Fireworks, Tree Cutting Draw Debate

Two issues brought concerned and angry residents and members of the Special Events Committee to the St. Ignace City Council meeting Monday evening, October 6, to argue for and against summer fireworks displays and to complain about utility tree trimming.

The idea for the fireworks over Moran Bay, say Special Event Committee members, is to bring guests to the city and improve the local economy. The committee is proposing displays on 10 Saturdays next summer.

The city annually budgets $7,500 for the July 4th display and the new request of $2,500 would increase the city's budget to $10,000 a year.

Council agreed to consider the request when it begins the 2009 budget review next month and will discuss residents concerns that fireworks noise scares some pets.

Upset property owners complained that their trees are being cut down along a transmission line on Second Street by a Wisconsin power transmission company. The company is cutting more than necessary, said residents, and cleanup is being left to them. The loss of trees will reduce their property values, they told the board.

One resident said he will block cutting on his property and another promised to call the police if crews attempt to work on his land.

Cutting is on hold, said Mr. Dodson, until company representatives appear before Council next month. He said the cutting is being done by American Transmission Company (ATC) of Waukesha, Wisconsin, a transmission company owned in part by Edison Sault Electric Company, which supplies electricity to the city.

In the meantime, the city recommends that residents ask ATC to provide easement documentation before they cut or trim trees.

One resident said his research at the Register of Deeds office revealed only one easement on his land for mineral rights, not power lines.

Representing the Special Events committee at the meeting were Visitors Bureau Director Lynne Piippo, Chris Shepler, and Mark Sposito.

With a budget of $100,000, which Mr. Shepler called aggressive, $50,000 would be earmarked for the fireworks and $50,000 would be used to market the summer schedule. The display would be each Saturday evening from the Fourth of July through Labor Day.

"Things haven't been great in the tourism industry over the last couple of years," said Mr. Shepler, "and this year has been no exception. Bridge traffic is down, traffic to the Island is down, and traffic to our city here in St. Ignace is down."

Chamber of Commerce board member Elizabeth Brown agreed. She said total sales at her shops on Monday were $25, two local businesses closed their doors last month, some restaurants are near foreclosure, and the Chamber's future is questionable.

"If we don't do something soon to bolster the downtown businesses," she said, "we'll all be closing our doors.

"Tourists need more to do," she said. "Mackinaw City understands this concept. Family fun, stores for shopping, movies, entertainment, more hotels keep going up and they will continue to go up to meet the swell of tourism. There is no reason for people to cross that bridge to come downtown to St. Ignace. We have nothing down here to offer them except a beautiful, quiet community."

She told Council she had talked with a North Carolina town that offers fireworks every Thursday night and the display had helped the community's economy.

Resident Bob Haywood said he was against the idea of fireworks, as most stores in town are closed before the display would begin, it would diminish the significance of celebrations like the Fourth of July, and it would encourage the sale and use of illegal fireworks. He also has a pet that would be affected by the noise. He suggested that street musicians and entertainers would be more appropriate alternative.

A business and pet owner, Mr. Sposito said the fireworks plan was developed as a tool to create a vibrant area and help St. Ignace businesses, which are struggling. He told the more than 30 people attending the meeting that he had polled a few of his friends in town and on Mackinac Island. Both cities have a noon whistle and Fort Mackinac on the Island fires a cannon every half hour in the summer. The response from his friends was the same, he said; the pets adjusted to the sounds.

Mackinac County Animal Shelter Manager Ginger Valentine disagreed.

"They [animals] think it's bombs when the fireworks are going off on the Fourth of July," she said.

Animals at the shelter already are traumatized, having been abandoned by the people who had them, she noted. The idea is good for businesses, she said, but not for the animals.

Council member Susan Massaway suggested the city council have a member attend the special events committee meetings and report back, but no action was taken on her request.

Council member Tom Della- Moretta, who owns two downtown businesses, said it is a difficult time for business owners and supports the fireworks idea.

Councilmen Merv Wyse agreed.

"I'm very much in support of fireworks."

City treasurer and business owner Gene Elmer said the city should anticipate that the commercial tax base will be reduced as businesses continue to close.

"We have to do something to stop the slide." he said.

Mayor Paul Grondin was ambivalent. He said he has two cats, each reacting differently to thunderstorms, so he understands the concerns of the pet owners, but he also acknowledged that the city council should promote the town and to assist businesses.

City Police Officer Merlin Doran said he has been an officer in St. Ignace for 13 years. When he first arrived, traffic was steady on State Street until 1 a.m., but now only a few cars are out after 10:30 p.m.

"We need to get something in this town to bring people in," he said, and special events help as he has seen with the Bayside Fall Fest.

