Movies 'Under the Stars' To Be Shown at St. Ignace
By Ryan Schlehuber

There is nothing like going to the movies, under the stars. That is what St. Ignace City Manager Eric Dodson wants in St. Ignace, and he is proposing an outdoor movie theater at Little Bear East Community Center and Arena July 2 and 3.

Mr. Dodson, at a regular City Council meeting Monday, June 4, said he saw a similar feature in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

The July dates are between the St. Ignace Antique Auto Show and Fourth of July, "so it will be one more reason for folks to stay in town," he noted.

Great Outdoor Movies of Rochester Hills will provide an inflatable, 26-foot-wide digital screen that will project a 7,000- lumen image. A Dolby surround sound system will be used. Those who watch from their vehicles can tune listen to the movie over their car radio.

Family movies selected to be shown are the Disney films, "Cars" and "Night at the Museum." An documentary about the construction of the Mackinac Bridge will be shown each night, as well, as part of the 50th anniversary celebration this year.

Mr. Dodson will solicit sponsors for the outdoor theater.

"It's going to be a free movie," he said. "Any profits we make from this will be put in the city's special events line items to go towards other events like this."

He said there are make-up dates if the event is rained out.

Mayor Paul Grondin and other city officials will attend a regular meeting of the Mackinaw City Village Council Tuesday, June 19, and, the following day, village officials from Mackinaw City will attend a meeting of the St. Ignace City Council.

"This is a great opportunity to learn from one another while working to shorten 'the bridge' between our communities," said Mr. Dodson. "I've been to a few of these when I was working downstate and I always came back with new ideas and ideas on how to improve what we have."

Each visiting group will be given a tour of the host's facilities and exchange ideas.

Mayor Grondin said he was approached by Bay City earlier this year to "exchange mayors," however, he said, because of financial constraints of the city, he declined the offer but decided to see if Mackinaw City would be interested. He said he will arrange a mayoral exchange with Bay City, possibly next year.

Department of Public Works Director Les Therrian, updating Council on the water tower repair, said Bill Dixon of Dixon Engineering in Lansing has directed Pittsburgh Tank and Tower to redo a failure analysis study.

"Bill wants to be sure the repairs they do are going to be right," said Mr. Therrian, "and he wasn't satisfied with Pittsburgh Tanks' first failure analysis." Repairs should begin later this month.

The tower cracked along its base during a blizzard in February, resulting in the evacuation of three nearby homes.

The sales agreement for Fort de Buade Museum, between the city and Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, is now awaiting a tribal signature, said Mr. Dodson, and the city is ready to move forward.

The tribe has offered to donate $708,000 to the city over six years, to be used to purchase and operate the museum and building from the Donald Benson family.

Mackinac Environmental has taken soil samples at the site, which once housed Wing's Garage, and the city is awaiting to see if the ground is contaminated.

City attorney Prentiss "Moie" Brown Jr. said the tribe has inserted an arbitration clause into the agreement and has stipulated that irreconcilable differences be argued in tribal court.

"I can't see any problems with the tribe at all," said Mr. Brown. "They just want to be sure they can purchase the rights of the museum" if the city backs out of the agreement. "I have no objections to what they're asking."

He said once the tribe "decorates the mahogany," a term he described was used by bartenders in the lumbering days to mean "pay up," the city can then sign a contract with the Benson family to transfer the deed to the building and property and also sign a contract with the Michilimackinac Historical Society to authorize it to operate the museum and gift shop.

Mr. Dodson said the building will need some maintenance, but the city will not begin repairs until all three contracts are finalized.

Mayor Grondin appointed John Arnold to the vacant position on the city's Zoning Board of Appeals, which was vacated by Calvin "Bucky" McPhee.

Mayor Grondin also appointed Steve Paquin to the city's Planning Commission, replacing Bob Boynton.

Both Mr. Boynton and Mr. McPhee resigned, Mr. Boynton because of a lack of time and Mr. McPhee because he has been elected to the Mackinac County Board of Commissioners, which may be a conflict of interest.

Both Mr. Paquin and Mr. Arnold were alternates for ZBA. Mayor Grondin is now searching to fill those positions and encourages anyone interested to contact him.

The city's deficit in its water department fund, reported Mr. Dodson, was $215,603 at this time a year ago, and is now only a deficit of $27,388.

The deficit in the sewer department fund was $262,000 a year ago and is now $180,804 in deficit.

"We have a little ways to go and we've made a lot of progress," said Mayor Grondin. "We're slowly making our way above the line."

Council went into an executive session to discuss contract negotiations with the police union.

Mr. Dodson said a policy in the police union's Blue Cross/ Blue Shield insurance coverage expired and, after the executive session was completed, Council agreed to transfer coverage for two police officers who had signed up for the policy to the city's insurance, shared by other city employees.