Residents of St. Ignace are invited to voice their comments and concerns about a proposed grocery store at 399 North State Street in downtown St. Ignace during a public hearing at the City Council meeting Monday, November 16, owing to a City Council decision to support the plan. Council also approved the purchase of two powered ambulance cots, two used police cars, and a backhoe.

Two local businessman, Mark Sposito of St. Ignace and Andrew Doud of Mackinac Island, are partnering with the St. Ignace Downtown Development Authority (DDA) to pursue a $270,000 Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) grant to help fund the purchase of the property.

The city agreed to spend $5,000 through its DDA and to contribute $2,500 in in-kind contributions to help complement this project by expanding the city's boardwalk in the area adjacent to the property. The city's $2,500 in-kind contribution would consist of using city employees to help install the new picnic tables and boardwalk sections outlined in the project.

Mr. Sposito and Mr. Doud plan to use the savings gained through the grant, if received, to spend additional money renovating the three buildings on the currently vacant property. The public hearing is part of MEDC grant requirements which also stipulate that developers go forward with their initial plans, retain the property for five years, and create at least 14 low to moderate income jobs for two years.

DDA Director Deb Evashevski was designated by Council to work as the city's agent in facilitating the project.

Mrs. Evashevski and Messrs. Sposito and Doud did not attend the meeting.

The public hearing will be at 8 p.m.

The proposal as presented to the DDA last week appears on page one in this issue of The St. Ignace News.

City, Townships Approve

Purchase of Ambulance Cots

Allied EMS, the ambulance service provider for St. Ignace and five surrounding townships, will purchase two new powered cots at a cost of $20,472.72, the townships and city council all having approved the purchase.

The total cost to the City of St.

Ignace, to be paid over four years, will be $9,622.18, which Mark Wilk of Allied EMS said would be rolled into the year's operational budget. The four-year purchase agreement will finance the purchase of the cots at no interest.

Shares for the other townships in the service area will be $3,685.09 for Moran Township, $3,480.36 for St. Ignace Township, $2,252 for Brevort Township, $818.91 for Hudson Township, and $614.18 for Hendricks Township. All five townships have already approved the purchase at the recommendation of Allied EMS.

The new powered cots will help make work safer and easier for emergency personnel, Mr. Wilk said, since they will help lift patients in and out of the ambulances.

St. Ignace Buys Two

Used Police Cars

The St. Ignace Police Department will be purchasing two used police cars from other area law enforcement agencies for $7,900.

The two city cars being replaced both have about 150,000 miles on them and have become a safety concern and an expense for the department with increasing need for repair.

The Mackinac County Sheriff's Office will sell a car with about 100,000 miles to the city for $3,100 and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians will sell the other car with about 77,000 miles to the city for $4,800.

City Manager Eric Dodson said the purchase would be drawn from a city fund which currently holds $11,000 gathered from inspection fees and other revenue sources, and not from the city's equipment fund.

"This isn't an end-all to our needs for police cars," Mr. Dodson said. "This will get us for a while."

Council members said they believe the used cars will last between two and five years.

New Backhoe Bought for Public

Works Department

Council approved a $31,400 purchase of a 2006 John Deere 310 SG backhoe to replace one of the city's backhoes that needs extensive repairs.

After exploring various options, St. Ignace's Public Works Department recommended the city purchase the used backhoe from JDE Equipment of Traverse City. Public Works Director Les Therrian said the backhoe will be an improvement because the machine is in better repair and has better features than the city's current equipment.

"It has more power than the one we have now and it's a little sturdier," Mr. Therrian said. A sturdier backhoe is important in St. Ignace, he said, because the rocky soil is tough on the equipment.

The city traded in one of the two backhoes it has now for about $12,000, Mr. Therrian said, but held onto the other one so it could be used at the city cemetery.

Having a backhoe in good repair is important, he said, because it is the equipment used if there is ever a problem with water or sewer lines. Mr. Therrian estimated the backhoe, which has 3,300 hours of operation time already, will last the city 10 to 15 years before it needs to be replaced.

St. Ignace City Council meetings, which are open to the public, are held at 8 p.m. in City Hall on the first and third Monday of each month. New Council members will be sworn in at a special meeting Monday, November 9, and the next regular meeting, when the city will hold a public hearing, is scheduled for Monday, November 16.