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Sewer
grant approved for Gay; residents
voice land use concerns
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During the July 19 public meeting on land use
planning in the Sherman Township Community Hall, Sherman Township
Land Use Planning Committee Chair Ed Kraai, right, reports on the
results of a land use questionnaire sent to township taxpayers.
Pictured also are committee members Dudley Martin, Sherman Township supervisor, and
Adeline Schmidt, Sherman Township clerk.
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GAY ’Äì Sherman Township will
receive a United States Department of Agriculture
Rural Development grant of $352,000 and a loan of
$155,000 to make improvements to its wastewater
handling facilities. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee,
recently announced the approval of the funding,
which will be used to construct a sewer collection
system with a central tank and a pressurized
drainfield system, eliminating a system that has
drawn state citations. The announcement came about a
week after township residents discussed sewage
treatment and
other infrastructure as one of their concerns during a public
meeting on land use planning.
New system to serve residents of
Gay
Sherman Township Supervisor
Dudley Martin said the township, the smallest in
Keweenaw County, was mandated by the Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality to replace the
present, 80-year-old system, which does not provide
treatment for sewage before it runs into wetlands.
’ÄúI’Äôve been working on (the
funding) for about two and a half years. I’Äôm
excited it’Äôs done,’Äù Martin said. ’ÄúI’Äôm hoping
we can start on the sewer next spring or summer.’Äù
Before construction can begin,
he added, engineering work has to be done as well as
development plans and writing of a contract.
The new system will serve
residents of the town of Gay, but not those in
outlying areas of the township. The loan will be
paid back through a special assessment on properties
in the special assessment zone that includes
residents served by the sewer (about 50 customers),
Martin explained.
Stupak noted terms of the loan
call for repayment over 40 years at a maximum
interest rate of 4.5 percent. The funding is being
awarded under the terms of federal programs intended
to help upgrade basic water and wastewater services
in communities of less than 10,000 residents.
’ÄúRural Development loans of
this type are essential to help our small northern
Michigan communities repair or improve their
infrastructure, create business opportunities and
maintain the quality of life we value,’Äù Stupak
said.
Martin noted one requirement
for closing on the federal loan is that plans for
making the Township Office Building handicap
accessible must be finalized.
A public hearing for update and
public comment on the proposed sewer improvements
will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 16, in
the Sherman Township Hall in Gay. The regular
monthly Sherman Township Board Meeting will be held
a week later than usual this month, Martin said. The
board will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August
15, in the Sherman Township Office.
Sherman residents discuss
infrastructure concerns
At the Sherman Township Public
Meeting on Land Use Planning July 19, several
residents expressed concerns about new residential
development and its infrastructure needs.
’ÄúIt doesn’Äôt seem right that
a landowner should divide up a large piece of
property so he can sell off parcels at a higher
price, and then the other citizens have to come in
and increase their taxes to pay for that
development,’Äù said Bob Alton, who owns property at
Hermit’Äôs Cove.
Ed Kraai, Sherman Township Land
Use Planning Committee chair, said he was glad to
hear residents’Äô comments and questions on how the
township should handle infrastructure for the
apparently planned land divisions, where water and
sewer would not be hooked to the system for the town
of Gay.
’ÄúAt this point there probably
isn’Äôt a very good mechanism to deal with that,
other than what’Äôs in place now (the Keweenaw
County Zoning Ordinance, written in 1975),’Äù Kraai
said at the meeting. ’ÄúThat’Äôs why we’Äôre having
these kinds of meetings. What is our vision? What do
the landowners in this township, in this county,
desire to make it a livable place ’Ķ What do we as
taxpayers want for the long term?’Äù
Dudley Martin, Sherman Township
Supervisor and Land Use Planning Committee member,
said he had lived in another community where
contractors had to put in infrastructure ’Äì roads,
water and sewer ’Äì before building homes in a
subdivision.
Alton said he understood that
was the case for selling land to developers but he
wondered about cases of landowners selling land to
individuals.
