Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
THE FORMER site of the Wishbones restaurant, on Silver Street in Hurley, remains vacant since a fire destroyed the building in 2013. The lack of progress removing or repairing what some feel is an eyesore was discussed at Tuesday's Iron County Board of Supervisors meeting, with some supervisors seeking county intervention to solve the problem.
By RICHARD JENKINS
Hurley - Some members of the Iron County Board of Supervisors are sick of the lack of development at the former Wishbones restaurant property in downtown Hurley, with supervisors suggesting county intervention at Tuesday's board meeting.
"According to the deed, they were supposed to have something going by the (Sept. 1) of this year, and it's not even close. It's a big mess, and it's a hazard down there," Paul Mullard, of Hurley, said when explaining why he put the item on the agenda. "The boards they have to board it up are just leaning against (the building) and during the (Paavo Nurmi Marathon earlier this month) little kids were running and looking behind there. I think the county should send (the owner) a letter saying what's got to be done and seeing if she can move on it."
The Silver Street property has been largely untouched since a Dec. 12, 2013 fire destroyed the restaurant. The county sold the property to a William Murray in November 2015 for $3,000 after acquiring the building due to unpaid taxes.
While Murray removed much of the debris from the building's interior and talked of using his past experience as a builder and restauranteur to open a restaurant on the site, his unexpected death in June 2016 left the property's future uncertain.
County Board Chair and Hurley Mayor Joe Pinardi said there had been two buyers interested in the property and Murray's wife and family were negotiating with one in an attempt to sell the land.
"She's trying to sell the property as much as you want her to sell the property," Pinardi told Mullard.
Due to concerns the site wouldn't be cleaned up in a timely manner, the county set an Aug. 1, 2016 deadline to secure the property and remove debris and a Sept. 1, 2017 deadline to make it inhabitable when agreeing to sell the property.
Pinardi and Iron County Clerk Mike Saari both said they have been communicating with the owners about the concerns regarding the property.
Saari said since the county has sold the property, it has given up its ability to have much of a say in the property.
"Short of taking it back and tearing it down, I don't know what else you want us to do," Saari said. "The only chance we have is someone else buys it and puts something in it. That's the only chance we have."
Supervisor Larry Youngs - who also represents Hurley - questioned why the deed for the property had the deadlines listed, but no language about taking the property back if the deadlines weren't met.
Pinardi said he asked Iron County Register of Deeds Dan Soine when the deed was being transferred what would happen if the deadlines weren't met and was told a fine could likely be leveled.
Saari and Pinardi disagreed with Youngs' recollection that the board intended to take the property back if the deadlines weren't met when it voted to sell the property.
Youngs suggested the county set a spring deadline for something to be done to the property or the county would tear it down.
Several board members pointed out the county gave up both responsibility and control of the property when they sold it.
"Why should we tear it down," Jack Prospero, of Hurley, asked. "It's not our property, we haven't got the right to tear it down."
Pinardi - who has long advocated for the construction of a new business on the site to create a water customer for the city and keep the property on the tax rolls - said the owners have recently fixed the snow fence blocking the opening in the back of the building after he brought the issue to their attention, but he hadn't said anything about the front of the building in his conversations.
Several board members argued the matter was no longer the county's responsibility; and while there was possibly a blight issue, it was a matter for the city of Hurley to enforce not Iron County.
Given this point, Pinardi said he would call the owners about the new concerns before having the city building inspector write a letter requesting the building be boarded up.
"I'll call her and tell her we're going to have to have the whole building secured, not just the back ... wherever there are openings, she'll have to secure it," Pinardi said.
There was also a request Pinardi remind her of the importance of keeping the sidewalks clean during the winter too.
After the meeting, Pinardi told the Daily Globe he hoped the sale of the property would be completed before winter.
In other board action:
- The board approved a resolution updating the Iron County Library Service Plan through 2021. In a short public hearing prior to the resolution's passage; Sherry Machones, director of the Northern Waters Library System, said the plan was a state requirement. While the county had a plan in place, Machones said it hadn't been updated in roughly 10 years and the state had recently begun requiring more frequent updates.
-The board also approved a resolution marking Sept. 10-16 as National Suicide Prevention Week.
-The board agreed to sell a lot in the town of Iron Belt to George Levra, who owns the neighboring property.
-The board also approved a language change to the county's employee handbook, which starts new hires at 90 percent of their salary with five percent increases each of the subsequent two years. The former policy started employees at 80 percent and it took four years to reach full salary.
