Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By RALPH ANSAMI
Ironwood — The Ironwood City Commission will approve its annual goals Monday and the continuing blight fight is number one.
At a recent work session, commissioners ranked 2018 goals and tackling commercial building blight scored 10 points to top the list.
Commissioners agreed demolition of some blighted business buildings should be a priority.
The blight fight has also included eyesore houses that have been torn down by the scores over the past few years.
Second place produced a three-way tie, with the goals each scoring eight points. They include:
—Keeping the downtown revitalization effort moving forward.
—Increasing safety on public parks and along the Iron Belle non-motorized trail.
—Adding city entrance signs on U.S. 2.
Ranking fifth is increasing drug enforcement efforts, followed by adopting a citywide sidewalk policy.
While there's no guarantee all of the goals on the list will be accomplished, the past city commissioners have largely followed through with items on the list.
Monday's regular city commission meeting will begin at 5:20 p.m. with a public hearing on an application to the Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund for a Miners Memorial Heritage Park mountain bike trail system that has been identified as one of the 2018 goals.
At 5:25 p.m., there will be a public hearing on applying for a DNR Recreational Passport grant for a North Lowell Street playground. It would be the city's only playground north of U.S. 2 and has been a priority for the past several years.
The regular city commission session will follow at 5:30 p.m. One of the agenda items is awarding a three-year contract to Saari's Lawn Service for $21,810 for mowing and trimming at city parks.