AN EMPLOYEE OF The Window Store of Marquette works Tuesday on a lift at the Iron County Courthouse in Crystal Falls. The county is replacing 152 windows in the 132-year-old courthouse at a cost of $396,897, using federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. The project is expected to be completed by the end of the month and should make the courthouse complex more energy-efficient, officials said. The courthouse was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. (Betsy Bloom/Daily News photo)

CRYSTAL FALLS — Voters in the county will be asked in November to renew a half-mill levy for funding the Iron County Youth Camp from 2023 through 2026.

The Iron County Board earlier this month authorized placing the .5 mill measure, or 50 cents per $1,000 of taxable property value, on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Camp Batawagama is at 909 Pentoga Trail on Indian Lake, off County Road 424 west of Alpha and east of Gaastra. The camp was established in 1945 by “two Iron County educators who were committed to creating an outdoor education experience for young people; a place they could come to learn camping skills and how to work together all while sharing an appreciation for the wilderness,” according to the Camp Batawagama website.

The millage, if approved, would generate an estimated $292,025 in the first year.

It is the second countywide millage question slated for the November ballot. The board in June approved wording for a 1 mill levy, or $1 per $1,000 of taxable property, for Iron County’s ambulance provider.

The county now has a 0.15-mill levy, first approved in 2016 and renewed in 2020 through 2024, that along with revenue from patient transports provides about $80,590 to Aspirus MedEvac, which has the four-year contract to provide two advanced life support — or ALS — ambulances with crews covering the east and west sides of the county 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

But Aspirus MedEvac officials say the existing millage is not nearly enough to compensate for costs to provide the service. The existing 0.15-mill levy would be dropped if the new one passes Nov. 8.

County Civil Counsel Steve Tinti also pointed out in June that if voters approve the new millage, the county would be required to go back out for bids on the ambulance service, with a duty to consider all proposals, not just one from Aspirus.

In other business, the board July 12:

— Had a long discussion about what to pay Jail Administrator Dale Anderson when he occasionally does road patrol duties for the sheriff’s department. Due to staffing shortages, Anderson has been cross-trained to assist when needed, such as when the county had both the Bass Festival in Crystal Falls and the U.P. Championship Rodeo in Iron River during the July 9 weekend, Sheriff Mark Valesano told the board. But jail administrator is a salaried position, so does not qualify for overtime pay. Valesano argued that Anderson’s road patrol time should be eligible for overtime pay, which is time and a half of the hourly rate. But board members took issue with basing that overtime on what the jail administrator earns, saying it should be the hourly rate paid to other deputies on road patrol. They voted 2-1 — board members Patti Peretto and Jeff Ofsdahl were absent — to provide the overtime but at the hourly rate deputies receive, adjusted to the number of service years. Board Chair Mark Stauber was the no vote, explaining he objected to overtime pay for salaried employees.

— Authorized a $19,765 contract with Johnson Controls of Greenville, Wis., to replace two Carrier rooftop air conditioning condensing units at the Iron County Courthouse.

— Appointed Central Dispatch Director Ashley Schmidt to take Valesano’s seat on the UP 911 Board, after he retires, for the remainder of the term through the end of the year. She would have to be reappointed in 2023, Valesano said.

— Approved Rebecca Jacks to join the county’s jury board after the resignation of Ed Bonk.

— Set a board work session on the 2023 budget for 4 p.m. Monday in the board chambers at the courthouse.