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COPPER HARBOR ’Äì The Copper Harbor Community Building was almost full to capacity on Thursday evening, July 12, when Grant Township Board members voted four to one not to apply for a grant to fund a sewage treatment system for the private development at Mt. Bohemia. The vote followed a concerted effort by township residents to convince the board that the grant would have more negative than positive impacts, including potential liability should the township own the system. The board also approved resolutions concerning the Copper Harbor sewage system, including ordinance changes, new user rates and an agreement regarding sewer extension to a proposed residential development west of Hunters Point. Board considers constituents’Äô opposition to sewer grant
Following several meetings and discussions with developer Black Bear, Inc., and with township residents, all but one Grant Township Board member vetoed applying for state and federal funding from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the Economic Development Administration (EDA) for the proposed lagoon and spray irrigation sewage treatment system at Mt. Bohemia, near Lac La Belle. ’ÄúWe have received a huge amount of negative feedback,’Äù said Grant Township Treasurer Karen Trucks of Copper Harbor. ’ÄúIf there are supporters of the grant, they haven’Äôt come forward. The majority of the constituency does not want this, and we have to take that into consideration.’Äù Township residents present at the July 12 meeting applauded the board’Äôs decision after the vote. ’ÄúGreat news!’Äù said South Shore Association (SSA) President Tom Collins of Lac La Belle, who had written letters to the board on behalf of SSA in opposition to the township’Äôs applying for the grant money. ’ÄúMy opinion is that the board made the right decision in realizing this was a lot of responsibility without adequate controls to reduce risk. They were correct in realizing this was not a benefit to the township but a huge liability.’Äù More than a year ago, Black Bear’Äôs request to the Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners for the same grant application, worth about $900,000, also met with a refusal after County Prosecuting Attorney Donna Jaaskelainen had advised the board of liability issues. More than 160 Grant Township residents recently signed a petition opposing the grant application by the township and presented it in a sealed envelope to the board on July 11. The envelope remained sealed, even after the vote. However, at least one board member objected to it. In explaining her position, Grant Township Clerk Kelly Coltas, the lone ’Äúyes’Äù vote on the issue, mentioned the petition. Coltas is a Copper Harbor resident and business owner. ’ÄúI voted the way I believed. I wasn’Äôt going to be intimidated,’Äù Coltas said after the meeting. ’ÄúI thought the petition was misleading.’Äù Trucks, although she voted ’Äúno,’Äù said after the July 12 meeting that her personal views differed from her vote as a board member. At an earlier board meeting this past spring, she had mentioned that the Mt. Bohemia skiers helped her Copper Harbor motel business this year. ’ÄúPersonally I do support Black Bear and the ski hill,’Äù said Trucks. ’ÄúEven as a board member, if there are other issues concerning Black Bear, I will support them if I think it’Äôs the right thing to do.’Äù Apparently business owners in Copper Harbor were divided on the issue of the grant application. Keweenaw County Commissioner Don Keith said he reported to Trustee Richard Powers (before the July 12 meeting) that he had interviewed 11 Copper Harbor business owners on July 5. Seven of those were opposed to the grant and four in favor, he noted. Ed Djerf of Big Betsy offered the only official public comment at the end of the July 12 meeting. ’ÄúI’Äôd like to thank the Grant Township Board for taking a stand against the sewer grant,’Äù he said. Township Supervisor Ken Korhorn replied, ’ÄúThank you for your comment. I wouldn’Äôt consider it ’Äòtaking a stand’Äô against anything. It was a well considered vote as to what was best for the township.’Äù After the meeting Black Bear President Lonie Glieberman asked Korhorn for a copy of the sealed petition, including the signatures. Korhorn told Glieberman he wanted to consult with the township’Äôs attorney, John Landreville, before he could consider the sealed petition public information. As of Friday, July 13, Korhorn said the petition remained in the custody of the Clerk in the Township Office. ’ÄúThe people who circulated
