Board of Commissioners approves survey for potential US-127 ramp
The Isabella County Commissioners go over their invoice lists on Feb. 17, 2025. (CM-Life | Ethan Wallace)
The Isabella County Board of Commissioners approved conducting a feasibility study for the potential construction of a northbound entrance ramp near South Mission Road and US-127 Business Route at its Feb. 17 meeting.
The county received $250,000, which will go to the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to perform the study. It will look at the viability of creating more northbound routes to help the flow of traffic for vehicles getting on US-127, Brian Smith, county administrator, said. Based on survey results, MDOT could receive federal funding for the potential ramp, Smith said.
The county is also renewing its McBride Quality Care Contract for three years, which costs $327,000 with a 2% increase each year, Tobin Hope, District 7 representative, said. McBride provides court-ordered placements that operate every day of the year.
McBride provides non-secure placement services to youth in the community. For example, the Isabella County Non-Secure home is for county residents between the ages of 10 and 17, out-of-home placement, according to the Isabella County Non-Secure contract. It also provides other services such as academic development and substance abuse education.
Smith also announced that he met with seven members from Progressive Companies about the administration building renovation.
Progressive Companies is an architect, design and engineering firm that was chosen at the Jan. 20, 2026, board meeting to do the administration building design. The administration building has been left vacant after asbestos was discovered three years ago.
“I think the board made a great choice with Progressive, and it's not a knock on anybody else, but I think they are going to provide a great value to the county,” Smith said.
The county aims to be more transparent to the community, Smith said. The board will have a presentation about the administration building’s redesign that will be open to the public. As the county continues to work with Progressive Companies, the date has yet to be announced.
