City Commission Makes Key Committee Appointments

IRONWOOD, MI - by Keri Singleton - Tuesday, December 29, 2009 - The regularly scheduled meeting of Ironwood’s City Commission was held Monday, December 28, 2009, at 5:30 PM, in the Commission Chambers at the Memorial Building, downtown Ironwood, Michigan.

A. The meeting was called to order at 5:30 PM, followed by a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.

B. Roll was taken, with Commissioners William Lucius and Rick Semo having excused absences. Present were Commissioners Gemma Lamb, Kim Corcoran, and Mayor Bob Burchell. Also in attendance were City Manager Scott Erickson, and City Clerk Karen Gullan.

C. Approval of the Consent Agenda was passed by way of a motion by Commissioner Lamb, supported by Commissioner Corcoran. All present were in favor. The consent agenda included:

*1) Approval of Minutes-December 14th Regular City Commission Meeting and Special Meeting of December 17th.
*2) Scheduling a Board of Zoning Appeals (BOZA) Public hearing for Monday, January 25th, 2010, at 5:15 PM to hear comment regarding a request for Ironwood Area Schools for a dimensional variance for property located at 650 East Ayer Street.

All items with an asterisk (*) are considered to be routine by the City Commission and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of those items unless a Commission member or citizen so requests, in which event the item will be removed from the General Order of Business and considered in its normal sequence on the agenda.

D. A motion was made by Commissioner Corcoran to approve the Agenda, and supported by Commissioner Lamb. All present were in favor.

E. There were no citizens wishing to address the Commission on items on the Agenda.

F. Mayor’s Appointments were next. Mayor Bob Burchell gave his recommendations for five Commissions.

The Board of Review has three expired terms, and the Mayor recommended Catherine Probelske, Margaret Rayner, and Randall Korpi (taking Bob Schonberg's seat) for those positions.
For the Carnegie Library, he said he’d like to renew Sylvia Mussati’s request for another five-year term.
For the Planning Commission, he recommended John Wyssling and Tom Bergman.
For the Pat O’Donnell Civic Center, the Mayor said there was a late entry from John Grotberg and Paulette Clemens.
For the EEC, he said there are six openings and five applicants. He recommended Dave Ramme, Joe Cayer, Tom Schneller, Bob Schonberg, and John Wyssling.
Commissioner Corcoran made a motion to accept the Mayor’s Recommendations, seconded by Commissioner Lamb. All present in favor.

G. Manager’s Report.

City Manager Scott Erickson highlighted some meetings and workshops coming up next year:

Monday, January 4th, 2010, at 6:00 PM, a normally scheduled Park and Recreation Meeting will be held at the Memorial Building. Anyone is welcome to attend.
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010, at 5:30 PM there will be a joint workshop between the City Commission and the Carnegie Library Board, to be held at Carnegie Library.
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010, at 5:30 PM there will be a regularly scheduled Planning Commission Meeting at the Memorial Building.
Thursday, January 7th, 2010, at 5:30 PM there will be a City Commission Workshop to talk about digital meetings at the Memorial Building.

The general public is invited to attend these meetings.

Mr. Erickson said the search is still on for a Community Development Director, and the deadline date on applications is extended. Saturday, January 9th, 2010, is the SISU Ski Fest, and volunteers are still needed.

H. Other Matters.

Commissioner Lamb commended the Public Works Department for the fine job they did on Christmas Eve. She reiterated the importance of adequate snow removal, saying she heard complaints about how bad the roads were Saturday, to which City Manager said the crews do a great job.

Commissioner Corcoran asked about positions needing to be filled in public works. Scott Erickson said there are a few positions that have not been filled. There has been an internal filling of a mechanic’s position. He said there was a posting for a pump station operator, and they will be reviewing applications. There is a meter reader position, due to retirement, and they are adding equipment operator 2 to the position, so if needed, the person can do both duties. He said they are currently coordinating with the Union to modify the position. There are currently two positions in arbitration due to termination of employees.

G. Commissioner Corcoran asked about the new retirement system, Manager Erickson said a meeting was held recently, to deal with the switch, and questions existing retirees had. He said he believes it is a good switch for the City and for the staff.

IPSD (Ironwood Public Safety Department) Director, Robert Erspamer responded to a question from Commissioner Lamb regarding a burn of a residential structure. He said that it is allowed by the insurance as long as many hurdles are crossed. One issue now being asbestos abatement. He said other structures would be able to be burnt, according to location. Manager Erickson said he would check to see if any blight grant money can be used for clean up costs.

I. Citizens wishing to address the Commission on Items not on the Agenda (Five Minute Limit).

Audience member Steve Frank said he was disappointed by the condition of the streets on Saturday. He said a pool hall customer got stuck, and he heard numerous complaints of other people being stuck at other businesses. He expressed disappointment at the leadership of the DIDA (Downtown Ironwood Development Authority), saying they were supposed to follow a Blueprint, which was very specific about the need to do a better job of snow removal.

Mr. Frank said he believes most of the businesses owners are doing a good job, with many taking care of adjacent properties. He said he doesn’t know of any attempts to enforce shoveling ordinances. Mr. Frank said it is clear a better job has to be done. Snow removal around fire hydrants was brought up by Mr. Frank, who said he couldn’t believe it would be hard to include hydrant snow removal in a contract the DIDA recently approved for Pocket Park snow removal.

Graffiti around town was another concern for Frank. Director Erspamer said there has been a lot of graffiti in the downtown area lately. There are no arrests on it yet, he said, but they have officers working on it, to determine what significance, if any, is in the gang-related symbols showing up in the graffiti. Mr. Frank pointed out that there has also been vandalism on the snowmobile trail 2, with people pulling up safety signs. Director Erspamer said the fortunate thing is the people involved with snowmobile groups are up on the situation, as soon as they are notified of a problem, replacing what needs to be replaced.

John Wyssling, business owner and audience member, stated his desire to end the year on a positive note, commending the Public Safety Department, the Firefighters, and Police, and all rescue personnel on a job well-done, including fast response time, in regards to recent experience he had with all departments. He said communication between departments was “kudos”.

Debbie Hilfrank, citizen from East Tamarack, spoke to the Commission next. She said the Ironwood Public Safety Department recommended her coming to the meeting. Debbie said she had spoken to Dennis Hewitt and Bob Tervonen regarding her situation. Five hours of her time, she said, was spent today trying to find out where to park.

Mrs. Frank, a widow, said she purchased a home that was abandoned for about five years, and was built about a hundred years ago, when there were no driveways. Her concern is being unsure of where to park in the winter, and having much trouble and expense incurred as a result of getting stuck. Needing her van for medical purposes, she has been greatly inconvenienced, and is concerned about causing an accident, due to being on the street. Mrs. Frank said she even spent her own money to put sand on the street where she parks. Mr. Erickson, City Manager, told her they would check with Public Safety and find the best spot for her to park. Mayor Burchell assured her the situation will be taken care of, and he thanked her for coming.

J. Meeting adjourned. A motion was made by Commissioner Lamb, supported by Commissioner Corcoran. All present in favor. Meeting over.