‘It doesn’t happen overnight’: Montmorency County fights for jobs, housing

She answered quick when asked to name the best part of doing business in Atlanta, a community of 576 people along M-32 in the heart of Montmorency County.

“Our locals,” she said. “Our out-of-towners are great, too.”

Servers cracked jokes with diners, who ribbed the servers right back. It was after noon. The place was about half full.

“It’s a slow go,” Haren said. “But we’re making it.”

News Photo by Justin A. Hinkley
Colorful cutouts of elk are seen on the side of the Great Lakes Realty and Auction building in downtown Atlanta on Wednesday. Marketing itself as “the elk capital of Michigan,” Atlanta and other communities in Montmorency County are working to bring in new jobs and housing.

And that might just sum up the state of Montmorency County’s economy, chugging along with high unemployment and growing poverty, a declining and aging population, low housing stock, and a bevy of leaders working to recruit new investment.

“I think there’s a lot going on,” said Brian Bartosh, president of the Hillman Area Chamber of Commerce. “It’s been going on for a couple years. It doesn’t happen overnight.”

‘CAUGHT IN A RUT’

While Presque Isle and Alcona counties occasionally dip among the worst counties in the state for unemployment, Montmorency County consistently ranks in the bottom 10 (Alpena County usually has a middling rate). Last month, Montmorency County’s unemployment rate sat at 8%, compared to 7% across all of Northeast Michigan and 6% statewide.

The latest Kids Count Data Book showed that, while childhood poverty ticked up only slightly in Alpena County between 2017 and 2022 and declined in Presque Isle and Alcona counties in that time, it hiked 6.5 percentage points in Montmorency County.

Courtesy Photo
The first of what officials expect to be as many as 50 new homes built in Hillman by Habitat for Humanity Northeast Michigan is seen recently in this photo provided by Habitat.

“I think that what happened is that we kind of got caught in a rut, I guess,” said Clinton Kennedy, president of the Atlanta Area Chamber of Commerce and secretary of the Briley Township Planning Commission. “We’re just a forgotten, drive-through town right now.”

A number of trends are working against the county.

While Census Data shows Northeast Michigan’s population declined about 5% between 2010 and 2022 and grew about 1% statewide in that time, Montmorency County’s population shrank nearly 7% in those years.

Census Data also shows that, while about 26% of all Michiganders and 39% of Northeast Michiganders are 60 or older, 43% of Montmorency County residents are 60 or older.

Dave Post, village manager in Hillman, Montmorency County’s most populous community, noted no interstates connect Montmorency County to downstate population centers. M-33 and M-32 cut through the county, but that’s it.

News Photo by Justin A. Hinkley
From left to right, Heather Morea, Sheila Jahn, Michelle Haren, and Jason Ettinger pose behind the counter at the Willows Cafe in downtown Atlanta on Wednesday.

“If you notice, right now, communities on the I-75 corridor are doing very well,” Post said. “They’re going gangbusters. It’s all two-lane roads to even get here. I imagine that probably hinders some of it.”

Federal data shows Montmorency County’s biggest industry is real estate, accounting for a third of the county’s economic output as low housing supply drives up the cost of homes. People selling their homes and the agents who help them are making money, but that’s not a job-heavy industry.

“Real estate’s not gonna cure us, that’s for sure,” Kennedy said.

‘JOBS AND HOUSING ARE HAND-IN-HAND’

Despite its setbacks, Montmorency County has a lot going for it that makes it ripe for development, officials said.

Hillman, for example, offers fiber optic internet connectivity, modern sewer and water infrastructure that can hook up just about any business, “plus a lot of land that’s inexpensive,” said Bartosh, of the Hillman chamber.

As well, while state data shows all of Northeast Michigan’s labor force — a measure of people either working or looking for work — grew by 9% between July 2020 and last month, Montmorency County’s labor force grew 16% in that time, adding 460 people able to work.

And officials across the county have done many things to try to make sure those people have jobs to fill.

The primary focus across the county has been housing, because “we don’t have nowhere near enough of it,” said Kennedy, of the Atlanta chamber.

“If we’re gonna create these jobs, we have to have a place to put these people,” Kennedy said. “Jobs and housing are hand-in-hand right now.”

So officials everywhere are rezoning areas for housing and working to entice developers to build it, with some success. For example, Habitat for Humanity Northeast Michigan has partnered with Hillman on a five-year plan to build as many as 50 homes on nearly 20 acres in the village. The first one just went up, just days from completion.

Hillman, which has a committee of schools, businesses, and government officials working on economic development, also partners with schools to offer scholarships for trades training and partners with Michigan Works! to offer training, as well. Post, the Hillman village manager, said his village offers a revolving loan fund for startups.

In Atlanta, officials created an industrial area readymade for business investment and are working to recruit even small operations.

“Twenty to 40 jobs in a small town is a lot,” Kennedy said.

It wasn’t immediately clear Wednesday what the county government does for economic development.

The phone number listed on the county’s website for the Montmorency County Economic Development Corp. is no longer a valid extension. A message sent to the email address for that outfit website bounced back as invalid.

Don Edwards, chairman of the Montmorency County Board of Commissioners, did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Multiple officials said Montmorency County residents need to step up, as well. Many businesses throughout the county need help but struggle to get anyone to apply.

Officials said the county will continue to build a business-friendly environment and work to market itself to investors and potential future residents.

“We don’t wanna become a city,” Atlanta’s Kennedy said. “We like being a small town. But, at the same time, in order to succeed, we have to have people and jobs.”

Justin A. Hinkley can be reached at 989-354-3112 or jhinkley@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinHinkley.