ICC Majority Doesn't Share Public's Enthusiasm for Trail/Park System

IRONWOOD, MI - Saturday, February 21, 2009 - The Ironwood City Commission held a special meeting at 5:30 Tuesday evening to discuss and consider the concept of developing a “Miners Memorial Park System” (MMPS) in the "Caves" area of town. The "Caves" were once the location of several mine sites within the City. A subcommittee of the Ironwood Parks and Recreation Committee (IP&RC) created a plan that would utilize the city-owned open land for a non-motorized trail system and a park that would honor the storied history of local miners and mining in the area.

Several public meetings have been held recently to discuss the concept. Citizen support has been overwhelming at each and every meeting. Last night was no exception. The capacity crowd attending Tuesday night's meeting voiced in with the vast majority supporting the plan. In fact, only three people responded to Mayor Noren's request to hear from citizens opposing the proposed park. In each case, citizens speaking in opposition to the plan prefaced their comments with general support for the proposal. Each of those speaking in opposition expressed concerns that would need to be addressed, but in general, they still supported the idea.

The IPC and the IP&RC both unanimously passed resolutions to move the project forward. Twenty-one letters of support were received by the City to date, and no letters of oppositions have been submitted. In spite of the massive support for the project and the nearly complete lack of opposition, the City Commission initially voted down a motion to support the plan.

Ken Hazel began Tuesday night's presentation with a brief overview of the planned Park and Trail system. The subcommittee to the IP&RC really did their homework in their efforts to initiate the tribute to the over one thousand miners who lost their lives in the mines that once occupied the area. Professional quality maps of the area were posted throughout the Commission Chambers and handed out to the members of the Commission and the audience;  a brief, but emotionally stirring, video was presented; Lily Palmer gave a well-thought-out presentation explaining the plan; and Jackie Powers explained how the Park and Trail system could economically benefit the area. 

The presenters explained that the Park and Trail system would honor our mining heritage; provide four season recreation and exercise for our residents and tourists alike; and how the plan could positively impact our local economy. According to Jackie Powers, $1.1 million in economic activity goes to Marquette during the weekends of the Noque XC Ski Race and the Oar To Shore Mt. Bike Race. Fifty new tourists per day equals the equivalent of a $200,000 payroll (in 1981 dollars). In most communities there is a minimum 20% increase in value of homes near a park/trail. Parks and Trails are one of the main things people search for when they are looking to relocate. Powers pointed out that the addition of 100 retirees with annual incomes of $40,000 is the equivalent of a $4 million payroll. She explained that many retirees like a park near their home.

Powers took the time to read excepts from twenty-one letters of support from a variety of people in the area. She also pointed out that several local individuals and businesses have already pledged donations to the project. ABR Trails has pledged $20,000 to build trails on adjacent private land and $10,000 to build trails on proposed city-owned trail area; Jacquarts Fabric Products offered to make any and all signage needed for the trail and the park; Bob Schonberg has offered financial support; Alice Manki offered to create a watercolor painting of the trail to be auctioned off as a fundraiser; Dave Manki offered the volunteer labor of his ROTC students; the Model Airplane Club offered to hold a Mid-West Regional "Fly-In" to raise funds for the dog park fence; and Linda Tilley of Guardian Title offered to do easement/conveyance searches for railroad right of ways in the area without charge.

Prior to Tuesday night's meeting, several questions from Commissioners and other concerned citizens were relayed to the subcommittee through Community Development Director Dan Petersen. Powers took the time to individually address each of those concerns as well. These are the questions posed and the answers Powers provided:

• Why do you want a park and not just trails?
• The presentation provided the answers, however, the major reason was to pay tribute to those miners that perished in the mines.
• Why all this land?
• The treasure of the land is it's scenic beauty. Having developments along the the trail/park defeat the entire purpose and reason for people to enjoy the area.
• What about the model airplane group?
• An agreement has been reached with the group, in fact, they haven plans to do a fundraiser to help make the project a success.
• How much will it cost?
• The creation of the park/trail will be done through volunteer efforts using donations and available grants. There will be essentially no cost to the City or the taxpayers.
• Who's going to build it?
• Volunteers and donors will create the park and the trail system.
• What is the liability for the city?
•  The City's insurance carrier told Financial Director Julie Frederickson that there would be "no increase in insurance whether or not it's a park."

