News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Alpena Boy’s and Girl’s Club Executive Director Brad Somers, left, chats with a group of kids while working at the club on Thursday. The club and Alpena County are in the process of trying to sell the old club property on River Street.

ALPENA — In November, the Alpena County Economic Development Committee voted to recommend to the full board of commissioners that provision in the deed of the property where the old boys and girls club could be removed, and the county would not seek any of the proceeds from a future sale of the property.

The provision pertaining to the potential sale of the property would require the new owner to use the land for youth services. The full board didn’t take the recommendation and now seeks 25% of any sale.

Commissioner Robin LaLonde recused herself from the vote because of her past involvement with the club.

During Tuesday’s Finance, Ways, and Means Committee meeting, the commissioners changed their mind on not receiving revenue from a sale and voted 4-3 to send the proposal to the club administrators.

The county owns the land where the old club was built on River Street, but not the building. A new club was built on Miller Street and opened earlier this year and the sale of the property would be used to help pay down debt from that project.

During the meeting, the commissioners discussed paying to have an appraisal done on the property, which is on the Thunder Bay River, connected to Rotary Island Mill Park, and across the river from the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center

The property on the river was last appraised in 2019 and was valued at about $115,000.

Some on the committee believed the property is probably worth more than that now because it is on the waterfront. Others believed when the demolition of the old club is figured in, the value could be equal or lower.

The commissioners voted to not have an updated appraisal done and to allow the club to sell it and pay a portion of the revenue to the county. The club can do an updated appraisal if it chooses.

Commissioners John Kozlowski and Brenda Founier told their fellow commissioners they would like to see a higher percentage of the proceeds from the sale of the property come back to the county. The revenue could help a budget that is more than $1 million in the red.

“I would like to see the amount coming back to us be a little higher,” Commissioner John Kozlowski said. “I know the boys and girls club does a good job, but we can use it too.”

Both Commissioners Burt Francisco and Bill Peterson were in favor of allowing the club to keep all of the money from the future sale, but when they saw the amount of support from the other commissioners who wanted money sent back to the county, they feared there would be enough votes to seek a higher percentage of the proceeds than the 25%. As a result, they voted in favor of the smaller amount.

“I thought this was a better option than 30% or more,” Peterson said. “I voted originally to just let them keep it all.”

Club Executive Director Brad Somers said the club still hasn’t received the proposal from the county but looks forward to working with the county to find a viable plan that benefits everyone, especially the kids who utilize the club.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to work with the county on the sale of the building and to find the right person or entity,” Somers said. “I’m looking forward to working out all of the details to make sure that happens. This is just step one, but we have a lot of details to work out on how we want to move forward.”

A new Boys and Girls Club facility opened on Miller Street this summer after a years-long fundraising campaign. The new facility provides the latest in technology and security for the staff and kids and should last for many years.

The club needed a new facility because of the poor condition of the old clubhouse, which sits on the shore of the Thunder Bay River.

This story has been updated to reflect that the Alpena County Economic Development Commitee voted to recommend to the board of commissioners to allow the Alpena Boys and Girls Club to keep 100% of the proceeds of any sale of the former property where the club was. That information was incorrect in an early version of this story.