’ÄúDownstate we were exposed to
lots of development,’Äù said Alton, who lives in
Royal Oak, Mich., for part of the year. ’ÄúThey
allowed developers to develop property faster than
the infrastructure was developed. That’Äôs just a
disaster for everybody.’Äù
Several residents commented on
areas in the township presently being logged and
wondered whether these would be sold for development
and whether taxpayers would have to pay for access
roads and other infrastructure.
Martin noted that these
developments are usually on logging roads, which
have to be brought up to a certain standard before
the county will maintain them.
’ÄúI don’Äôt know of anything
that requires the landowner (selling lots) to
develop an inner structure of roads,’Äù Martin said,
’Äúand he wouldn’Äôt do sewer or water because each
one’Äôs going to have a well and a septic.’Äù
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Adeline Schmidt, Sherman Township clerk, shows Sherman Township
resident Bert Kesanen a Keweenaw County Soil Survey map, including
areas in Sherman Township that have been surveyed so far. The
five-year survey is expected to be complete after two more years.
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Adeline Schmidt, Sherman
Township clerk and Land Use Planning Committee
member, noted the Western Upper Peninsula Health
Department has to issue a permit for a septic system
before anyone can get a building permit and septic
approval depends on the soil. Schmidt answered some
residents’Äô questions on the Keweenaw County Soil
Survey, now in the third year of a five-year
project.
’ÄúThey’Äôve only got Sherman
Township partially done,’Äù she said. ’ÄúMost of the
land is really marginal. It’Äôs really sand. It
won’Äôt support a septic system for anything
large.’Äù
Genie Mintken, a member of the
land use planning committees for both Sherman and
Allouez townships, asked if the county had anything
in place for funding
infrastructure, should large parcels be sold
for subdivisions.
Said Martin, ’ÄúNo, I don’Äôt
believe there’Äôs anything in place yet, but I think
that’Äôs part of the reason that we’Äôre having this
(land use planning process) now ’Ķ to bring those
things to light.’Äù
Martin said while a township
could have ordinances to control subdivisions, as in
Eagle Harbor Township, Sherman Township could not
afford to have its own zoning since it would be cost
prohibitive. He added that after the land use plan
is completed (September 2002) the county will start
to look again at the zoning and bounce the zoning
against the land use in order to put such controls
in place.
Martin presented an overview of
the Sherman Township Land Use Planning Committee’Äôs
work over the past eight months in collecting data
about the township to contribute to the Keweenaw
County Land Use Plan. He noted the committee is also
meeting with the other four township planning groups
to get an idea of how their plans are going and what
their residents feel.
Besides Kraai, Martin and
Schmidt, the committee includes Genie and Richard
Mintken, Township Treasurer Ken Robarge, Township
Trustee Jay Piquette and his wife, Phyllis Piquette.
’ÄúHopefully we’Äôre going to
mold this thing all into one massive plan for the
county and then with the county, and now with the
help of WUPPDR (Western Upper Peninsula Planning and
Development Region) which got a grant to help us
with this process ’Ķ develop a good, solid land use
plan that is going to reflect the feelings and the
needs and the wants of each resident, hopefully, in
the township and in the county,’Äù Martin said.
Kraai added the committee has
looked at trends in Sherman Township, noting that
while there hasn’Äôt been much change in the last
five years a lot is happening (including residential
and commercial development) in other townships of
the county.
’ÄúThere’Äôs no reason not to
expect that to carry on in Sherman as well,’Äù he
said. ’ÄúI think it’Äôs important that we try to
plan for that so it ends up being what everybody
would like to happen.’Äù
Residents at the public meeting
watched the video ’ÄúManaging Community Growth,’Äù
which illustrates how people in rural areas have
dealt with growth and development issues similar in
some ways to those Keweenaw County is now facing.
