County board to return to Alpine Center for April meetings

Paul Welitzkin, The Petoskey News-Review
·2 min read

GAYLORD — When the Otsego County board meets at 9:30 a.m. next Tuesday, April 9, commissioners and the public will gather once again in the Yuill Alpine Center at 800 Livingston Blvd.

"The county building room 100 has, for the last 20 years or more prior to COVID, been traditionally the meeting place for the board of commissioners. As the audience size increased and allowing for more space between attendees we moved the meeting to the (Otsego County) library. The library conference room can be reserved but it is on a first come, first serve basis. We missed out on the month of April and needed a different location until May, when we will go back to the library until the end of the year," said county administrator Matt Barresi.

This is the first floor conference room at the J. Richard Yuill Alpine Center where Otsego County commissioners held their board meetings at one time. The room had flooding on March 26. Because of a scheduling conflict, the current county board will meet at the Alpine Center at 9:30 a.m. on April 9.
This is the first floor conference room at the J. Richard Yuill Alpine Center where Otsego County commissioners held their board meetings at one time. The room had flooding on March 26. Because of a scheduling conflict, the current county board will meet at the Alpine Center at 9:30 a.m. on April 9.

The Alpine Center was constructed as a tuberculosis sanatorium in the 1930s. By 1960, with new treatments and drugs, the sanatorium was no longer needed and the hospital transitioned to a state facility for “severely mentally handicapped” patients.

In 1981, the Alpine Center closed as a center for the disabled as their care became community-based. In 1982, Otsego County purchased the 160 acres and six buildings for $1. The complex was renamed the J. Richard Yuill Alpine Center.

"If you look back in history, the board of commissioners at one time met at the Alpine Center first floor conference room. In fact, the hall leading into the conference room you may find interesting as it has several of the old board of commissioners group photos from boards in the 1980s and 1990s," noted Barresi.

He said it would have been interesting if the board was meeting in the conference room on March 26, since that was the day a pipe burst and the room was flooded. A company was called in and the problem was cleaned up, according to Barresi.

More: County looks to finalize cost estimate, finance options for new court building

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Beset by age, mold and other issues, the Alpine Center is being phased out. Last year, commissioners approved a proposal to move the court and other governmental functions out of the center. The county will utilize up to $3.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to construct a new building on land near the county dog park between Otsego and Illinois avenues in Gaylord.

"We have no agenda by holding the meeting at the Alpine Center, just that the space was available," Barresi said.

— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: County board to return to Alpine Center for April meetings