A proposed new grocery store in St. Ignace received the endorsement of the St. Ignace City Council following a public hearing Monday evening, November 16, at which residents questioned its need and the number of year-around jobs the project will produce.

The council's resolution of support will be submitted with an application seeking $270,000 in federal money toward the purchase of about one acre of waterfront property across the street from the city hall, the site of the old Rehn's grocery store and several other buildings.

Those at the hearing asked developers and city officials if the store was what the city needs, what sort of jobs will be created, what the store will sell, how it will be paid for, the expected timeline, what will happen if the agreement with the city is not met, and commented on how the store could affect the lives of residents and visitors alike.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) is being asked for $270,000 to fund about 75% of the purchase price. The developers say they will invest about $700,000 for renovations to the main building and two other buildings on the property.

Mark Sposito of St. Ignace and Andrew Doud of Mackinac Island plan to turn the largest of the three buildings into what Mr. Sposito called a "family-style, old-fashioned" grocery store and attempt to rent out the other two buildings, one a former motorcycle shop and the other a former restaurant.

As a requirement of MEDC grant, the two developers will enter into a contract with the City of St. Ignace and with MEDC agreeing to develop the property within the next two years, retain ownership for at least five years, and create at least 14 full-time, year-around jobs, 51% of which need to be people in a low to moderate income level.

"I'm pretty excited about the kind of job creation it's going to provide," Mayor Paul Grondin said.

Lieutenant Matthew Walter, commander of the Coast Guard's Biscayne Bay, asked if a grocery store is what the City Council believes St. Ignace needs to improve the local economy.

Downtown Development Authority Director Deb Evashevski, who is overseeing the grant application, said the added diversity of businesses the store would bring to the downtown is exactly what the city hopes to create.

"A downtown district looks to have a lot of diverse types of businesses and offerings in order to draw the most people into your downtown district," Mrs. Evashevski said. A more eclectic blend of goods, some of which are not offered elsewhere in the city, will help set the store apart, she said, and fill a need in the downtown area.

Mr. Walter asked if the proposed store's customer base will be St. Ignace's summer tourist crowd or the city's local residents.

The store will be primarily focused on pursuing the business of locals, Mr. Sposito said, and will offer a different balance of products and services like a butcher, bakery, deli, and produce section, that can't be found elsewhere in town.

"The tourist season gives us an opportunity to sell more products," he said, "but it's not going to be geared toward tourists, it's going to be geared toward the local people of this town. This is a city of St. Ignace family-style grocer."

Since the proposed store will have only about 500 feet of shelving, about 1,000 feet less than Glen's Markets, Mr. Sposito said they will not offer as wide of a selection of things like canned and paper goods, but will be able to offer some of the products and services not currently available at Glen's.

Carol Bell, a St. Ignace resident who lives nearby the proposed store, said she remembered when a store was on the property and looks forward to once again being able to walk to buy her groceries.

"This would improve the quality of life for those of us that live in the area a lot," Mrs. Bell said. "This kind of specialty store is something we really could use."

When she is working on the downtown's landscaping each summer, Mrs. Bell said she is often approached by tourists asking where the nearest grocery store is, and said they are often disappointed to find it is not in walking distance. The store would be great for her, she said, because she lives so close, but will also bring in visitors from nearby motels, the city marina, and others visiting downtown St. Ignace.

Mary Nichols, a St. Ignace resident, asked if the city could lose any money in the deal if the developers do not comply with contract agreements.

Mr. Sposito said he and Mr. Doud would be financially responsible for whatever parts of the contract they do not comply with. One stipulation requires the developers pay $20,000 for each job short of the 14 they cannot maintain, meaning if they can provide only 12 yeararound jobs instead of 14, they would need to pay $40,000. Mrs. Evashevski said she is working on a contract between the city and the developers that would protect the city from any financial loss.

Ms. Nichols asked if the grant allowed for foreign workers, such as those brought through the H2B visa program, which authorizes foreign nationals to work in the country, to be part of the job creation required in the grant.

Mrs. Evashevski said she spoke to representatives from the MEDC, who encouraged developers to hire St. Ignace residents, but did not require it in the grant agreement.

The store does not have any plan to use the H2B visa program, Mr. Sposito said.

Kenneth Perala, a St. Ignace resident, asked how soon people will see the development of the property move along.

Mrs. Evashevski said the grant being applied for requires a host of steps, including publishing documents, allowing for periods of public viewing, environmental impact assessments, historic preservation reviews, and others that need to be done before the property may be purchased from the current owners and renovated.

"I hope my part of it doesn't hold anything up," she said.

If things move along quickly, she noted, developers could do much of the inside renovations during the winter, and Mr. Sposito said he is hoping for a Memorial Day 2010 opening date.

"My hat is off to you," Mr. Perala said. "It's about time somebody did something with this property. It's been an eyesore for a long time."

Council member Don Gustafson noted when there were five grocery stores in the downtown area, including an A&P, Fair's IGA, Red Owl, and two convenience stores, The Stop and Pemble's Grocery. Brown's Grocery near where Glen's now is and Jarema's near the airport were also operating then.

"To see us at least go back into a situation where we expand our business base, and to echo what was said before, remove a vacant eyesore in the middle of town, it's a plus," Mr. Gustafson said. "I am wholeheartedly in favor of this."

After exiting the public hearing, the city council voted to amend a resolution in support of the proposed store passed at its Monday, November 16, meeting. The changes to the resolution were changing a typo from $600,000 to $700,000 for the total expected cost of renovations, and naming the DDA's downtown development plan instead of the city's master plan as the yardstick to measure the new development.

Mr. Gustafson said he agreed that making the DDA's plan the reference point was more appropriate than the city's master plan, since the store will be such an important part of the downtown district.