Several projects are in progress or are being planned through the Mackinac County Economic Development Corporation (EDC). Projects include establishing a facility to make and promote local small market goods, offering wireless Internet connections to tourists throughout St. Ignace, and establishing more farm markets in Mackinac County.

The EDC board is continuing to explore the feasibility of creating a community kitchen incubator program that would allow small food-based businesses to make, can, and label their products for distribution. The kitchen could accommodate makers of cheese, jams, jellies, and soap.

At a regular EDC meeting Monday, June 6, Chairwoman Michelle Walk said such a facility will be required to meet state regulations and be maintained. The EDC is hoping to strike an agreement with Bay Mills Community College to provide training courses on establishing a food store, teaching people, for example, how to label products properly and prepare paperwork to establish a business license.

“A lot of the time, it’s all that paperwork that scares people from doing this kind of business,” said new EDC member Tom Augugliaro of Cedarville.

The other block, added Ms. Walk, is that small food processors cannot often afford the commercial kitchens necessary for production. She said the program could cost between $10,000 and $80,000 to establish and the EDC is also looking into the feasibility of operating the program through an already established business, which could cut some costs.

The Hotspots wireless broadband Internet project, offering five sites in St. Ignace where tourists can link wirelessly to the Internet, will be operational this summer, allowing access to their home networks or e-mail while staying in St. Ignace. The program was implemented by the EDC, Lighthouse.Net, and Upper Great Lakes Educational Technologies.

Tourists can purchase either a 10-hour card for $10 or a six-hour card for $6, which will be valid for up to a year.

Connections can be made at the St. Ignace Public Library, the Chamber of Commerce, Little Bear East Arena, and the city marina. Ms. Walk said more hot spots could be added at businesses with extended hours.

Another EDC project in the works is creating and maintaining farm markets.

“It is a great addition to an area during the tourism season,” said Ms. Walk. “It also supports local farmers to sell their products locally.”

The EDC, she said, must find a good location, preferably in St. Ignace, and will need a firm commitment from farmers to use the market site on a regular schedule. Farmers must grow at least one product locally, and all products must be Michigan-grown. The EDC hopes to establish a market this summer.

Summer farm markets already have been established, independently, at Engadine, Pickford, and Sault Ste. Marie.

In other business discussed at the June 6 meeting, Ms. Walk announced that the Michilimackinac Historical Society now has its nonprofit status. The society was organized last year under the auspices of the EDC but can now operate independently.

The county-wide survey is now complete, said Ms. Walk. The survey, started last October, was sent to a random number of property owners and registered voters in Mackinac County, asking demographic questions. She said 19 percent of surveys sent out were returned, a healthy percentage for a volunteer survey.

The information will be used for the creation of a county master plan, and for future zoning and land use decisions.

The board plans to discuss its four-page strategic plan, or at least a section of the plan, at its July 6 meeting. Ms. Walk told the board it needs to rededicate itself to the plan, which focuses on recruitment, expansion, and retention of businesses.

One project under the plan that already has been established is First Step, Incorporated, a small business development center that provides counseling, training, and research in starting or buying a business or making a business more successful. It was put together by the EDC and Michigan Works!

The July 6 meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the Mackinac County Airport.