FOIA Policy
Clare County print

Public Comment Policy
Clare County print

Winter Snow Removal Policy
Clare County print

1. Labor costs (including 50% fringe benefit costs) for the time spent searching for, examination of, review of and duplication of documents, and the deletion and separation of exempt information from non-exempt information – billable in 15 minute increments.
2. Fee for copying letter and legal size – ten cents per copy.
3. Fee for certification maps – ten cents per sheet.
4. Fee for Plans – actual cost for reprinting Plans.
5. Actual cost of mailing requested documents.
6. A good faith deposit of 50% of actual costs will be required if the estimated fee for the search, examination, review and duplication of documents exceeds $50.00.

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A.  Public Comment
The following shall apply to public comment at any Clare County Road Commission Board meetings.

1. Members of the public may comment only during the public comment portions of the meeting.
2. Specific answers to citizen questions need not be given by the Chair or other Board Board Members, but may, at the Chair's or Board's discretion be answered during the meeting or at a later time.
3. At each Road Commission Board Meeting open to the public, there shall be a general public comment period.  No Citizen shall speak more than 3 minutes, unless the presiding Chair or Board permits the citizen to speak for a longer period of time.  The Public Comment Period shall not be used to debate other members of the public on any subject matter.
4. The Chair or Board may permit limited public comment for particular agenda items.
5. All public comments shall be directed to the Road Commission Board.  No member of the public shall directly address any other member of the public or attempt to create any interactive debate with the public.  This rule (#5) may be waived by the Chair with Board approval prior to elections.
6. All public comments shall be related to Clare County Road Commission matters.  Public comments must be relevant and germane to the business and functions of the Road Commission.
7. No citizen can "transfer", reserve or delegate any public comment time to any other person.
8. Any citizen desiring to make a public comment shall be requested to first state their name for the record.
9. If a member of the public undertakes a personal attack on a Road Commission official or employee regarding non-Road Commission matters or on a private matter not related to the Road Commission business or activities, the Chair has the discretion to terminate the public comment time fo any such person.
10. No person shall be allowed to speak more than twice on the same matter at the same meeting.  Persons purporting to speak to the same general subject matter in his or her personal and representative capability shall be recognized only twice.  This rule (#10) may be waived by the Chair with Board approval.

B. Public Conduct

1. Any person shall have the right to tape record, video or broadcast the proceedings of the Road Commission Board, but they shall not utilize the electrical outlets of the Road Commission without the prior permission of the Chair.
2. No personal shall disrupt a meeting of the Road Commission Board.  No person shall commit a breach of the peace at any Road Commission Board meeting.  Any person who disrupts a meeting of the Road Commission Board or commits a breach of the peace at a Road Commission Board meeting may be ejected from the meeting.  Refusal by a member of the public to stop speaking when the Chair has interpreted that such person's time has expired or if such person speaks when they have no right to do so, such actions shall be deemed a disruption of the Road Commission Board meeting and a breach of peace.
3. Members of the public shall not talk among themselves during a meeting of the Road Commission Board so as to disrupt the meeting, if such talking becomes disruptive it shall cease upon the Chair asking for order.
4. No person shall utilize any profane or obscene speech or gesture.

The Clare County Road Commission is responsible for plowing over 1000 miles of public roadway and it prioritizes snow removal by traffic volume. Expressways and state highways are the first to be plowed, followed by major county roads, rural county section line roads, and finally subdivision roads. The process of opening the roads can take 3 working days after a storm ends, with widening and cleanup taking several more days to complete. During extended or closely spaced storms, snow removal equipment will concentrate on main roads, possibly delaying the snow removal on local roads and in subdivisions for several days. Financial reasons dictate that the road commission will not clear county roads on weekend overtime.

Snow removal equipment is available to help ambulances, fire trucks, and police vehicles respond to emergencies.

Plowing snow into or across public roads by private citizens is against the law. Individuals can help make winter safer for everyone by not parking in roadways, by not plowing snow into or across a roadway, and by not piling snow in a manner that obstructs the vision of motorists.

Winter snow removal also often damages mailboxes, which are allowed in the road right-of-way as a convenience to rural residents. Snow being pushed from plows has considerable force and may damage mailboxes and posts. This is unavoidable, especially with wet, heavy snow. Residents are asked to understand the situation and replace their own mailboxes. The road commission tries to open as many roads as possible, as quickly as possible, and regrets any inconvenience.

For more information about winter maintenance in Michigan, contact the Clare County Road Commission at (989)539-2151 between 7:00am and 3:30pm, M-F.