Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By P.J. GLISSON
Marenisco — The Marenisco Township Board of Trustees is making progress on a new, proposed ordinance that will prohibit recreational marijuana enterprise in the township.
According to Township Supervisor Richard Bouvette on Tuesday, board members have reviewed a similar ordinance from Bergland.
“Mr. Bucknell will adapt it,” said Bouvette, regarding Township Attorney Jim Bucknell, who also wrote the board’s original ordinance that would have allowed recreational marijuana enterprise.
The board rescinded that ordinance at the end of last year after Marenisco citizens voted against it in the Nov. 5 election. That first ordinance had just been passed last summer, and citizens moved swiftly afterward to gather signatures on a petition that would result in putting the issue on the fall ballot.
Bouvette said he expects the board to vote on the new ordinance at their next regular meeting in February. He added that Bucknell is finding out, meanwhile, whether a related public hearing will be needed at that meeting. If so, Bouvette said required notices will be posted.
The supervisor said Monday evening’s board meeting also included a report from Marenisco Police Chief Bruce Mahler, who is working with other officials toward a collaborative approach on economic development in Gogebic County.
Mahler told the board that the county is hoping to receive a $375,000 federal grant that will cover the cost of funding a county economic development director for two years, after which local funds must be in place to continue the role.
According to Bouvette, the federal funding will require a 20% local match that the state is willing to cover if the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners is able to meet the terms.
“We’ve got some reservations about it,” said Bouvette regarding the prospect of an ED director. If the position is filled, the supervisor added that Marenisco board members want the situation “to be a little different” than previous collaborations with the county.
Bouvette said that, in the past, the major interest in economic development was on the west side of the county, while the eastern half, which includes Marenisco, Watersmeet, and other small towns, was “left out.”
The supervisor concluded that he hopes any new economic push will be more equitable.
The board also:
—Voted to confirm Kathy Balcom as the township’s new deputy clerk, replacing Barbara Dunbar, who recently retired. Balcom will work with Township Clerk Donna Kenney.
—Learned that township Board of Review members will attend a Feb. 12 workshop in Bessemer.
—Learned that the township no longer can affix Christmas decorations to utility poles due to concerns of potential “liability” issues on the part of Xcel Energy. “I’m guessing we’ll probably put them up in our park,” said Bouvette, who said that he recalls the township using the poles since 1968 while always tracking and paying the cost of any related power.
The board’s next regular meeting will be on Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. in the Marenisco Township Hall. The public is welcome.
