IRONWOOD, MI - Wednesday, March 05, 2008 - A Town Hall Meeting was held in the Women's Club Room on the second floor of the Ironwood Memorial Building last night.

Mayor Bruce Noren started the meeting at 5:30 PM CST by introducing City Manager Scott Erickson. Roughly half of the available seats were taken at that time. By 5:45 PM, nearly every seat in the room was occupied. The start time for the meeting was incorrectly announced on the City's website as being 6:00 PM. The Globe and the radio announced the meeting was to begin at 5:30 PM. The Chronicle also incorrectly announced that the meeting would be held at 6:00 PM because we based our information on the City's officially posted website information.

The meeting began with an eight minute presentation of a slightly adapted version of the popular "Did You Know?" internet video, as presented by the Michigan Municipal League (MML). "Did You Know?" originated as a PowerPoint presentation for a faculty meeting on August 2006 at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado. The presentation "went viral" on the web in February 2007 and, as of June 2007, had been seen by at least 5 million online viewers. Today the old and new versions of the online presentation have been seen by at least 11 million people. In addition, the video has been presented at conferences, workshops, training institutes, and other venues worldwide. The video is a wake-up call that shows the way the world is rapidly changing due to technology. It points out that the United States is quickly falling behind in the technology race. Back on February 17, 2007, Steve Frank presented the original version of the video on the About_Ironwood opinion site.

"Did You Know?" is licensed by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and XPLANE under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. Copying, distributing, remixing, and transmitting the presentation is permitted as long as proper attribution of the original creators is given. To view the entire original second version of the video [CLICK HERE]. The MML version is only slightly different, in that it includes the mention of several downstate and a few U.P. cities.

Following the video presentation, Scott Erickson pointed out that the City cannot continue to do "business as usual." "We have to be creative. We have to look at ways of doing things differently!" Erickson said, referring to the video, "It's an eye-opener!"

Mr. Erickson continued the meeting with a brief overview of upcoming projects, grants and programs. He discussed the water and sewer work that will take place on Alfred Wright Boulevard; the SCADA computerized water distribution upgrade; chlorine room upgrades; meter and valve replacement throughout the City, sewer relining and maintenance; manhole replacement; the Jesseville water and sewer project; and replacement of twenty fire hydrants per year (5-year plan).

Bob Tervonen, City Utilities Manager, pointed out that nearly all of the City's fire hydrants – even the recently replaced ones – are obsolete and repair parts are no longer available. "A good example would be the hydrant right in front of the (Memorial) building. That one works! It was made by Ludlow Manufacturing out of Texas. That company went out of business in 1959. That's a `new' hydrant in front of the building and some of those items are 60 years old plus, probably put in right after World War II."

The City Manager continued by highlighting proposed street projects including: Alfred Wright Boulevard (from McLeod Avenue to Lime Street) with a multi-use trail replacing the sidewalk; Greenbush Street (from US2 to Margaret Street); pavement marking; pavement crack sealing and seal coating; the local streets program; and the Norrie Street bridge (near the old Brite Spot).

Erickson pointed out several Community Development projects that are in the works. They include: the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) housing grant to repair Ironwood homes in need of attention; the two-phase Facade Grant program to improve the storefronts of downtown businesses; the tentative Downtown Blueprint Process to assist the DIDA in redeveloping the downtown business district; the US-2 Access Management Project to reduce the curb-cuts onto Cloverland Drive; the County-Wide Comprehensive Plan for overall economic development; the Zoning Ordinance update; the Business Recruitment plan proposed by the DIDA; and severa economic development projects that are in varying stages of completion. He briefly listed current projects that are in the works, including; the Josephson's Nursing Home expansion; the opening of Day Dream Donuts on US-2; the new Walgreen's on Cloverland Drive; the proposed Towering Pines Apartment Complex; Wal-Mart in Ironwood Township; and Nick's Family Restaurant (Greek and American) on US-2.

Manager Erickson also pointed out that new equipment will need to be purchased by the City. Police, fire, and Department of Public Works vehicles will need to be considered. The IPSD will receive a Rural Development Grant to replace on squad car this year.

