The City of Mackinac Island is awaiting orders from 11th Circuit Court Judge William Carmody in hopes that he will uphold a previous order that requires a Chicago couple to return its Hubbard's Annex property to its original state by November 1.

The issue involves unfinished construction of Len and Sue Webster's Island home, a project that has been stalled for almost nine years. Only a foundation has been built since 1999.

Judge Carmody clarified an order of abatement for the property at a hearing Friday, October 17, after giving the Websters seven days to object to the order that was issued October 10. The Websters did, and according to the Circuit Court, another hearing will be scheduled for November 21 if Judge Carmody does not sign the order before November 1, the deadline for the Websters to restore their property.

Tom Evashevski, the city's attorney, filed a motion to enter the order without further hearings, meaning he would like the Websters to adhere to the original order to remove all building material from the site and restore the property to its pre-construction state by filling in the hole in the ground by November 1.

"In my opinion, their objection was not proper," said Mr. Evashevski. "The only objection would be to the form of the order but not for the substance of the order. That would require an appeal."

The city filed a lawsuit against the Websters after they failed to either continue construction or restore the property before an April 25, 2007 deadline.

The city contends the property is a safety hazard to roaming children and to snowmobilers and is a blight in the neighborhood.

If the judge upholds the order and the Websters fail to meet the November 1 deadline, Judge Carmody will then determine the punishment.

"It could be anything, such as fines, a jail sentence, or he could allow the city to restore the property and bill it on the Websters' tax bill," explained Mr. Evashevski.

Auditor Says City's Finances 'in

Good Shape'

Michael Konicki of Rehmann Robson, the city's auditor, speaking at a City Council meeting Wednesday, October 22, said if he had to grade the city's financing and budgeting for the past fiscal year, he would give them an "A."

"Overall, you are in good shape," he said. "A lot of other municipalities are going the other way."

As of March 31, the city's yearend general fund balance was $489,000, an increase of $274,000 from last fiscal year, however, Mr. Konicki pointed out that the sale of one of the city's two Rowe House condominiums, which housed police officers, accounted for $221,000 of that increase.

That money will be used to remodel the old medical center into police apartments. The building has been renamed St. Martin's Place.

The city's other Rowe House condominium is still for sale.

In long-term debt, the city owes $205,000 for a fire truck, expected to be paid off in 2013, $140,000 for the construction of the fire hall, with final payment expected next June, and $60,000 to pave Cadotte Avenue, which is expected to be paid by August 2010.

Mr. Konicki said the Department of Public Works (DPW) has a debt of $3.4 million, which was incurred with improvements to its water and sewer treatment plants, and includes $300,000 of filtration equipment purchased a few years ago.

Current year expenses for St. Martin's Place total $243,000, and money in the general fund, currently, is down $120,000 from last year, however, said Mr. Konicki, some of that reflects the sale of the Rowe House condominium.

"So far," he said, "it's a good year for the city."

The city, because it has few office employees, was unable to meet high standards for segregation of duties in preparing financial statements, which is something all small municipalities face, but Rehman Robson is still required to disclose the information, he noted.

He said all other recommendations from last year's audit, all minor, have been met.

The city and the DPW are in the process of creating retirement plans for employees, Mr. Konicki pointed out.

Mayor Appoints Historic

Landmark Committees

As one of the first steps in preserving and improving Mackinac Island's National Historic Landmark status, Mayor Margaret Doud appointed two committees that will work to create guidelines for city planners, developers, and historic structure owners to abide by.

The first committee will study the formation of a Historic District Commission and will be chaired by Councilman Michael Hart. He will be joined by Planning Commission Chairman Bob Brown, Dan Musser III of Grand Hotel, Brad Chambers of Carriage Tours, and Phil Porter, director of Mackinac State Historic Parks.

A second committee was created to work toward obtaining historic status for individual cottages in Hubbard's Annex.

That committee will include Chris Straus, Melissa Straus, Lorna Straus, Shannon Schuler, Rosalie Rausch, and Dan Shea, with ad hoc member James Bazinaw, a member of the Planning Commission.

Mayor Doud also announced that local historian and map expert Brian Dunnigan, a summer Island resident, will make himself available to both committees for consultation on historical research.

