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IRON MOUNTAIN -- Dickinson County will buy a $36,000 boarding ramp for commercial flights at Ford Airport, one of several projects approved Monday that will be paid with federal funds.
The non-motorized mobile Turboway ramp fits over an aircraft's existing steps to make boarding and deplaning safer and quicker. The device is compliant with Federal Aviation Administration and Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
The $19,680 unit being purchased through Fabrication Authorities International will have options that include a canopy, anti-slip surface and walkway lighting for a total cost of $36,040, plus a freight charge.
"It's a good move," Commissioner Joe Stevens said of the acquisition, which is an alternative to an enclosed addition at the terminal. A new terminal might be built in the future, at which time the county could take a look at other improvements, he added.
Controller Brian Bousley said the ramp will be paid with Bipartisan Infrastructure Law airport funds, if eligible, or with American Rescue Plan Act funds.
The county is receiving $1 million through the infrastructure bill signed Nov. 15 by President Joe Biden and $4.9 million under ARP, a federal pandemic aid package authorized in March 2021.
The county board Monday approved two other ARP spending items -- a $70,000 helicopter assembly kit for a student program at the airport and $69,200 for tuckpointing of the brick courthouse and its clock tower.
The Mosquito Helicopter XET kit will be ordered for a Dickinson-Iron Career Technical Education Center course during the next school year, Bousley said. Once assembled, the one-seat aircraft could be offered for sale, or taken apart for re-use the next school year.
With a need for local aviation mechanics, the purchase is meant to help promote the career, commissioners said.
The tuckpointing -- or repairing of mortar joints -- will be done by Northern Restoration & Waterproof Systems of Grawn. No other firms offered a quote, but Bousley said the price is less than anticipated.
Monday marked the first ARP spending authorized by the board, which has until the end of 2024 to obligate the federal funds and until the end of 2026 to fully expend them.
In other business, commissioners voted 3-2 to deny an increase in board pay, which would have taken effect in January 2023, after this November's election. The proposed new annual rate for the board chair was $5,616, up from the current $4,800, and the proposed rate for commissioners was $5,001, up from $3,600.
The recommendation was based on a study done by MGT Consulting, which has reviewed compensation for nearly all county employees. Chairman Henry Wender and commissioners Ann Martin and Stevens voted no, while commissioners John Degenaer Jr. and Barbara Kramer favored the increase.
Stevens said he believes he's already fairly compensated, while Martin said she might propose a lesser increase.
Degenaer said the board seems to be "back in the 1980s," adding, "This is for the position, not the people holding it."
Kramer said the pay for board service might equate to $2 per hour if all commitments are taken into account.
In addition to the salary, board members receive per diem payments of $25 for each local meeting, plus higher per diems for out-of-town meetings, as well as mileage. Total board per diems are budgeted at $18,125 for this year, though historically it's turned out to be less.
In other action, the board:
-- Reappointed Beth Bray, James Dal Santo and Michael Gregg to three-year terms on the Dickinson County Fair Board. Other applicants were Rebecca Padgett, who received support from Kramer and Stevens, and Natalie Ciantar, who was backed by Stevens.
-- Reappointed James Carey and Allan Bilski to three-year terms on the Dickinson County Road Commission.
-- Appointed Mike Schira to a three-year term on the Dickinson County Planning Commission. Three vacancies remain.
-- Appointed Ray Anderson to a three-year term on the Economic Development Corp. Board.
-- After receiving no applicants, will continue to advertise on its website a vacancy on the Northpointe Behavioral Health Board.