File Photo Voters in Alpena County will vote on a renewal request for the local youth and recreation millage next month. The Plaza Pool depends on the revenue from the millage to help cover operational costs.

ALPENA — Alpena County voters will get a chance to decide whether or not to renew the county-wide youth and recreation millage this August. The proposed renewal, if approved by voters, will run for four years, starting with the levy made on Dec. 1.

The Alpena County Youth and Recreation millage renewal will not exceed one half mill, or $0.50 on each $1,000.00 of Equalized State Taxable Value.

The millage is for the sole purpose of providing “recreational activities” for youth and recreation for Alpena County residents, as well as recreational service and improvement or development of recreational sites.

The estimated revenue Alpena County will collect if the millage renewal is approved and levied in the first year is $645,000. The 0.5-mill tax would cost an owner of a $100,000 house with a taxable value of about $50,000 about $25 a year.

Money from the millage goes towards community programming and supporting community recreation. The Youth and Recreation Committee, which includes a single Alpena County Commissioner and appointed members from the other districts, recommends to the county commissioners how money from the millage should be spent.

In 2025, the committee allocated $556,110 for community recreation which is an 83% increase from the first year money was allocated in 2011, which totalled $303,193.

Last year, big ticket items paid out from the Youth and Recreation grant program included approximately $107,500 for the Plaza Pool’s operating and programming costs as well as $41,200 for MSU Extension 4-H children and youth programming. Youth and Recreation money also helped fund the Bay View reconstruction project for $100,000.

Other clubs and organizations that benefited from the millage included Friends of Alpena Farmers Market, Beaver Lake Park, the Boys and Girls Club, and more.

According to Tony Suszek, without funding from the Youth and Recreation millage, community assets such as the Plaza Pool would no longer be a reality. In February, Suszek told The News that without Youth and Recreation funding, the Plaza Pool would close.

“Many of the organizations we sponsor are an every year commitment, for instance, if not for our contributions to the Plaza Pool, it would probably be closed,” Suszek said.

He said that the Youth and Recreation mileage has had a widespread, long-lasting effect on community members.

“I don’t think there is a person in the community that has not been positively impacted in one way or another thanks to this millage,” Suszek said.

When the millage is up for renewal, Suszek explained that the committee meets to evaluate the program, and to consider if the millage must be increased or decreased.

“As a committee we evaluate every four years, we consider possible changes, and the needs of Alpena County,” Suszek explained. “We also consider an increase to the millage but ultimately, we do not want it any higher than it needs to be.