News Photo by Kayla Wikaryasz On Thursday, Northeast Michigan Materials Management Authority (NMMMA) board members met to discuss various items of business which included revisions to the board's bylaws.

ALPENA — The Northeast Michigan Materials Management Authority (NMMMA) board met in Alpena on Thursday to discuss various orders of business which included draft suggestions to the board’s bylaws.

Mayor Cindy Johnson, NMMMA chair, told the board that certain revisions have to be made to the board’s bylaws to improve consistency and reflect the mission of NMMMA.

One suggestion Johnson stated that the board should consider is the question of whether or not board members have term limits. She stated that term limits are not “really important” for board members as most current members are elected officials appointed to the NMMMA board by a municipality.

“I think that limiting ourselves to the people that will help us with recycling by our term limits is short sighted,” Johnson added.

John Kozlowski, board member for Alpena County, stated that term limits on board members may create challenges when finding individuals to replace members when a term limit comes due. He suggested that if a board member is already doing what they want to be doing, they should be allowed to continue.

“How about just let the person that’s doing it continue to do it,” Kozlowski said.

Whether the board decides to remove term limits or change the respective policies, Kozlowski said it is important to follow policies and bylaws as they are dictated.

“If this is what the bylaws says, either we fix it or we change it,” Kozlowski said. “I’m not opposed to making the changes.”

Kozlowski and Don Gilmet, board member from Wilson Township, discussed the importance of including people on the board in the future who are genuinely interested in recycling.

“Why would you put somebody on the board that has absolutely no interest in being part of it,” Kozlowski said.

Johnson noted that it is important to keep board positions open to new elected officials who have an interest to learn more about recycling.

“You’re assigned to committees to learn and to participate and to contribute,” Johnson said. “So you don’t want to exclude any new elected officials … you still want them to be able to come and participate.”

Rachel Smolinski, NMMMA treasurer, suggested including language that specifies preferred criteria for board members when municipalities appoint members.

Smolinski and Johnson also discussed the possibility of inviting municipality representatives from other counties — such as Iosco or Alcona — to sit on the board.

“The vision for this authority was that it would be northeast,” Smolinski said. “So if it is someone that doesn’t just want to have a contract, then they apply to be part of the authority. And so we’ve left the door open.”

Johnson noted that it is important that regardless of who joins the board, the responsibility for appointments on the behalf of municipalities have to be explicitly stated in the bylaws. However, she told the board that the larger the board gets, the more complicated it becomes to conduct business.