IRON MOUNTAIN — Three applicants for two positions on the Northpointe Behavioral Health Board were interviewed Monday by Dickinson County commissioners, possibly setting a precedent for all county appointments.

Commissioner John Degenaer Jr. objected before he walked out in protest, saying it was “an illegal meeting” because no policy has been approved for such interviews.

One of the Northpointe applicants is Ralph Kramer, husband of Commissioner Barbara Kramer. The other two are Robert Roberge and Kevin Pirlot, both of whom are seeking reappointment. A vote is set for March 25, as their terms expire March 31.

Barbara Kramer proposed the idea to conduct interviews as a standard practice for all county appointments at the board’s Feb. 26 meeting.

Degenaer, at Monday’s meeting, said public interviews will discourage citizens from applying for other panel vacancies, some of which are hard to fill. Going forward with Northpointe interviews before agreeing on an overall policy would be wrong, he said.

Commissioner Joe Stevens said the board could have interviews for the mental health agency slots and look at a policy in the future. “There’s a very, very important decision to be made on Northpointe,” he said.

Degenaer, the only Democrat on the five-member county board, has also objected to the handling of appointments to the Dickinson County Fair Board, which he chairs. That panel, through its bylaws, has a right to make its own recommendations, he’s said.

Also, Degenaer was the only commissioner to back reappointment in October of 10-year library board incumbent Katy Driscoll, as Pamela Trask was selected to replace her with three votes of support.

As for the Northpointe appointments, Pirlot is former commissioner who represented District 2 as a Democrat from 2019-20. Having served as the county board’s direct representative on the Northpointe panel, he was named in 2021 to fill another opening, along with Roberge, who was also reappointed.

Pirlot currently chairs the 12-member Northpointe board, which oversees community mental health services in Dickinson, Iron and Menominee counties. The board has five representatives each from Dickinson and Menominee counties and two from Iron County, each appointed by their respective county boards.

During a Dec. 11 county board meeting, Northpointe CEO Jennifer Cescolini received a series of questions from Commissioner Kramer, mainly about the mental health agency’s finances and services. Roughly 95% of Northpointe’s funding is federal, but the counties also provide allocations, including $99,630 annually from Dickinson County.

Cescolini responded Jan. 22, presenting a 312-page document to the county board, including financial audits dating back to 2019-20.

On Monday, Commissioner Ann Martin, the county board’s direct representative on the Northpointe board, presented identical questions to each of the three Northpointe applicants: What do you know about Northpointe, why are you interested in serving, what background do you have regarding community mental health, why do you feel you’d be a strong member and what value would you bring to the board?

Kramer spoke of his decades of employment with Genesis Behavioral Services in southern Wisconsin, including work as a counselor, supervisor and finally as chief of operations responsible for budgets.

Pirlot discussed the improvements in service he’s helped put in place at Northpointe, while conceding “Michigan has a defective mental health system.” A retired firefighter, he also spoke of his personal experiences with critical incident stress and counseling.

Roberge mentioned his background as a former Department of Health and Human Services director and described Northpointe as “very complex and bureaucratic” and “a tough organization to manage.” In five years of service, he added, he has come to “understand quite a bit about it.”

The interviews had no back-and-forth exchanges, though Stevens at one point said he wanted to ask further questions. Controller Brian Bousley advised the same questions should be asked of all the applicants. Stevens then agreed commissioners could make follow-up queries on their own.

During citizen’s time, Northpointe employee Jessica Melius was one of several who spoke in support of Roberge, Pirlot and the Northpointe board. Other county appointees to the Northpointe panel are Wendy Mattia, whose term expires in 2026, and Mary Negro, whose term expires in 2025.

It remains to be seen if the county will follow through on interviewing applicants for all board and committee vacancies. According to the county’s website, the affected panels may include the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, Department of Human Services Board, Land Bank Authority, Fair Board, Fumee Lake Commission, Library Board, Planning Commission, Veterans Service Office, Road Commission, Economic Development Corp. and Solid Waste Management Planning Committee, among others.

The board last initiated interviews in 2018 for trustee appointments to the former Dickinson County Healthcare System during a time of financial turmoil at the community hospital. The county hospital joined the Marshfield Clinic Health System in February 2022, with input and oversight now provided by a local advisory board appointed by MCHS. The most recent public update from that panel was made to county board in March 2023.

Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-744-3500, ext. 226, or janderson@ironmountaindailynews.com.