Although the Blue Water Convention Center has only been open for about 8 months, officials from Muskegon are interested in the success of the center and are maybe thinking about building their own. County Administrator Bill Kauffman announced the meeting Thursday night during the St. Clair County commissioner's regular session, and he'll be there to greet them as they take a look at the center to find out what they did,how did they do it, and why they did it. In other business, commissioners also approved a 2% pay raise for all county employees, which will take effect next year. Commissioner Jeff Bohm says the past couple of years the county has had tough times, now that things are starting to get better they want to do more for county employees. Commissioners also discussed Reverse Scholarships during their meeting. The board is working with the Community Foundation of St. Clair County to help establish a unique reverse scholarship program. Commissioner Bill Gratopp says with reverse scholarships; instead of offering money upfront for kids to go to college, you offer college graduates outside of our community money to pay off their student loan, if they move here. He notes this scholarship program is very new, and maybe the first of its kind in Michigan, if not the united states.
