A St. Ignace grass roots organization met for the first time Tuesday, December 12, to begin the process of navigating the community through a weak economy, dwindling tourism, an exodus of families, and a lack of year-around employment opportunities, in search of ways to make St. Ignace a better town. Organizers say they hope the group will move St. Ignace forward on many levels, including creating a stronger business climate, finding ways to add year-around jobs, and leading the way to providing improved services for residents.

Under the working title “St. Ignace Action Council,” representatives from diverse areas within the community were invited to attend the meeting. Attendees were chosen because they were in positions to make decisions and be a part of a solution, explained Cheryl Schlehuber, St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce board president.

“We want to see things happen,” she said.

Mrs. Schlehuber, along with Chamber Director Janet Peterson, is spearheading the revitalization of an organization that operated here in the mid 1990s. Before it dissolved, the original organization, Mackinac Action Council, had been working on several projects, including plans for a walkway over I-75 from the Welcome Center to the Father Marquette Memorial.

“Right in the middle of our efforts, it [the memorial] burned down, and that took the wind out of our sails,” said Mrs. Schlehuber.

Decision makers invited to resurrect the old council included representatives from the city, hospital, U.S. Coast Guard, Mackinac Bridge Authority, historical society, the casino, Michigan Works, area tourism groups, county officials, and school leaders. Of the 26 people invited, 15 were able to make the first meeting.

“The economy is pretty bad right now. Things have changed in Michigan. Tourism is and probably always will be the main industry of this area,” said Mrs. Schlehuber. “What do we have to do to get people to come to St. Ignace?”

Michelle Walk, Michigan State University Extension director, who facilitated the open discussion meeting, said the action council would be a collaborative effort, focusing on the community as a whole and not on individual businesses. She challenged members to decide what they thought St. Ignace should be. She said their answer would help direct the group on where it should begin. To that end, she asked the members to put their answers in writing and the list would be discussed at future meetings.

“We need to focus on St. Ignace and decide where are we now, and where do we want to be,” Ms. Walk said. “As we think about how to move the community forward, the idea of the community as a product is an important concept.”

Consultant and group member Darryl Brown agreed, and suggested the group should not consider the community limited by four seasons, rather it should make use of the four seasons to increase tourism and grow the community.

“We need to learn to think big,” he said. “An organization like this is very, very vital because we want to look at the big picture, but we’re going to get there in tiny increments.”

Jay Caldwell, the director of the Michigan Works! St. Ignace service center, offered that the committee should explore ways to bring fulltime, year-around employment into the community. He said in the past, seasonal workers depended on unemployment benefits to get them through the winter months, although now state regulations make it more difficult to obtain the benefits.

“In the last two weeks, I’ve had six people in my office seriously looking for jobs in Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Ohio,” he said. “The biggest problem is we don’t have full-time, year-around employment.”

Mr. Caldwell said those families also had seven children, who would

leave the St. Ignace school system as their parents seek jobs in other states. Their departure from the community will impact the school and stores, he said.

City Manager Eric Dodson agreed that while tourism is an asset, the community struggles for yeararound employment. He said a similar organization in Montcalm County received grants to help bring employers to the community.

In Sault Ste. Marie, the Downtown Development Authority and the Economic Development Corporation want to create an environment to help local people set up small businesses by providing resources, guidance, and assistance, explained Gwen Worley, executive director of the Eastern Upper Peninsula Employment and Training Consortium. She said she would keep the St. Ignace Action Council informed of their progress.

Mayor Paul Grondin said that Tech-Optics, a factory refurbishing printer cartridges, moved from St. Ignace to Sault Ste. Marie this year because an opportunity came up for the owners to acquire a larger building, and that such facilities are lacking in St. Ignace.

Mr. Dodson said that one goal the group might consider is establishing a small industrial park. He said the location would have to be determined and the infrastructure put in place, which would be difficult to do without a grant.

“We have many assets right here in St. Ignace,” said Mr. Dodson. “There are a lot of good opportunities here, but at the same time, there isn’t an area created to entice larger employers.”

Other nearby communities already are actively seeking new business, including Sault Ste. Marie, Canada. When the steel mill’s future came into doubt and jobs were threatened, the town become proactive and established an organization that meets with companies that are looking for a place to establish a business. The Canadian organization invites business leaders to visit the town, offers incentives to locate in the area, and gives a tour of community resources, said Shirley Sorrels, director of the Museum of Ojibway Culture.

Mrs. Schlehuber, a local realtor, said that people moving into a community used to be concerned about the school system. Now, the interest is in health care and the new hospital may help draw in new residents, she said.

Hospital CEO Rod Nelson said he hopes to break ground in the summer on the new facility and have it open in 2008. He told the action council plans for the medical facility are now being updated to match the needs of the community. He said the new vision for health care is for a small hospital, with senior citizen services, and partnerships with other organizations, including Northern Michigan Hospital and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

He said the local plans are made in response to the changes in health care. The latest medications available patients enable them to stay in their homes longer, reducing the number of needed long term care beds. He said hospital stays are shorter than they used to be following surgery.

“From an employment standpoint, our goal is to keep the employees we have,” he said.

Following the meeting, Mrs. Peterson told The St. Ignace News the council will choose a key issue or project and take action on it.

“Eventually, I hope we will be able to look back and say, ‘We were able to accomplish this for the community,’” she said.

The action council meets monthly for one hour at the St. Ignace Public Library, although in January the group will forego a regular meeting to attend the program, “Can Small Towns Be Cool?” Open to the public, the two-hour planning and marketing program will be Tuesday, January 9, at Little Bear East Convention Center from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Dave Ivan, the Clinton County MSU Extension director and an economic development specialist, will present the program. The registration deadline is January 4. The cost is $25. For more information about the seminar, call the Mackinac County MSU Extension office at 643-7307. The county Extension office is co-sponsoring the program with the Chamber of Commerce.

On Tuesday, February 13, the action council will meet at the Ignace Public Library at 10:15 a.m.