Area Citizens Weigh In On Downtown Blueprint Program

IRONWOOD, MI - Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - A special informational Town Hall meeting was held yesterday evening to brief the public on the Cool Cities Blueprints for Michigan's Downtowns program and to receive input from area residents, taxpayers, and business owners.

The meeting began at 5:30 PM or 6:00 PM depending on who you talk to. The original letter that was sent out announcing the meeting said it was to be held at 6:00 PM. As a result, the Globe and the Chronicle both reported a 6:00 PM meeting.

At Monday night's City Commission meeting City Manager Scott Erickson mentioned the meeting and questioned its start time. Community Development Director Dan Petersen said it was at 6:00 PM. Erickson insisted it was scheduled for 5:30 PM. The Chronicle therefore reported a 5:30 PM start. The Globe continued to report a 6:00 PM start. The confusion could have influenced the turnout. The Women's Club Room appeared to be nearly filled to capacity. However seventeen of those in attendance were either City board members, Chamber members; City staff, or members of the media.

City representatives and officials at the meeting included: (1) Dan Petersen, Community Development Director; (2) George Goerig, Downtown Ironwood Development Authority (DIDA) Chairman & Civic Center Board member; (3) Bruce Noren, Mayor; (4) Scott Erickson, City Manager; (5) John Wyssling, Chairman of the Planning Commission, Parks and Recreation Committee member & member of the EDC; (6) Marion True, member of the Parks & Recreation Committee; (7) Gemma Lamb, City Commissioner; (8) Tom Laabs, City Commissioner; (9) Jackie Powers, DIDA & Planning Commission member; (10) Debbie Bowles, Planning Commission; John Garske, Ironwood Industrial Development Corporation (IIDC); and (12) Steve Frank, DIDA member. Also in attendance was (13) Kim Kolesar from the Chamber of Commerce. Media personnel included: (14) Lou Bonagura, IronwoodInfo.com; (15) Arvo Toolanen, IronwoodInfo.com; (16) Eric Hjerstedt Sharp, Ironwood Daily Globe; and (17) yours truly.

Dan Petersen began the meeting by briefly explaining the trip he and George Goerig took to Lansing recently. Attendance at the meeting was a requirement of the Blueprints program. According to Petersen, Ironwood was on the "back-end of candidates" selected for the Blueprints process, so HyettPalma, the consulting firm chosen to work with Ironwood, will not begin until January 2009.

Petersen then began outlining the Blueprints process. He presented a sample plan developed for Petosky, MI and he said others can be obtained online by Googling "Blueprints for Michigan's Downtowns."  To view  any of the sample plans below, click on the name:

In January, when HyettPalma contacts Petersen to get the process started, these are the steps that will need to be taken:

  1. Create a "Process Committee" to implement the plan.
  2. Clearly define the "Retail Trade Area" that establishes where Downtown Ironwood draws its customer base.
  3. Collect demographic information. 2008 and be the benchmark from which progress as a result of the program will be measured.
  4. Conduct resident surveys. Telephone surveys will be conducted within the retail trade area to determine who lives in Downtown Ironwood, why they live there, and what they feel the Downtown needs.
  5. Conduct business surveys.

In April of 2009, HyettPalma will come to Ironwood to conduct a site visit. While they are here, they will hold Town Hall meetings, focus groups, and similar activities. They will then return to their home base in Alexandria, VA, where they will compile the data that we have prepared for them and based on that data, they will prepare Ironwood's version of the Blueprints Plan.

Volunteers will be needed to conduct the resident and business surveys. During HyettPalma's site visit, they will be meeting with as many people as possible within the Downtown District to get a feel for the area. They will also be conducting meetings that will encourage input from the community. Petersen stressed the importance of community participation in the program.

Several audience members asked questions and presented their opinions of the program. There was a mix of support and apprehension in the crowd. There was general agreement, however, that the community needs to pull together in order to make this program work.

George Goerig addressed the crowd to explain his point of view and to define the role of the DIDA within the City. Goerig said he was not 100% sold on the program, but he was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. He said he will do everything he can to make the program a success. He stressed that the community needed to be fully committed to the program.

"Is it a waste of money?" Goerig asked of the Blueprint program, "I don't know," he said, "But status quo is not working! Look at our Downtown. It's not really drying up, but it's not exactly thriving either!"

Goerig said he believes everybody wants to achieve the same goal -- everybody wants Ironwood to thrive. The problem is, according to Goerig, that everybody is traveling in different directions to achieve that goal. He said, "We need to work together as a community!"

"Hopefully, with this Blueprint Plan we will pull everybody in just one direction!"

Goerig told the crowd that HyettPalma realizes they will anger some people. He said many times people can't see their own faults. "You can't see the forest because all the trees are in the way!" he said. HyettPalma will point out the community's shortcomings and point it in the right direction, Goerig explained.

The Chronicle will be featuring a series of articles on this topic in the days, weeks, and months ahead. We welcome your input! If you have a comment to make, feel free to post a Letter to the Editor -- post to our Opinion Group -- or feel free to post on our About_Ironwood site.