Sherman Township is the first
of the five Keweenaw County townships to send out a
land use questionnaire asking for input from
residents on their wishes for changes and
preservation in the township. The questionnaire
included such topics as commercial development, the
future of the Gay School building, a public park,
public access to the waterfront and a possible
roadside park at the mouth of the Tobacco River. It
also asked residents to name the most important
thing in the township that they would like to see
preserved.
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The Gay smokestack is a historical landmark
of mining history for the town. Many residents noted on the recent
Sherman Township land use questionnaire that they would like to
see it preserved. The township's Volunteer Fire Department is
pictured at right.
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’ÄúThe smokestack has been a
very common topic in the questionnaire,’Äù Kraai
said. ’ÄúThat received a lot of comments. People
would like to see that preserved.’Äù
Martin said he was really
pleased with the results of the survey. At the time
of the public meeting, he had received 52 responses
from 200 questionnaires sent out in early July.
’ÄúIt shows me that people are
really interested in what takes place in Sherman
Township, which is really refreshing,’Äù Martin
added. ’ÄúIt makes it easier to do the job.’Äù
He said many residents had
expressed on the questionnaire a desire to preserve
the tranquility and remoteness of the area while
allowing very controlled economic development if
there is a place for it. Examples of commercial
development would be a bed-and-breakfast-type
business or a campground, he explained.
’ÄúIf they do want development,
they want (it) very limited,’Äù Martin said.
At the public meeting, which
attracted about 24 people, Sherman Township resident
Bert Kesanen asked Martin where he thought expansion
was happening in the township and how it could be
restricted.
’ÄúThe shoreline in Sherman
Township is pretty well spoken for, I think, at this
point,’Äù Martin said. ’ÄúThere are a few places
that are for sale, but ’Ķ expansion is happening in
the way of land being divided and being either
passed to children, grandchildren or being put on
the market to be sold.’Äù
Martin noted zoning is one way
to restrict land use, for example, to prevent
something like a chemical factory from being built
near the Tobacco River, or to keep camps from
expanding along the river where people fish and
hike.
Genie Mintken compared the need
to protect the Tobacco River shoreline to Allouez
Township’Äôs efforts to protect the Gratiot River
watershed and the county’Äôs proposed purchase of
land at the mouth of the Gratiot.
Seasonal resident Sulo Wiitala,
a retired water resources engineer who grew up in
Sherman Township, said he believed areas that should
be publicly owned and preserved for recreational
purposes should be identified in the zoning
regulations. Some examples, he noted, would be the
mouth of the Tobacco River and Little Dam, a former
swimming hole.
’ÄúOne of the attractive things
about this area,’Äù Wiitala said, ’Äúis that most
places you can go freely if you’Äôre hunting,
fishing or picking blueberries ’Ķ without asking
anybody’Äôs permission ’Ķ I would certainly like to
see that preserved here.’Äù
To a hunter’Äôs complaint about
gates barring public access to lands that used to be
open to hunting, Martin replied that Commercial
Forest Reserve (CFR) land is still open to access
for hunting and fishing, but the landowner is not
required to give vehicular access.
’ÄúI’Äôm not condemning or
defending the roadblocks that are in place now ’Äì
the gates,’Äù Martin said. ’ÄúA lot of them are put
there to preserve the cost of rebuilding the logging
roads due to the damage done by four-wheelers and
other (vehicles).’Äù
Residents also expressed on the
questionnaire the desire to have a roadside park at
the mouth of the Tobacco River.
’ÄúThere are no
county-maintained parks in Sherman Township at all
’Ķ (no) roadside tables or parks that you see in
other places,’Äù Martin said.
Martin said County Commissioner
Don Keith had brought this to the attention of the
Keweenaw County Road Commission, and the idea is
being looked into.
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Keweenaw County Commissioner Don Keith,
standing, introduces himself to Sherman Township residents
attending the July 19 public meeting on land use planning held in
the Sherman Township Community Hall in Gay. Keith has been
attending Sherman Township meetings since his election to the
county board in November 2000.
