Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By LARRY HOLCOMBE
Ironwood — The Ironwood City Commission agreed Monday evening to purchase the land the Pat O’Donnell Civer Center stands on for $1 from Gogebic Community College.
The purchased also included a 30-foot strip of parking along the north side of the Civic Center.
City Manager Paul Anderson said in a memo to the commission that the city needs ownership of the property in order to meet requirements of a Michigan Department of Natural Resources Land and Conservation grant it hopes to gain to help pay for a new ice making system in the Civic Center.
In the memo, Anderson said the city had been leasing the property from the college since the city’s Civic Center was built in the early 1980s. The lease ran out in 2007 and was not renewed.
The college’s Board of Trustees agreed to the deal at a recent meeting.
Anderson said the strip of parking lot is to create a line of ADA approved parking spaces, also a requirement for the grant.
The commission also approved a use agreement with the college for the entire lot north of the Civic Center. It says the college will maintain and plow the lot, unless there is “unusual snow conditions” or the city has need of the lot when the college is out of session. The city will maintain the current lighting of the lot.
Commissioner Jim Mildren, also a member of the Civic Center board, praised the moves, saying it was good to move ahead with the land purchase and the parking lot agreement. He said there’s a lot of good things ahead for the Civic Center, including hosting this year’s Gogebic County Fair.
Tom Bergman, the city’s development director, spoke about the grant application, and how it is for $375,000, half of the estimated cost of a new ice making system. He also said the current system is older than the Civic Center, having been brought in from another application in Traverse City. He said the system is difficult to repair and uses Freon, a chemical the Environmental Protection Agency says is harmful to the ozone layer.
Bergman said the Civic Center board is working on ways to raise the other half of the cost. Asking for private donations and fundraisers are an option. He also said its possible they could ask for a bond or the city could loan them the money.
The commission also approved a resolution supporting the grant proposal to the DNR for the $375,000.
Bergman also presented the commission with the annual re-write of the city’s 6-year Capital Improvement Plan.
Bergman said it’s a wish list put together by department heads for items and programs they feel are needed. It includes 109 different entries. He said the document helps with budgeting and had been approved by the Parks and Recreation Committee and Plannning Commission.
The commission approved the plan.
The commission also:
—Approved a $525 change order and $31,237 pay package to Jake’s Excavating for the ongoing lead service line replacement project. Jeff Sjoquist from Coleman Engineering said while some work has continued through the winter, any work during the winter season is a bonus, adding they have until 2025 to complete the work, which is fully grant supported.
—Approved a contract with PK Contracting of downstate Lake City for the 2024 pavement marking project.
—Appoved purchase of 500 tons of early salt and 200 tons of backup salt for the 2024-2025 winter. DPW Supervisor Jason Alonen said in a memo to the commission that the current price for early salt is $96.93 per ton, and the price for backup salt is $101.04 per ton.
