News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Alpena County Board of Commissioners Chairman John Kozlowski, left, accepts a Certificate of Congratulations from U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin after an event at the APlex in Alpena on Friday. The certificate says it is for the county’s tireless and selfless service rendered during and after the recent ice storm.

ALPENA — U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, was in Alpena at a private event at the APlex on Friday, where she met with select local officials to discuss the local response and impacts from the recent ice storm.

The senator also learned more about a proposed plan to make renovations to the APlex, which would better equip it to be used as a large shelter if needed.

The media was not allowed to the meeting except to capture a photo at its conclusion, but it was attended by local emergency response officials, members of the Alpena Municipal Council and Alpena County Board of Commissioners, Alpena Public Schools and Alpena Community College leaders, a representative from Alpena Power Co., and others.

Slotkin said after the meeting that the pictures and videos that depicted the damage from the storm seemed unreal, and she complimented everyone who lived through the storm and its aftermath.

She said as a member of the Senate’s Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, she will have a say in helping make sure the requested money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) becomes a reality.

“We oversee FEMA, and quite literally, it is my job to receive the ball from the governor and bang pots and pans with FEMA until we get that declaration and get that reimbursement,” she said. “We need to get that money.”

Also, as a member of the committee, Slotkin said, she does have some power in deciding where funds are allocated. She said the proposed plan to renovate the APlex, which is estimated to come in just shy of $2 million, does fit the goals of the FEMA money, if it is granted.

“There was a lot of discussion about power generators and not having the infrastructure for warming centers,” Slotkin said. “That came up over and over again. I know that this center has submitted a request for direct federal dollars, and this is the time to ask. You demonstrated a need. Frankly, it depends on what the president and the Republicans, who control the House and the Senate, want to do with the budget.”

If the federal government approves the request for funding for the APlex, the money will not be used for a proposed expansion of the facility that would include a new community pool.

The money would be used to update the roof and other aged infrastructure in the complex.

At the end of the meeting, Slotkin presented Alpena County Board of Commissioners Chairman John Kozlowski with a framed certificate of congratulations for the “tireless and selfless service rendered during and after the recent ice storm.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.