PETOSKEY — During their meeting on Tuesday, the Emmet County Board of Commissioners approved a letter of understanding for the Straits Regional Ride agreement for 2024.
“This is the agreement that we’ve been signing year after year,” Boyer said. “The agreement is between Cheboygan, Emmet and Presque Isle (counties) regarding the transportation system that provides the buses that you see providing services throughout the county.”
According to agenda documents, the letter serves as a renewal of the already-existing agreement between the counties. The basic terms of the agreement are unchanged from prior years.
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The letter had initially been listed among the consent agenda items, which the board can approve all together with one motion. Commissioner Charles Laughbaum of District 1 requested that the item be moved to new business so that the commissioners could discuss it.
“I am not a supporter of Straits Regional Ride,” Laughbaum said. “Very few citizens in my district use that. It’s mostly used by people down here in Petoskey and Harbor Springs. I would say probably less than 10 people in my district use that.”
Laughbaum added that he used to be a driver for Straits Regional Ride and “I personally know how much money they can lose.”
“It’s not a self-sustaining operation,” he said.
Commissioner Matt Koontz asked how much the program costs Emmet County, and county administrator David Boyer pointed out that it “hasn’t cost us anything the last few years” as federal dollars have been offsetting the cost.
Commissioner Neil Ahrens added that while they must think of their own districts and their particular constituents, “we also have to keep in mind that we’re serving the entire county.”
The board ultimately approved the letter of understanding in a 6-1 vote, with Laughbaum voting no.
— Contact Jillian Fellows at jfellows@petoskeynews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Emmet County approves 2024 agreement for Straits Regional Ride