The break in of Northern Lights Arena will cost Alpena County more than $1,500.

An exclusive report from True North Radio in July, revealed the facility was broken into sometime between the late night hours of Monday, July 16, and the early morning hours of Tuesday July 17.

The thief or thieves made off with some cash out of a couple of pop machines in the lobby, but did not destroy anything permanent inside the building.  A safe and an ATM machine were also damaged but the suspect or suspects could not get inside either of those.

County commissioners Tuesday, decided to bypass their insurance company and instead will pay the entire cost of replacing two metal doors that were damaged during the break in.  The insurance deductible is $1,000 but commissioners instead will pay nearly $1,600 to replace the doors.

Some commissioners did not want to take a chance the claim would increase the county’s insurance premium.

In addition, security cameras at the ice rink were not properly working and did not capture any clues to the crime.  The county is expected to replace or fix those cameras in the near future.