Alcona County Receives Largest Investment in Its History
Alcona County has been given $12.5 million from the state of Michigan from the Economic Development and Workforce Grant.
It will go a long way for the county, allowing them to build a community hub that will handle services like housing, education, and recreation.
It’s the largest investment in the county’s history. “We can address housing,” said Lenny Avery, executive director of the Alcona County Commission on Aging. “We’ve had so many people say they have to drive all the way across this place to get to Michigan Works or we have to drive all the way to this place to get this services. So we just said why don’t we put a community hub.”
The new facility will be in the Village of Lincoln, a central location, making it easier for the community to get the services they need. “Because of the county school system, most everyone has to come to Lincoln,” Avery said. “We have about 720 students in district and if you’re looking for your local grocer, everyone goes to the local Krist Mart.”
Like much of northern Michigan, Alcona County doesn’t have a large population. However, the community is growing, especially in Lincoln where a new veterans affairs office will soon be located. “These are good people,” said Avery. “Alcona County has great salt of the earth people and we want people to see that there’s opportunity. There’s money to be made here and there’s people to invest here.”
Avery has been spearheading this newest project for about two years, and couldn’t be happier funding has finally been secured. “I wanted to leave something better than how I found it and I wanted to have this legacy gift for our community for our grandkids so that they can see that if you have a dream you can achieve it,” he said.