The committee is working with the three Mackinac Island ferry lines as well as the St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce, Visitors Bureau, Hospitality Growth, and Downtown Business Association. Support also is being sought from other groups, including the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Mackinac County, energy companies, businesses, and service organizations.

Cutting trees along Second Street, said Mr. Dodson, was the decision of ATC, which is cutting down all of them within 25 feet on each side of a transmission pole.

This is a property issue, said Mr. Dodson, between land owners and their easements and the power company.

Sharron Lasley has lived on Second Street for 40 years and her house is more than 135 years old. Mrs. Lasley said she is being "bullied" by the company, which in correspondence has said it would trim and cut vegetation, not destroy or remove it.

"We want some help from you people," she told the council. "We don't want that street to look like it's been bombed, like a tornado went through. There are some beautiful trees there."

ATC, she said replaced the Edison Sault poles with taller ones and is treating the 60,000 volt line the same as a 220,000 volt line.

"We do not live in the bush," said Mrs. Lasley. "We live on a residential street and we want your help."

Dick Soczek said he received a letter for the company's attorney along with a copy of his deed that highlighted restrictions. Upon checking on the restrictions at the Register of Deeds, he discovered it was a state easement for mineral rights.

"As far as I know," he said, of the transmission company, "they don't have an easement on my property."

The trees the company wants to cut down, he said, have sentimental value to him. They came from his parents' home and from a friend, who has since died.

Phyllis Massey said everything has been cut on the property she and her husband, Ed, owns, although the company is leaving stumps. She brought photographs, which were pass around the council table.

"They're coming through, they're taking everything; our hedges, our scrubs, the whole works down to our garden, and that's how they cut them," she said, holding up a photograph of a tree stump.

Lenny Adams, who has about four trees ATC plans to cut down, said the company should use some common sense as they work to keep the lines free from trees.

"I'm going to be standing out there," he said. "They'll have to cut me out to cut my trees."

Mayor Grondin also lives on Second Street and agreed that common sense should be used, as not all of the trees appear to impact the lines. He invited residents to return in November when ATC representatives will be present. City Attorney Prentiss "Moie" Brown told residents there are several questions involved. Legally, does the company have an easement and, if so, what action can the company take under the easement? Citizens should also ask themselves what they can negotiate with the company, if it has the legal right to cut their trees. He also suggested residents contact the Michigan Public Service Commission, which regulates public utilities.

ATC media relations officer, Jackie Olson, in De Pere, Wisconsin, told The St. Ignace News Tuesday that cutting is done for safety and reliability of power.

New federal standards, she said, were implemented following the 2003 widespread power outage in the Northeast and Midwest, which was caused by tree limbs coming in contact with transmission lines.

"Essentially, we do not tolerate tall growing trees under transmission lines," she said.

A relatively new company, ATC was established in 2001 by a consortium of 28 power companies and municipalities and inherited the past practices of its owners, which had been operating under old guidelines.

"We have a more strict vegetation management policy today then maybe people saw in the past," Ms. Olson said to explain reaction to the Second Street cuttings.

Generally, she said, the company tries to keep lines above ground, which is less expensive than underground lines. Diagnosing problems also takes longer with underground lines, she noted, although sometimes lines are required to be buried, such as in the vicinity of an airport.

In other business, Mr. Dodson presented a preliminary 2009 budget for review. The budget must be adopted by the end of December.

The budget projects revenues of $2.49 million, up from $2.46 in 2008.

Council did not discuss the document Monday night, and did not schedule a work session in November to work on it.

One new item to be discussed, however, could be a request by the Golf Course Committee for the city to contribute $10,000 for a fund that will eventually expand the golf course to 18 holes. Council too no action on the request Monday night, saying any decision would have to wait until the budget review.

As part of the city's Budget Deficit Reduction Plan, Council increased some fees at Lakeside Cemetery, including a burial site fee increase from $300 to $400 and perpetual care increase from $100 to $150.

Council will also charge $2,000 to the golf course for payroll work. Beginning in 2009, the city will no longer charge the normal 35% overhead fee it does to other departments which receive full service accounting from the city.

Les Therrian director of the Department of Public Works said four of 11 homes on Murray Street already have connected to the sewer. The city will negotiate with homeowners offering up to 10 years to pay for the connection fee. The highest fee charged for the hookup is estimated at $3,000. Homeowners will pay $38 per linear foot to connect to the system.

Work on the new bus station on US-2 and Church Street is expected to begin within the next two weeks, said Mr. Dodson.

The Emerald Ash Borer study is complete, he said, and the city is awaiting the report.

Federal funding for the proposed $2.5 Transportation Museum has been reduced to a $500,000 matching grant. City leaders now are working with the Mackinac Island State Park Commission to try to develop a site at the Father Marquette Museum on Boulevard Drive, although funding remains a concern.

Council next meets Monday, October 20, at 8 p.m. at city hall.