Committee meetings will be scheduled by the committee chairs, Mayor Doud said after the meeting. No meetings have yet been scheduled.

All meetings for both committees will be posted through the city at First National Bank, the Post Office, and on television cable community channel three.

The city is receiving support from the community as Jane Manoogian, Sandra Roe, and a few other volunteers have been gathering names for a petition to round up support for maintaining and improving the Island's National Historic Landmark status. They have collected around 1,000 names, Mrs. Roe said.

Street Lights Update

Kelly Bean, Mayor Doud's assistant, updated Council on a city project to replace its 100 street lights.

A single LED street light is on temporary display. The pole supporting it, she said, replaces one that was knocked down a couple of winters ago in a snowmobile accident. It was not replaced because the city has no replacement poles.

Councilman Dan Wightman suggested the city keep the light pole there until Council decides on a particular light and pole design.

The city has no back-up light poles and all of the 100 street lights work, but many of the globes are broken or discolored, which is why the city is looking into replacing its poles and lights now, Ms. Bean told Mackinac Island Town Crier before the meeting. It is looking at LED and compact fluorescent lights to reduce power consumption.

The city purchased used lights more than 20 years ago, and they are serviced and maintained by Edison Sault Electric Company at the city's expense.

Objection to Business'

Property Reclassification

Council received three letters. One was from Phil Porter of Mackinac State Historic Parks, who, on behalf of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, objects to allowing Jack and Terri Armstrong to reclassify their Cannonball Drive-in business on the west side of the Island from Non-Conforming Class B to Non- Conforming Class A status.

Mr. Porter, in his letter, stated that the State Park, which owns property to the east and west side of the Armstrongs' property, is concerned that either the current or future owners could make changes to the place that could result in a dramatic new use of the property. He also pointed out that through Planning Commission, there is no requirement for any public input or notification.

The Armstrongs were fined earlier this summer for not purchasing a building permit before he built a fence and an accessory building. He then approached Planning Commission about the issue in September. The board then suggested Mr. Armstrong reclassify his building, which is in a single family zone, to avoid having to apply for a variance.

Class B structures are any structures, existing before the Island's zoning ordinance was enacted, that do not conform to the zoning area. They cannot be replaced if lost in a fire and need variances for any changes or repairs. Class A structures can do so without a variance, if no more than 50% of the building is changed.

Mr. Porter argues that the city's approval process lacks public input or notification because the issue goes through the Planning Commission and not City Council, and, therefore, any dramatic change to the Armstrong building could go through without public notification or input.

The Commission has no objections to the Cannonball operations, Mr. Porter told the Town Crier Thursday, October 23, however, reclassifying it would open up possibilities for future owners of that business to stray further away from the single family zoning.

"Phil's letter exposes what I'd call a weakness in our non-conforming ordinance," said Mr. Evashevski during the meeting. "In theory, we allow use changes by the Planning Commission but not by the elected body. It's something both the Planning Com- mission and City Council need to look at."

The other two letters included one from Island House Hotel, which recognized City Police Officer Dominic Redman for resolving a conflict between two of the hotel's employees, and one from the National Alliance of State Drug Enforcement Agencies and Michigan State Police, thanking the city for participating in the opening ceremony of the agencies' fall conference at Mission Point Resort September 15.

Motor Vehicle Permits

Council approved nine permits for temporary use of motor vehicles for construction, four permits for temporary use of a trailer for hauling, and denied two requests for use of a backhoe to spread topsoil at residential yards.

Belonga Plumbing and Heating's requested use of a backhoe to spread topsoil at Martha Cousineau's home and Tom McGovern's home, both near Stonecliffe on the west side of the Island, was turned down by Council after members agreed the work can be done by hand and with a horse-pulled dray.

Council directed Mr. Evashevski to write a letter to Frieda Novick of New York, who owns the building that formerly housed the old opera house, now occupied by Foxy's T-shirt business, to inform her that the city is highly concerned about the possible deteriorated state of the building.

Council is seeking to allow for inspection of the building and recommend possible repair needed before May, when Foxy's reopens for the summer.