Snyder attended a town hall meeting at Bay College in Escanaba
ESCANABA -- Governor Rick Snyder was at a town hall meeting at Bay College in Escanaba Friday. It was a "Reinvent Michigan" session.
Officials and residents from all over the U.P. were there. Many of them wrote down questions and concerns.
Rob VanEffen, Managing Director of the Delta County Road Commission, explained why he attended.
“The Road Commission's Department of Transportation's villages and cities are in desperate need of more funding for roads,” explained VanEffen. “I’m here specifically about the roads to see if we can get the funding we need so that we can start improving roads here in Michigan."
Snyder updated the public on a set of bills going in that are based on a transportation message he gave last fall. He agreed we do need to invest more in roads and infrastructures to the tune of about $1.4 billion a year.
“The question is, what are the sources for those revenues?” said Governor Snyder. “That's the dialogue I hope to have with legislators through the spring."
What about jobs?
“As I travel around, I like to ask people, are you adding jobs or not? And the hands are going up. So I think we're on a positive path," Snyder said.
One Snyder supporter explained a recent turnaround in Schoolcraft County.
“The governor was very instrumental in helping us save 150 jobs with Manistique Papers,” said Paul Walker, Chairman of the Schoolcraft County Republican Party. “And we want to thank the governor for his support."
When asked how we can continue to have quality education, the governor said the focus should be on student growth and not so much money. He added that his goal is to have 100 percent of our kids be college or career-ready.
There were about 150 people in attendance at the meeting.
While some questions expressed concerns, there wasn't any heated debate or vocal opposition to Snyder’s message.