Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
THE WAKEFIELD city council heard a presentation Monday night about the proposed motorized and non-motorized trails through the state of Michigan. U.P. Trail Coordinator, Ron Yesney, with the DNR, and Paul Anderson of Coleman engineering, presented the initiatives and answered questions. Council members Amy Tarro, Bob Blaskowski, interim city manager John Siira, city clerk Jennifer Jacobson and Paul Anderson watch as Yesney points out the proposed trail route.
By KELSEY HANSEN
Wakefield - The council heard a presentation Monday night about the potential motorized and non-motorized trail system in and around Wakefield.
Ron Yesney, from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, along with Paul Anderson, of Coleman Engineering Company, wanted to give the new council an update and continue contact through the process.
Yesney, as the Trail Coordinator for the Upper Peninsula, has been working in Gogebic County to promote community development with these trail initiatives.
The first initiative is the Iron Belle Trail, a non-motorized trail for hiking and biking which connects the state of Michigan from Belle Isle to Ironwood and vice versa.
The second initiative is to create a permanent motorized trail through Gogebic County that will go to Iron Mountain.
"We've been working hard on this motorized route that would be year-round and we're fairly close to getting that done," Yesney shared.
A possible option for these trails is having a shared route for part of the way for both motorized and non-motorized activities.
Another possibility is creating a trailhead right in downtown Wakefield, where currently the proposed motorized route meets.
"The idea there would be to bring people into the downtown area," Yesney said.
"As a community developer and an economic developer, I like the idea of bringing it into town along the old railroad grade."
Yesney made note that they are not looking for money from the city for this project, they are looking for cooperation and support from the community.
Most of the funds for this project can be attained through grants, according to Yesney and Anderson.
"The Trail Authority has applied for a couple different grants already," Anderson shared.
"The Iron Belle Grant they applied for $30,000 for easement acquisition from Bessemer to Wakefield and then also a $9,400 grant through the U.P. Environmental Coalition for easements as well."
Wakefield can also apply for the DNR trust fund as a main funding opportunity to build a trailhead in the city.
It is a $300,000 grant with a 25 percent match from the city, essentially funding a project up to $400,000.
The city can decide to match as much as they would like, but a commitment is needed before the grant deadline of Apr. 1.
The council thanked Yesney and Anderson for their time and will continue discussion about the trail system in the future.
In other news, the city's timber sale conducted over the summer and fall has finally been completed, with $16,870.16 generated revenue for the city.
After paying the ML Forestry for their help with the sale, the city made $6,372.16 than originally anticipated.
The council also approved to reappoint Pam Bachand to the Library Board as her current term expires at the end of the month.
A request for tuition funding by city clerk Jennifer Jacobson was denied by the council based on the city manager's recommendation.
Jacobson will be attending training to become a Certified Municipal Clerk in the state of Michigan, and as a result of her tuition request being denied, Jacobson now qualifies for application of a scholarship.
The council also adopted Resolution Number 226, which opposes the recent Public Act 269, a bill signed by Governor Rick Snyder prohibiting local officials from publicly discussing ballot proposals.
The Resolution will be forwarded to MI representatives in the State House and Senate.
The next city council meeting is schedule for Monday, Feb. 8 at 5:30 p.m.
