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ALPENA -- With a 30% voter turnout in Alpena County, voters chose to approve the renewal for both the Youth and Recreation and Older Persons millages on Tuesday for the August primary. Chairmen for both the Youth and Recreation and Older Persons committees say that they appreciate the support.
The Youth and Recreation millage renewal passed with a vote of 4,339 to 2,355 and the Older Persons millage renewal passed with a vote of 4,851 to 1,852.
Craig Zelazny, chairman of the Alpena County Older Persons committee, said that he and his committee members appreciate the voters of Alpena County for choosing to renew the Older Persons millage. According to Zelazny, the millage provides essential services to seniors in the community, over the age of 60.
"Myself and the committee are appreciative of the generosity of the Alpena County voters and that they chose to support the Older Persons millage," he said. "We, as a committee, are appreciative of the support."
In July, Zelazny said that the outcome of the millage renewal would determine whether or not programs for seniors in Alpena County continue. He noted partnerships with the APlex, Alpena County Plaza Pool, Thunder Bay Transportation, and other community services that support the Alpena Senior Citizens Center in its mission to serve seniors in the community.
“The revenue is an important piece to the survival of these programs,” he told The News in July. “It is very important because the thing is if this were to not pass there are a lot of things that would go by the way side.”
The proposal will run for four years starting with a levy on Dec. 1.
The Alpena County Older Persons millage renewal is for a tax not to exceed 0.55 of one million ($0.55 on each $1,000.00 of Equalized State Taxable Value).
This millage is for the sole purpose of providing “activities and services” for older persons in Alpena County, which includes individuals 60 years of age or older, for social, health, educational, nutritional, recreational, and senior facility improvements and mobility services.
The estimated annual revenue Alpena County will collect from the millage is $694,352. The .55-mill tax would cost an owner of a $100,000 house and a taxable value of about half that, about $27.50 a year.
Tony Suszek, chairman of the Alpena County Youth And Recreation Committee, said that he is grateful for the support from Alpena County voters.
"I am thankful to the taxpayers for passing the Youth and Recreation millage," Suszek said in an email. "This shows confidence in the use of these funds and gives us the opportunity to continue to improve our recreational activities and sites in Alpena County!"
According to Suszek, without funding from the Youth and Recreation millage, community assets such as the Alpena County 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 millage 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.
The renewal 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 to provide “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 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 $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.
Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.