After the subcommittee made there presentation, the floor was opened up to members of the audience so that they could voice their opinions on the subject. Those in attendance were overwhelmingly in support of the project. The chart below shows which residents spoke up at the meeting. If you click their names, you can listen to what they had to say:

Speaker	Status	Topic	Time
David Rowe	Favors Park	Family & Heritage	3:06
Leroy Johnson	Has Concerns	Caving Land	4:46
Charlie Supercynski	Favors Park	Tourism Impact	6:38
Howard Aspinwall	Has Concerns	Fault Lines & Methane	4:44
Bob Jacquart	Favors Park	Energy	2:29
Gay Gheller	Favors Park	Youth Activities	2:35
Dee Gee Pawlicki	Favors Park	X-Country Race	1:26
Tom Bergman	Favors Park	YP Viewpoint	2:04
Eric Anderson	Favors Park	ABR & Others	1:44
Will Andresen	Favors Park	Community	3:24
Greg Pisani	Has Concerns	Snowmobiling	4:24
Ramona Shackleford	Favors Park	Safety	1:18
Tom (Senior) ?	Favors Park	Senior Viewpoint	0:19
Tammy Beals	Favors Park	Miner’s Input	0:37
Jerry Pisani	Has Concerns	Storage Building	1:41
Jim Albert	Favors Park	Short & Simple	0:09
Tom Comparin	Favors Park	RC Airplane Club	3:43
Robin McCartney	Favors Park	Ugly Storage	1:33
Jerry Pisani	Has Concerns	Storage Location	1:11
Marion True	Favors Park	Quality Product	1:56
Ken Hazel	Favors Park	Losing Youth	2:05
Lily Palmer	Favors Park	Land Safety	2:42

Commissioners Laabs, Noren, and Toth each had concerns regarding the wording of the resolution put before them. After considerable discussion and compromise, an amended resolution was approved by the Commission that will allow the subcommittee to continue to move forward with the project. The chart below is a breakdown of the audio of the Commission discussion including input from several of the subcommittee members:

SPEAKER	TOPIC
Bruce Noren	Following the Agenda, the Mayor Introduces the Park Resolution
Bob Burchell	Commissioner Burchell reads the Resolution and explains it
Bruce Noren	Interrupts Burchell and asks him to eliminate commentary
Bob Burchell	Continues to read and comment on Resolution
Bruce Noren	Asks for a motion to adopt the Resolution
Bob Burchell	Said he would rather have someone else make the motion
Gemma Lamb	Lamb makes the motion and Burchell seconds it
Bob Burchell	Explains how the park and trail would be good for the City
Suzanne Toth	Questioned the Deer Management Hunt
Ken Hazel	Explained how things need to be examined to best serve the public
Suzanne Toth	How long will the freeze on the land take place?
Bob Burchell	Answers Toth by telling her the reasons for the freeze
Bruce Noren	Has "follow-up" questions
Tom Laabs	Told Commission of his first concerns Model RC Club & Motorized Trails
Tom Laabs	Questions Compost and Trail Location. Hazel answers his questions.
Tom Laabs	Discusses Sink-Holes. Hazel said the safety of the land is important
Gemma Lamb	Gives emotional speech explaining the importance of honoring the miners
Bruce Noren	Wished he could have heard from Julie about the Insurance
Tom Laabs	Not ready for a park but okay for trails
Steve Frank	Energy and enthusiasm and the importance of the park
Commission	Discussion on Amending the Resolution
Commission	Roll Call on amendments to the Resolution
Commission	Roll Call on amended Resolution

"Change can be difficult, frightening even, but Ben Franklin said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. We’ve built an Industrial Park; we have an empty spec. building and many vacant lots. We’ve recruited businesses for our highway; we still have many empty buildings and many vacant lots. We’ve participated in grant programs to rehab downtown apartments and businesses; yet we still have many vacant storefronts. Despite all this effort our population has continued to decline and age. We have over 500 vacant or for sale homes in Ironwood, not to mention all the vacant lots.

So let’s try something different. Let’s take a chance. Are there any guarantees? Of course not! But when was the last time you saw a presentation of this caliber? When was the last time you saw this many people speaking out IN FAVOR of something? When was the last time you received over a dozen letters of support on any issue? Dozens of people have already volunteered their money, their resources or their time.

Let’s honor the 1000 men who died in our mines; let’s respect our past, and at the same time let’s harness the excitement and the energy in this room to move Ironwood forward."

Steve Frank