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Keith, who has been attending
Sherman Township meetings regularly since being
elected to the County Board last November, attended
the July 19 public meeting and introduced himself to
residents as their representative on the County
Board of Commissioners. He noted all Sherman
Township Board members were present at the public
meeting.
’ÄúJudge me by how I vote and
what I do for you,’Äù Keith said. ’ÄúI can tell you
(that) what these people tell me they want ’Äì if
it’Äôs within my ability ’Äì that’Äôs what they’Äôre
going to get. I’Äôm available for all of you to talk
to me anytime about anything ’Ķ You’Äôre my boss. I
have a responsibility to listen, and I can tell you
your board members do also.’Äù
Martin noted that he couldn’Äôt
remember, before Keith was elected, that any county
board member ever attended a Sherman Township
meeting.
’ÄúSince he’Äôs been here, I
don’Äôt believe that Don’Äôs missed a meeting yet.
He even showed up when there wasn’Äôt a meeting,’Äù
Martin said. ’ÄúI appreciate his support and his
interest and his coming, and we have started to make
a lot of moves in the right direction with his
help.’Äù
Other comments at the public
meeting included reviving the Gay park, the future
of the Gay Sands area, considering the possibility
of a boat launch and determining whether or not to
preserve the Gay School.
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The Gay School building, for some residents,
is a historic landmark; but others believe it should be torn down
because of increasing deterioration and the high cost of restoring
it.
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Concerning the school building, which is
township property, Martin said comments on the
questionnaire went from ’Äúrestore it and make it a
historical building’Äù to ’Äútear it down.’Äù He
added the building shows increasing signs of
deterioration and is almost to the point of not
being usable; however, the cost of tearing it down
would be higher than the present cost of insuring
it. He noted that last year the township had turned
down offers to buy the building because the
prospective buyers couldn’Äôt come up with any
concrete plans of what they wanted to do with it.
’ÄúIf we ever decide what to do
with that,’Äù Martin said, ’ÄúI promise you that
there will be a separate public meeting of comment
on that. It’Äôs quite an emotional issue for a lot
of people.’Äù
Chris Fountain, owner of the
Gay Bar, commented that the township’Äôs playground
equipment in Gay was not safe and should be brought
up to current standards. She said she wondered if
grants might be available for new equipment.
’ÄúLots of grandchildren of
residents play on that,’Äù she said.
Martin said he was aware of
grants, but they would require matching funds to pay
for modern playground equipment, which is quite
expensive.
Genie Mintken noted Allouez
Township was having a fundraiser for their park and
this might be a way to raise funds, since people are
willing to donate if they think the money is going
for a good community cause.
Martin said he was pleased with
the turnout at the Sherman committee’Äôs first
public meeting.
’ÄúI’Äôm very pleased,’Äù he
said. ’ÄúI’Äôm ecstatic at the way the meeting
turned out. We had a great turnout and a lot of good
ideas presented.’Äù
Bob Alton expressed views
shared by many who attended the meeting and
responded to the questionnaire.
’ÄúPreserve what you’Äôve
got,’Äù Alton said. ’ÄúIt’Äôs just a nice community.
I think if it’Äôs allowed to develop properly it can
be enhanced. If not, I think we’Äôll lose those
qualities we think are most valuable.’Äù
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Pictured here at the Sherman Township public
meeting on land use are Genie and Richard Mintken,
foreground, members of the land use planning committees for
both Sherman and Allouez Townships. In the row behind them,
center, is Bob Alton of Hermit's Cove and Royal Oak.
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At the end of the meeting,
Genie and Richard Mintken read a sample letter to
the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Board in
support of the Michigan Department of Natural
Resources grant application for a proposed land
purchase at the Tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. They
offered to share the letter with others who wish to
write to the Trust Fund to express their support for
preserving this area, which The Nature Conservancy
has offered to buy and hold until state funds become
available.
Click here to read about the proposed DNR purchase ’Ķ
Click here for the sample letter to the Trust Fund ’Ķ
’Äì Michele Anderson
August
6, 2001
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