Two honorary plaques were awarded at the City Council meeting October 3. James Miller of St. Ignace (top, right) was awarded a plaque of recognition by the City of St. Ignace for his work in coordinating and completing construction of a fish cleaning station at the city boat launch. St. Ignace Fire Chief John “Bucky” Robinson (above, left) accepted a plaque on behalf of the St. Ignace Fire Department from Mayor Bruce Dodson. The Village of Mackinaw City awarded the plaques to each of the seven fire departments that were involved in the building fire at Mama Mia’s Restaurant and Mackinac Bridge museum in Mackinaw City August 28. By Tuesday, October 11, Charter Communications will begin expanding its cable service in St. Ignace, increasing cable offerings from nearly 40 channels to 200 channels and adding digital music and high speed Internet access. The project originally was slated to be done in July, but has lagged throughout the summer and into the fall.

“We have been a little bit behind from what I said back in June, but we’re finally moving forward,” said Don Gladwell, the government relations administrator for the cable company. “All 200 channels will be available as we bring people over, starting October 11. By October 27, we will have certified all our clients; everyone (who subscribes to cable) will be over on the expanded channel lineup at that point in time.”

Cost for expanded cable will jump from $34.26 to $45.99, said Mr. Gladwell. Rates will be raised by October 27.

A new franchise agreement authorized by the St. Ignace City Council Monday, October 3, brings digital and premium cable options to Charter customers in the St. Ignace area. It authorizes Charter to provide cable service to the area until 2019 and provides free cable to school and city buildings and a seasonal rate for customers who only want such service.

Mr. Gladwell said basic cable will not change, however, basic cable subscribers may temporarily enjoy free expanded cable until Charter technicians sweep the lines that need adjustment.

The cable company has installed a fiber optic cable linking the upper and lower peninsulas across the Mackinac Bridge. Expanded cable service and faster Internet connections were also made available to Sault Ste. Marie in January.

Mr. Gladwell said there will no longer be a need for television analog boxes, however, subscribers may have to reprogram their televisions to add the new channels.

The community news channel will now be Channel 98 for both basic and expanded cable.

Search for New City

Manager Continues

As of Monday, the city has received 22 applications for the soon-to-be-vacant city manager’s position. The deadline for applications is November 1, but Council agreed the reviewing process must start as soon as possible.

City Manager Gary Heckman handed each council member a copy of an application score sheet so that each applicant can be rated on a 5-point scale in areas like experience, education, quality of application, and community involvement.

Councilman Paul Grondin believes the review process should be at the council level and not at a committee level.

“This is an important enough issue that all seven of us should be involved in the process,” he said.

Councilman Ollie Boynton suggested Tom Della-Moretta, who is a candidate for one of the council seats, be part of the review process, since Mr. Boynton’s term will be up in November and he is not seeking reelection.

Mr. Della-Moretta is the only new candidate for the open seat. Council members Don Gustafson and Susan Massaway are seeking reelection to four-year terms and Bruce Dodson is seeking another two-year term as Mayor. The election is November 8.

Mr. Della-Moretta, who was in the audience, suggested Council establish base requirements for the position to help weed out some of the applicants.

“I’d hate to take someone off so quickly,” said Mr. Grondin. “We at least owe it to these people who have applied to review their application.”

Council then had a discussion of what was open to the public as far as who is applying and if their resumes are available to the public.

“The interview meetings are definitely open under the Opens Meetings Act,” said Mr. Gustafson. “The interview process has to be public.”

Mr. Heckman said he will seek legal advice as to whether the names and records of applicants are available to the public beforehand and will report back at the next meeting.

Bus Station Project Progresses

Council approved a resolution to allow Mr. Heckman and Mayor Dodson to hire an engineer and use $275,000 from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to acquire a 250-foot by 290-foot lot on US-2 to build a public bus station.

The station will serve routes throughout the Upper Peninsula. The lot was once the site of the Collins Motel, on the corner of US-2 and Church Street, across from The Flame restaurant.

The entire project is estimated to cost $387,000 and will be fully funded through MDOT, Mr. Heckman said. The city will enter into a 15-year lease, after which the property will revert to the city.

The agreement is between MDOT, the city, and Indian Trails bus company.

Under the agreement, the city is required to interview the top four applicants for the engineering and must receive approval from MDOT before offering the job.

City attorney Prentiss Brown Jr. assured Council that there are no hidden costs to the city.

“The bottom line is it costs $387,000 that MDOT will pay for,” he said.

On a side note, Mr. Heckman suggested Council to consider whether it wants a traffic light installed at the corner of US-2 and Church Street as, he said, MDOT is “somewhat willing to do that.”

“I’m sure you’re aware of the complaints we’ve been getting about the traffic light on US-2, where construction is,” he said. “You better consider it first. I’m not sure how much traffic you’re going to get at the bus stop at 5 a.m. and 10 p.m.”

MDOT has rejected city requests to install a light at that corner in the past, saying traffic there did not warrant one. Some citizens had asked for a light to facilitate access to Glen’s Market.

Plaques Awarded to Miller, Fire Department

To his surprise, James Miller was given a plaque by City Council for his work and success in building a fish cleaning station at the city’s boat launch facility. The $10,000 project was fully funded through donations and Mr. Miller coordinated fundraising and construction.

“We’ve gotten very good comments from fishermen and other people who’ve come around,” Mr. Miller said. “It’s a very well-added attraction for the city.”

On a related note, Mr. Heckman received a letter from St. Ignace Salmon Derby Chair Pete Everson, thanking the city for its support of the annual summer event.

Council handed out another plaque, from the Village of Mackinaw City to the St. Ignace Fire Department, in recognition of its assistance with the August 28 fire at Mama Mia’s restaurant and Mackinac Bridge museum there. Fire Chief John “Bucky” Robinson accepted the award from Mayor Dodson on behalf of the fire department.

City Seeks Feedback for Recreation Plan

Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Deb Evashevski informed Council that residents will be asked for input regarding future recreation in the area. The city’s five-year recreation plan expires at the end of this year and the city is required to hold public meetings and gather public input with its revision of the new plan.

Citizens can submit their ideas by cutting out the survey, which will be published in The St. Ignace News, or they can respond via e-mail to lbe@cityofstignace.net.

Mrs. Evashevski said she hopes the survey will be available before the end of the year.