After an eight-month search, the Montmorency Board of Commissioners selected Sarah Melching to take over the county’s emergency manager position. Melching has been serving as the emergency manager in Presque Isle, but will begin her new role in August.
Montmorency County Sheriff Chad Brown said he is excited to have Melching join the county’s emergency services and that the county chose to make the position a full-time role.
“A full-time EM will be able to kind of proactively work with all emergency services,” he said. “It's not just preparing for a catastrophe, whether it be weather or some other situation, but actually preparing for events around the county.”
Melching will be in charge of overseeing the planning, response and recovery of any future disasters.
Montmorency was one of the hardest hit counties by the ice storm that swept through the state in late March. Brown said there are challenges in not having this role filled.
“To me, the challenge is not having a centralized individual that is hosting and communicating with all emergency services,” he said.
The board of commissioners' first choice was John Chapman, but he stepped down from the position shortly after he was selected. Commissioner Bob DeVriendt said that Melching was the board's second pick and that she was a strong candidate for the position.
“We've got someone who is a good, qualified person for the job,” he said.
Alpena and Montmorency counties were planning on sharing an emergency manager, but officials from both counties said that they have decided not to move forward with the shared role.
“We're no longer looking to share that role,” Alpena County Administrator Jesse Osmer said.
Osmer said that Alpena County is hoping to have its emergency manager position filled by the beginning of fall.
Melching couldn't be reached for comment.
This story was produced by the Michigan News Group Internship Program, a collaboration between WCMU Public Media and local newspapers in central and northern Michigan. The program’s mission is to train the next generation of journalists and combat the rise of rural news deserts.
