City approves agreement with Presque Isle County Sheriff’s Department

by Angie Asam-Staff Writer

It is no secret that the topic of police protection in the City of Onaway has been an issue that has received plenty of discussion lately. With the commission not extending the contract of the city’s lone officer Jim Gibson after May 1, the discussion has continued. The city had to make budget cuts to balance its budget and at that time cut the Onaway Police Department.

Monday evening the city commission approved an agreement with the Presque Isle County Sheriff’s Department (PICSD) that would take effect on July 1 if approved by the county board of commissioners at its June 12 meeting.

City manager Joe Hefele met with sheriff Bob Paschke, undersheriff Joe Brewbaker and commissioner Bob Schell to iron out the details of the agreement.

Through the agreement the cost to the city would be approximately $29,000 ($25,000 plus $4,000 in building-related costs) for a minimum of 832 hours of coverage throughout the year.

According to Hefele, a prior proposal with the former chief would have cost the city approximately $37,000 for a maximum of 720 hours coverage throughout the year.

“Therefore, the agreement with the PICSD is approximately $8,000 less expensive per year despite significantly more coverage. And the agreement with the PICSD does not include a $47,000 retirement buy-out. When you factor tha

t in, the agreement with the PICSD is far less expensive and provides significantly more coverage than the proposal from the former chief,” stated Hefele’s managers report.

Hefele also provided the commission with an e-mail communication from former chief Gibson that indicated that he was no longer interested in working part-time for the city, but was requesting only the $47,000 retirement buyout.

The commission unanimously approved the agreement and will wait for the county to do the same before the agreement would go into effect on July 1.

IN OTHER CITY COMMISSION NEWS:

• The commission approved a water main, a small storm drain system and street reconstruction project on N. Elm Street between Spruce and Cedar Streets. “The street and storm drain is the most vital part of the project, as this is the worst section of road among the many awful sections in town. The water improvement, however, is needed as well,” said Hefele. Hefele told the commission that through the agreement with the PICSD versus maintaining a full-time one-main police department the city has approximately $50,000-$60,000 to spend on infrastructure projects each year. The project cost is estimated at just under $50,000. The commission unanimously approved the project.