City to plan pandemic memorial

By TOM LAVENTURE

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Ironwood — When it can be safely held, the city of Ironwood plans to hold a memorial for residents who were lost to COVID-19.

The planning directive came following the COVID-19 response updates during the Ironwood City Commission meeting on Monday. With all of the discussion on the impacts to local businesses and when the restrictions would be lifted, the commissioners began talking about the devastating human toll that is less discussed due in part to the privacy laws of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

“We’ve lost some really great people,” said Commissioner Jim Mildren. “They died due to complications from COVID-19 and they were all people who made our community great.”

After watching the pre-inaugural events on television, Mildren said he was moved by the Presidential Inaugural Committee’s hosting of a memorial to remember and honor the lives lost to COVID-19 with a candle lit for every 1,000 who have died nationwide so far from the pandemic. The nation was invited to participate at the same time and hour with candles and bells for the 421,000 who have died from COVID-19 or complications.

Mildren said residents of the city are having difficulty mourning the loss of loved ones who have died when in many cases it’s not possible to attend funerals during the pandemic. He suggested that when it is safe that the city organize a community commemoration to honor those who have died.

“Maybe down the road we could do something in our new City Square,” Mildren said. “People could wander in and out and we could talk about the people we lost.”

The commissioners honored Mildren’s request for a moment of silence for the Ironwood residents who died from COVID-19.

Mayor Annette Burchell said it is difficult to plan something with a date and time while the city is still in the midst of the pandemic. The new virulent strains of COVID-19 make it even more difficult to anticipate a time in which community gatherings can be held.

“We don’t know what the future will bring but we will keep those thoughts in mind as we move ahead,” Burchell said. “Perhaps we can add the component to the Memorial Day event in the City Square.”

The elderly and those with underlying medical conditions are the most vulnerable to the pandemic, she said. It feels unfair that coronavirus has shortened their lives but the city is still in the thick of the pandemic and even after the vaccinations are distributed there still is a long way to go before masks and social distancing will be a thing of the past.

The pandemic has claimed “many wonderful, beautiful people who have survived a great deal in their lives,” Burchell said. The first goal needs to be to continue containing the virus and stopping the community spread to prevent even more loss, she said.

“We want to prevent more of our wonderful people from passing, so we just urge everyone to continue wearing masks and social distancing,” Burchell said.

Lt. Adam Clemens of Ironwood Public Safety Department, said COVID-19 vaccinations continue to roll out. Approximately 2,000 doses have been administered in Gogebic County so far and the current number of positive COVID-19 cases are down to 47.

“So, we’re moving in the right direction I hope,” Clemens said. 

Scott Erickson, city manager, said the state of Michigan will be easing restrictions for some businesses including restaurants starting Monday, Feb 1. The city is now allowed to conduct business in person with safety protocols and the Memorial Building will open to the public.

Tom Bergman, director of community development, said the application phase of the Michigan Survival grant through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation was completed Friday. There are approximately 800 applicants from the Upper Peninsula that have applied for $2.5 million that will be available for the U.P. region. 

The Gogebic County applications will undergo an initial review for completeness by Bergman, Bessemer City Manager Charly Loper, and Wakefield City Manager Robert Brown, before the applications are forwarded to Invest UP! and Western U.P. Planning & Development Region for scoring and ranking.

The application period for the Survival grant for live venues opened Monday and will close in about a week. There is $40,000 in direct payments available for employees of businesses that have been hit by COVID-19 restrictions. 

The federal Paycheck Protection Program is available again along with an idle loan program through the U.S. Small Business Association in coordination with local lenders, he said.

“Now that the federal government is back in session we are hoping that another round of stimulus will be passed through Congress,” Bergman said. “We will have to wait and see and that will happen relatively soon in the next two or three weeks and then some more time to see how the grants will roll out through the states to small businesses. It sounds like small businesses are going to be a high priority of that package and we are highly optimistic that there will be some additional relief coming forward.”

Kim Corcoran, mayor pro tem, asked Bergman if Ironwood businesses have closed for this past year due to the pandemic shutdown. 

Bergman said he was aware of two businesses that closed for good but that they had owners who were intending to retire soon. The owners were keeping the doors open in order to sell the business but that was no longer a consideration with the pandemic shutdown, he said.

“That is all I am aware of but we have noticed some businesses that have had their doors closed for some time and we haven’t seen them open,” Bergman said. “We will reach out to some that have been closed for a lot of the restriction period or if they don’t reopen when the restrictions are lifted.”

The state restrictions for restaurant in-dining will be lifted on Feb. 1, he said. 

“It’s definitely restaurants that have been hit the hardest,” Bergman said. “With the restrictions coming off we are keeping our fingers crossed that a lot of these businesses that have suffered so much will have an opportunity to get back in the saddle and hopefully have a positive 2021.”

Paul Linn, city treasurer and finance director, said the state of Michigan has completed its January revenue sharing consensus and the updated budget projections for the next fiscal year are more promising than the estimates from August 2020.

“That is good news in totality for the state,” Linn said. 

When the local municipality revenue sharing projections are available Linn said he would complete an analysis and present updated information for the commision by the next regular meeting.