Erickson listed various miscellaneous projects that the City plans on attacking this year. Among them are: tuck pointing the mortar on the Memorial Building; developing a GIS citywide system (used for accurate mapping of the City); Longyear Park restrooms; Tennis Courts by the Towering Pines complex; the completion of the Skatepark; trail system construction and improvements; blight and rental inspections; and improved communications through the City website, newsletters, and town hall meetings. Erickson ended his presentation with reminders of two upcoming events: the City-wide Clean Up Day is set for May 17, 2008; and the Make a Difference in Your Community Day is set for May 10, 2008.

The meeting ended with a question and answer session. Gogebic Community College President Jim Lorenson praised the City's efforts to improve Greenbush Street. "It is our front door!" Lorenson said, "It's the primary route by which people access our campus as well as the Civic Center." He said there is property along Greenbush that can be further developed, and fixing the street makes that property much more attractive.

Lorenson also praised the IPSD for doing an outstanding job providing fire and police protection to the College. He pointed out that the City's recently acquired ladder truck is able to reach places on the campus their other trucks could not reach. He thanked the City for acquiring the vehicle, and IPSD Director Bob Erspamer was quick to point out that the vehicle and all upgrades to the vehicle were generously donated to the City by area citizens and business people.

Lorenson suggested that the City, the College and other local government agencies start working together in a cooperative effort to maximize all party's limited resources. He invited the City to review the College's draft plan due out in early May. And he said the College would welcome any combined efforts that would result in reduction of unnecessary duplicated spending. Erickson told Lorenson that the City would like to expand joint efforts with the College and other local communities.

George Goerig asked City Manager Erickson if the City was considering a raise in water rates, in an effort to obtain certain grants that require higher rates to qualify. He explained to Goerig that the City was coming into a new budget cycle and one of the things they need to examine is water rates. Erickson said he realizes most people think City water rates are too high now, however, he claims our rates are too low to qualify for certain grant money that is available. "It's a `catch-22'," Erickson explained, "You don't want to raise the rates, but at some point, there is a benefit to raising them up!"

Several citizens had questions and comments about blight issues. Erickson told those in attendance that they need to contact Code Enforcement Officer Travis Smee if they have any blight concerns. Several members of the audience praised the job Smee has been doing, and Edna Tatham asked if he would be brought up to full-time. Erickson explained that they will consider such a move in the upcoming budget workshops.

This reporter asked Scott Erickson if the City would consider re-adopting a Municipal Court. Ironwood had such a court back in the 1950's. Several minor ordinance violations, such as blight issues, minor traffic violations, and certain juvenile offenses, could be changed from misdemeanors to civil infractions. The City would not have to send those cases to the District Court. Instead, the City's Municipal Court could hear those cases and impose fines that would benefit the City financially.

Erickson responded that the City did look into that about a year and a half ago. He said the issue was discussed with the City Attorney and the City Staff decided the cost of creating a Municipal Court was not cost effective. However, he said, the idea can be re-explored to see if it would work for the City.

Options for cheap replacement of asphalt on City streets were briefly discussed. A member of the audience stated that other communities do "temporary" repairs to their streets by scraping up broken and crumbling blacktop only to resurface the street with used aggregate and minimal use of new materials. Erickson said he would look into other options that can be implimented.

George Goerig asked when the skatepark was due to open. Erickson told Goerig that the City plans of beginning construction in the spring. He explained that grants need to be applied for, and he would also like to work with the skateboarders to establish fundraising efforts to help pay for the facility.

Mayor Noren ended the meeting by thanking everybody for attending. He stressed the importance of putting forth a "positive attitude" throughout the City. He said instead of complaining about the way things are in Ironwood, it's better to point out that there are problems, but the City is working towards correcting them. He encouraged those in attendance to present their issues at Commission meetings and to contact Scott Erickson when they have problems, concerns, or ideas. He told the audience that they need to continue to be involved, and to apply for positions on City commissions, committees, boards, and authorities.

AUDIO   VIDEO

Jim Albert