Working with the Michigan Attorney General office, the City of St. Ignace has revised and approved the language for a ballot measure to amend the city charter, allowing it to advertise but not publish its annual audit in the newspaper. This change to the charter, the main document which governs city administration, was suggested by council members because of the potentially high cost of publishing the yearly financial audit, which was 70 pages long in 2008.

The city has not been publishing the audit since anyone can remember, and the city attorney recommended that a summary coulc be published under the current charter provisions, instead, but council members, at past meetings, said they would be more comfortable asking voters to change the charter.

City residents will vote on this amendment to the charter in the November 3 election. The proposal, to which voters will decide either "yes" or "no," will read as follows:

Shall Section 8.7 of the Home Rule Charter of the City of St. Ignace be amended by deleting the requirement for newspaper publication of the City's annual independent audit and City Manager's annual report, and substituting in its place a requirement for annual newspaper publication of a notice that copies of the annual audit and City Manager's report shall be available for public inspection in the office of the City Clerk?

This change to the ballot measure removes the exact charter language and instead summarizes it for voters. The new ballot language also adds the requirement to notify the public that the City Manager's annual report also is available and accompanies the audit. The revised ballot measure was approved by City Council during its Monday, July 6, meeting.

Fence Encroaches City and

Private Property, City

Officials Say

City Council voted 6-1 Monday to deny an appeal to allow a fence to continue standing on what has been determined to be both city and private property, and to give the property owner who built the fence, Joe Durm, 30 days to move it off the neighboring private property and 90 days to move it off the city's property.

Mr. Durm, who owns a home at 743 South State Street, approached City Council Monday to request an appeal to the notification he received in a letter from the city, dated June 4, 2009, to move or remove the fence.

In 2007, Mr. Durm had built a fence around his property, which he believed to be compliant with all zoning regulations. After hearing complaints from Wes Caughlan, a neighbor at 699 South State Street, city employees visited the property to measure the fence placement and determined that it was placed about eight feet onto the city property included in the 66-foot-wide rightof way for State Street.

During the council meeting, Mr. Durm said he measured the distance to the fence from the center line of the road and placed the stake 34 feet from it, which he believed would leave a one-foot section between the fence and the end of his property. He also said Paul Sved, the city building inspector, was there for this measurement.

According to Mr. Sved, he was not there for the measurement and instead relies on property owners knowing where their property lines are when approving building permits for fences in the city.

Les Therrian, director of public works for St. Ignace, said the center line is not necessarily the center of any right-of-way, and confirmed that the fence encroaches city property. City attorney Prentiss Brown, Jr. said the center of a right-of-way can only be determined by a surveyor and agreed that the center line painted on the road may not be the center of the city property.

Mr. Caughlan said he measured the distance to the fence, himself, and reported it to the city after purchasing the house next door and finding that the fence encroached on his property, as well.

According to the neighbor, the fence should bend to a 90-degree angle to the road when it approaches the right-of-way, and it does not.

"If the fence wasn't in a right-ofway I wouldn't have a problem," he said. "One solves the other."

Mr. Durm argued that the fence is an asset and improvement to the area and is far enough away from the actual road surface to not actually cause any traffic problems.

"I can park two trucks between the fence and the road; I'm certainly not impeding anyone's traffic," he said. "This fence is a pretty fence, it's a real plus to the neighborhood."

Paul Fullerton made a motion to require the fence be removed from the city's right-of-way. Mr. Fullerton added that he faced a similar rightof way dispute on his own property and needed to concede that the land belonged to the city.

"They're just going to have to follow the rules like everybody else does," he said. "A mistake was made and now it has to be corrected."

After amending this motion to give Mr. Durm 30 days to bring the side fence to a right angle off of the neighboring property and 90 days to remove the front portion of the fence from the city property, the council voted 6-1 to require both changes. The lone dissenting vote was from council member William LaLonde.

Mr. LaLonde said the fault for the incorrectly placed fence lies, at least in part, with the city, which issued the building permit for the fence in the first place.

"It shouldn't have ever got to this point, as far as I'm concerned," he said.

The building inspector should make sure projects like fences are done correctly, like is done with entire houses, Mr. LaLonde said.

"He just granted the permit and assumed it would be done right," he said. "My feeling is that we're both to blame."

City Approves Raise

for Recreation Director

St. Ignace Recreation Director Scott Marshall was given an extended contract, including salary in - creases, by the City Council Mon - day in a unanimous vote.

Mr. Marshall, who previously worked for the city's public works department, was originally hired in June 2008 as Recreation Programs Coordinator and Facilities Manager for the recreation department at a salary of $29,000, plus benefits.

The new contract extends through December 31, 2010, and gives Mr. Marshall a salary of $32,500, plus benefits, for 2009 and $34,500, plus benefits, for 2010.

The reasons for the raise included Mr. Marshall's recent certification as a heavy equipment operator and expanding of the department's revenue through various new programs, City Manager Eric Dodson said.

"I believe his performance has exceeded the city's expectations, the community's expectations, and the expectations of everybody in - volved," Mr. Dodson said.

City Insurance Plan Approved

Council members voted unanimously to approve it's 2009 insurance plan through Michigan Muni - cipal Risk Management Au thority. The premium is $92,212, up from $91,484 in 2008.

The coverage is for $10 million with a $15,000 deductible per occurrence for liability, a $250 deductible per vehicle accident, and a $250 deductible for property and crime. There is also coverage for sewage system overflow.

Under the previous year's contract, the city had seven claims .

Resolutions Pass for Special Events, Chief Wawatam Park

Project

The council passed two resolutions to override Ordinance No. 413, "The Peddler's Ordinance," to allow for two annual events to take place legally, Fish Feast and Sidewalk Sales.

Since the events are both held on city property, one at the marina and the other on city sidewalks, the resolution is necessary to confirm that the events meet criteria set out in the ordinance.

Fish Feast is scheduled for Saturday, July 25, from noon to 10 p.m. and will take place at the city marina.

The annual Sidewalk Sales in the downtown area are scheduled for Saturday, August 8, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The city council also approved a resolution to accept the terms of a grant agreement with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to fund the Chief Wawatam Park project. This DNR trust fund grant provides $134,000 in reimbursement funds, to be matched by $38,000 from the city to complete the project on the former railroad ferry dock in St. Ignace.

The DDA has also received $38,000 from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for planning handicapped accessibility into the park's design.

The park is planned to included walkways, landscaping, a fishing platform, picnic areas, and local historic education.

The agreement will be sent back to the DNR and, once it is signed, St. Ignace Downtown Development Authority Director Deb Evashevski can begin the construction process.

"I'm hoping to get a shovel in the ground by late summer or early fall," Mrs. Evashevski said. "I'm anxious to get this going."