Council Ponders Storage for Chief Ferry Engine
Water, Sewer Funds Out of Debt
By Ryan Schlehuber

The electrical pole attached to the side of Fort de Buade Museum in St. Ignace was knocked down by snow that slid off the building's roof Sunday evening, January 13. Repairing the damage will cost the city $1,000. The city expects to be reimbursed in April from funds from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The building's utilities have been shut off for the winter, however, its security system is still active. The museum is expected to reopen in May.

Acquiring one of three Chief Wawatam rail ferry engines was supported by the St. Ignace City Council during its meeting Monday, January 21, getting the engine into long-term storage is yet to be resolved.

Purvis Marine of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, has offered to donate the 65-ton, 16-foot-high engine, which the city hopes to use in a downtown transportation museum being planned by the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).

Les Therrian, director of the Department of Public Works, said the engine will likely be stored in a fenced-in area behind the DPW garage, but may sit there for several years until a museum is built. He said the city will have to find a company to maneuver the large engine from the lowboy delivery trailer to the storage yard when it arrives, and then to the museum once its built. Purvis Marine agreed to pay the cost of fuel to deliver the engine to St. Ignace.

The transportation museum will house items from the Mackinac Bridge and the former state car ferries. The city is seeking more than $1 million in transportation enhancement funds from MDOT and is eying the Mulcrone building on McCann Street, the site of a former automobile garage and now used for storage and the bus depot. It is across the street from the railroad dock used by the Chief Wawatam.

For the first time in at least four years, the city's water and sewer funds are out of debt, reported City Manager Eric Dodson. The water fund has a balance of $9,189, while the sewer fund has a balance of $1,276.

"It's not a lot over the line, but we're going the way we said it would," he said.

At one time, the two funds had a combined deficit of $700,000.

Council is not expected to lower water and sewer rates, raised a few years ago to correct the deficits, because it may need additional money to upgrade to the city's wastewater system, a project planned for 2009. Designs for the project should be available by June or July.

Council approved special events status for the Upper Peninsula Pond Hockey Championship, which will be part of a two-weekend winter event, and the Bayside Ice Festival on Moran Bay February 16 through 24. Activities during the festival will include snowmobile adventure races, snow bowling, a softball tournament, an ice sculpture competition among LaSalle High School classes, and live music. A food and beverage tent will be erected on the ice.

The Hanson brothers from the hockey movie classic, "Slapshot," will be the featured guests during the hockey tournament, which will bring in up to 48 teams of six to 12 players.

Mayor Paul Grondin, elected last fall to the Michigan Association of Mayors board of directors, said he has been asked to tell other board members in April about the St. Ignace program to hold council meetings at various city facilities, including the library and Little Bear East community center.

Mayor Grondin announced that Mark Sposito, president of the St. Ignace Visitors Bureau, will replace the bureau's executive director, Lynne Piippo, on the Recreation Advisory Committee. He is the organizer of the Pond Hockey tournament.

Cindy Patten, the city's librarian, reported that the public library's circulation is up almost 7% from last year. She said the city facility has circulated 28,932 items. The library also has held 96 non-libraryrelated programs in the library with attendance reaching more than 1,100.

The city's Negotiations Committee met with its 10 department heads to continue non-union contract discussions. Mr. Dodson said new two-year contracts will probably be set next month.

Council will meet at the high school at 1:30 p.m. Monday, March 17. Its next regular meeting is 8 p.m., Monday, February 4.