GAYLORD — Funding is drying up for community collection sites that handle debris from the March 28-30 ice storm in Northern Michigan, as operations will soon end in Cheboygan and Otsego counties.
Two locations in Otsego County that were accepting storm debris will halt operations on Thursday, June 12. Ever since the storm toppled trees and caused other damage in Otsego County, Ryan Philipp of PineCo has operated the collection sites at 10600 Old 27 North near Vanderbilt and later on a portion of the old Georgia Pacific plant site on Milbocker Road that is owned by Wolverine Power Cooperative.
“Right now it’s all about finances. We have yet to receive any financial support, and we just can’t keep this operation going on our own anymore. After months of hard work, the cost of running these sites has been way more than what we’ve made, and we can’t keep covering it out of pocket. Without funding, we are forced to shut the debris sites down. Between the capacity limits at the power plant, dwindling payouts on wood and hardly any places left to take the processed material, it’s gotten even harder to keep things moving,” PineCo said in a statement.
“There is a tremendous amount of debris left in the county,” said Otsego County Emergency Manager Jon Deming. “I think about 35% has been cleaned up, so we have a long ways to go. Other counties are also closing up (debris collection sites) because it is such a large expense. We’re frustrated it’s come to this, but we’re still hopeful that with support on the county, state and/or federal levels we can find a solution to get back up and running.”
Cheboygan County recently announced the closure of several storm debris drop-off locations, as of 6 p.m. on June 17. The sites include Levering Pit at 11184 Levering Road, Meyer Pit at 3801 Meyer Pit Road, Cheboygan County Road Commission Pit at 3948 Indian Trail Road, the road commission pit at 1302 W. Devereaux Lake Road and at 9677 Gravel Pit Road.
The Burt Township Dump on Woodrose Road may continue to be open for Burt Township residents who set up an appointment with the township.
At the June 10 meeting of the Cheboygan County Board of Commissioners meeting, county administrator Jeff Lawson mentioned a lack of funding when discussing the sites closing.
— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Ice storm debris collection sites to close amid funding challenges
Reporting by Paul Welitzkin, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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