IPC Okays Gogebic Range Bank Site Plan & Plans to Expand Cemetery Trail System

IRONWOOD, MI - Friday, August 14, 2009 - The Ironwood Planning Commission held a Public Hearing/Special Meeting Wednesday in the Community Development Conference Room on the second floor of the Ironwood Memorial Building.

At 5:15 PM, IPC Chairman John Wyssling opened the Public Hearing to order. IPC Secretary Jane Bowman recorded the role. IPC members John Wyssling; Sam Davey; LeRoy Johnson; Eric Lytwyniuk; Margaret Rayner; and Jackie Powers were present. Bob Burchell and Deb Bowles were excused. Community Development Director Dan Petersen was also present. Representatives of the following media were present: IronwoodInfo.com; the Daily Globe; and the Superior Chronicle.

The Public Hearing was to review a site plan and hear comment regarding the proposed site plan for the property located at 155 Cloverland Drive, Ironwood, Michigan 49938 (Parcel #27-52-22-190, Gogebic Range Bank).

Before any discussion took place on the project, Chairman Wyssling explained to the Commission that he is a minor shareholder in the Gogebic Range Bank. Any time a City board member believes their input may be a conflict of interest, they are required to identify the source of any potential conflict and let the Commission decide whether or not any significant conflict exists. All of the Commissioners agreed that Mr. Wyssling's relationship with the Gogebic Range Bank would not constitute a conflict of interest, so Wyssling didn't have to dismiss himself.

Mr. Jim Fryk, AIA, PE, LEED AP, Senior Project Architect for the LaMacchia Group, LLC, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Architectual firm who designed the new bank, was on hand to make a presentation to the Commission. Fryk highlighted the plans with the Commission -- pointing out such details as lighting; snow removal; ingress and egress points; pavement; layout; building details; elevations and run-off; and interior and exterior materials. An artist's rendering of the bank's front facade is pictured above.

Attention to detail was definitely the rule of the day when it came to the plans for this new bank. Interior lighting features "solar tubes" which are the modern equivilent of skylights. The tubes feature solar collectors that are mounted on the roof. The natural light is brought into the building through 14" highly polished mirrored tubes. These tubes will add to the building's energy efficiency.

The architect focused on natural materials and materials that one would generally anticipate in the U.P. for the exterior of the building. The bricks used will be concrete rather than clay. The bricks are colored throughout and feature an "iron spot" finish. The spots are not actually iron as they would be in a natural clay brick, they are simply designed to replicate the look. Unlike real iron spot brick, the spots won't discolor or rust.

The building will feature a life-time shingle roof and plank cement fibre board siding that is also colored throughout making it virtually maintenance free, and extremely long-lasting. The bank board insisted on a low-maintenance building, and it appears that is exactly what the building designer delivered.

Mr. Fryk addressed some questions from Commissioners regarding traffic flow on bank grounds. It was explained to the Commission that the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) regulates the curb cuts and those curb cuts force architects to come up with creative ways to handle traffic flow issues. Originally, MDOT didn't want any exit onto Douglas Boulevard. Neil Beckman had to fight with MDOT to get that entrance.

The property will feature a generous amount of greenspace -- approximately 25 feet along Douglas Boulevard and roughly 30 feet along Cloverland Drive.

Jackie Powers, who is a former member of the Downtown Ironwood Development Authority (DIDA), asked if the "Towne Center" sign would still be allowed on the corner of the bank's parking lot. The bank said the current sign will not be disturbed and will remain in place. In fact, the designers of the project made sure that trees and other plantings won't interfere with the visibility of the sign.

A wooden fence will separate the bank lot from the residential neighbors. All exterior lighting has been engineered to be sensitive of the residential neighbors. Perimeter lighting totals less than 1/10th of a footcandle. Exterior building lighting is all directed downward and the light sources will be concealed. Only light reflecting off the structure will be seen.

The building's dumpster will be enclosed and not visible. It was noted that bank dumpsters generally contain paper waste -- shredded documents, etc.

After a very brief discussion about the current zoning of the former residential lots behind the existing bank, the Commission unanimously approved the plans. Commissioner Johnson's concerns were that the housed that once occupied part of the space were zoned residental. When it was explained that the bank has been paying commercial taxes on the property, Johnson felt comfortable that zoning was not an issue.

Following the Public Hearing, the Commission held a Special Meeting. Two issues were scheduled to be discussed at the meeting -- adding trails to the Cemetery Trail #1, Phase I, and starting Phase II, adding trails to the 'Caves' area to link Norrie Park with the current trail around Riverside Cemetery.

The map pictured above was circulated by Dan Petersen. He explained that, at the last meeting, there was discussion regarding adding a "dog walking loop" to the existing Cemetery trail system. The initial plan was to incorporate a short dog walking loop to the trail next to the Information Center. Visitors to the area, as well as locals, could take their dogs for a walk along the loop. Petersen explained that there is a City Ordinance that forbids domesticated animals on Cemetery property, so plans to incorporate the loop as a dog walking facility had to be changed. Until either a new ordinance is established or the existing ordinance is changed, dog walking will not be permitted on the proposed loop. Either way, it was agreed, that a loop would be good thing.

The Commission voted to approve Phase I of the plan with the expanded trails. Following the vote Commissioner Johnson pointed out that there were "No Trespassing" signs posted in parts of the trail. An investigation about the signs will be done.

With the ongoing controversy regarding the 'Caves' Area, it was decided to table the Phase II item on the agenda. Dan Petersen asked what he should tell the Parks and Recreation Committee regarding the Phase II. He was told that he can tell the Parks and Recreation Committee that the issue was tabled until the City clearly defines the future of ATV use within the City.

LeRoy Johnson asked why the Norrie Park connection was even an issue. It was explained that the ultimate goal was to connect trails throughout Ironwood and to eventually tie in the City trail system with the North Country trail and existing trails between Montreal and Wakefield.

Jackie Powers questioned some of the actions taken at Monday night's City Commission meeting. She expressed concern that a single Commission was giving directives to "city staff." She said, to her, that seemed to be a violation of the City Charter. She also said appraising the land and focusing on selling property in the "Caves" area was contrary to the Planning Commission's recommendation and the Comprehensive Plan to keep the land zoned 'open." She also pointed out that Charter procedure wasn't followed when Trail #2 and the 'Caves'  were opened to ATV use.

The Commission discussed their role in City government and several members expressed concern that the Planning Commission's decisions were not valued. Lou Bonagura, who strongly supports ATV use within the City explained that insurance concerns should not be a concern for the City. He said the City has coverage that would protect them in case of any incident.

This reporter pointed out that the Charter mentions a 4/5 majority vote is required and I pointed out that individual Commissioners are not supposed to make directives to the City Manager without the approval of the entire Commission. I explained that doing so could easily lead to major problems. If all five of the Commissioners have the right to individually hand down directives, it is entirely possible for the City Staff to be given five completely different directives.

After further comments, the Commission adjourned the meeting.