaway proposal
A legislative liaison from the Department of Human Services, who had been having dialogue with State Sen. Jason Allen and his staff, has made a commitment to maintain a DHS office in Presque Isle County. The only remaining question is where.
?We?ve been putting the pressure on down here to find out exactly what is going on, and advocating that Presque Isle needs to keep an office in Presque Isle County,? said Jamie Callahan, Sen. Allen?s chief of staff.
With the high unemployment and the distance clients would have to travel for an office visit, Callahan said he understands the importance of keeping the office in Presque Isle County.
IN LATE MARCH, Doug McCombs, dual county director for Presque Isle and Alpena counties, informed staff in Presque Isle County that he had started looking for an alternative site for the DHS office. The current building is being leased for about $65,000 a year. It includes utility payments and snow removal, as well as maintenance of the grounds and the building.
Even though the owner, John Vogelheim, negotiated a new lease last fall, the state wants to head in a less expensive direction. ?They looked at the rent payment that they are making at their current location,? said Callahan. ?They think it is too much, so they said, ?what can we do to find a new place to keep a presence, keep people in Presque Isle serving the community, but at the same time reduce our rent cost.? ?
Some options are being looked at, including a former doctor/dentist office on State Street in downtown Onaway, which is now being used by the Onaway Police Department. City officials in Onaway are offering rent of $400 to $500 a month.
McCombs agreed that the price would be hard to beat, but he still has to make sure there is adequate space and that mandated technology is available.
?I am even doing some checking with some businesses?to make sure there are no other options that people feel may work in place of a T-1 line,? said McCombs.
Vogelheim also would be given a chance to make an offer. Onaway city manager Joe Hefele was pleased to hear the news, because ?there is a great need for that service within Presque Isle County.? He just wants to make sure the decision makers visit and consider the sites in Onaway.
?IF THE STATE is considering the rent of that office (Rogers City), in order to try and get its rent down, and to be able to operate that office more efficiently, the City of Onaway is extremely interested in having that office located in Onaway where 50 percent of their clients are from,? said Hefele.
?Also, it has come to our understanding that the state may be examining the possibility of some type of facility that houses all of its offices within the county. We feel we could handle that here on the third floor of our courthouse in the next few years.?
The city is offering the use of the State Street buildings (OPD building/former city hall) to DHS and the state police, and the state agencies can move in immediately, before the third floor is renovated and the new police station building is constructed near the courthouse.
?If there is any thought that the state police post is going to be relocated within in this county, it is much, much, much more needed over here on the west end in Onaway,? said Hefele, who wants to talk specifics about the proposal, but has not been able to learn who the decision makers are.
Hefele?s main concern is that a decision will be made without careful
MCCOMBS SAID there has been an amazing response from the community ?in terms of options? I have been comfortable all along that the odds were in our favor that we were going to find space that would allow us to stay there.?
Dorothy Gordon, Allen?s constituent specialist, has received emails and resolutions from city and county officials from Presque Isle County, as well as concerned DHS case workers. McCombs said he started feeling more confident about the situation after the exchanges between Allen?s office and DHS management last week.
?There was an interest in moving fast with this because if they are going to save the type of money they want to save, delaying it long term would not realize that kind of savings,? said McCombs, who wants to present a proposal by the end of April. In the meantime, the director will continue exploring options. At the conclusion of all the discussions, McCombs hopes to find the situation that works best for the citizens of Presque Isle County.