the petition, since it wasn’Äôt used, have requested
its return,’Äù Korhorn said Friday. Residents’Äô reactions to the vote were mostly positive. ’ÄúI thought those who opposed (the grant) expressed their opinions well,’Äù noted John Kaleita of Lac La Belle. Said Copper Harbor resident Jim Rooks, ’ÄúI don’Äôt think public funds should be used for private endeavors of any kind.’Äù Sandra Britton, Keweenaw County resident and former Grant Township business owner, said she believed the board made the right decision in not voting for government grants to fund a private enterprise. ’ÄúIt would have been so unfair to every other business in the community,’Äù she said. Paul Campbell of Lac La Belle, a member of the Grant Township Land Use Planning Committee, said he agreed with the township board in turning down the grant application. He added the Grant Township community had legitimate concerns about forming partnerships with Black Bear. ’ÄúIt’Äôs too bad for Grant Township,’Äù Campbell said. ’ÄúWith better planning and community communication, there might have been positive things about this project.’Äù Judy Hill of Lac La Belle had a brief comment that may have summed up the feelings of many residents who took the time to communicate their views to board members and to attend the meetings. ’ÄúI’Äôm relieved,’Äù she said. Township Board approves Copper Harbor sewer extension, new rates Sewer questions dominated the agenda of the Grant Township Board’Äôs July 12 meeting. After settling the issue of the Mt. Bohemia grant request, board members:
¬… approved proposed ordinance changes and a new rate for Copper Harbor sewer users; ¬… recommended the township sign an agreement with Auglaize, LLC (a partner with MJO Construction) regarding sewer extension to the area west of Hunters Point; ¬… approved a resolution encouraging and supporting the purchase of Hunters Point by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as an addition to Fort Wilkins State Park.
The first resolution changed Subdivision 1405 of the Sewer Ordinance to establish a connection fee of $4,500 for each new residential user, or equivalent thereof, effective on July 12, 2001. The Ordinance has also been strengthened with regards to requiring grease separation and prohibiting garbage disposals in commercial establishments. The recommended agreement (subject to review by the township’Äôs attorney) asks that developer Auglaize, LLC (an Ohio-based partner of MJO Construction of Hancock), whose purchase of the 270-acre parcel of land west of Copper Harbor has been finalized, will pay the new connection fee of $4,500 per lot at the time of sale of each lot for a single-family residence, to a maximum of 76 connections (one per lot). The agreement also states that the developer will contribute $75,000 to the township for use in replacing the lagoon capacity that would be used by the development, and for engineering oversight of modifications to the present system to allow the new connections. Korhorn explained the modifications would include adding aeration to expand the capacity of Copper Harbor’Äôs lagoon sewage treatment system. Repairs are expected to increase the sewer capacity enough to handle the new development and still have reserve capacity for Copper Harbor without requiring a new lagoon.
While presently the township hopes the DNR will purchase for preservation the area known as Hunters Point, included in the east end of the 270-acre purchase, the tentative agreement with Auglaize, LLC, states that, should the DNR be unable to purchase the Hunters Point area and Auglaize decides to develop it, Auglaize will be limited to 20 lots, or connections, at the connection fee of $4,500 per lot at the time of sale of the lot. In this case, Auglaize would also make a contribution of $60,000 for replacing lagoon capacity, payable prior to beginning any development work in this east section of the property. Auglaize is also being asked to pay for installation of the new collection system plus any necessary renovation of the present collection system needed to facilitate the new connections. Each connection to the collection system is to include a septic tank between any structure and the effluent pump. The maintenance of the septic tank is to be the lot owner’Äôs responsibility. Auglaize has agreed not to begin development of the Hunters Point property being considered for DNR purchase until June 1, 2002, in order to give the DNR time to negotiate the purchase of this east section. Finally, the township board approved a resolution to go on record as encouraging and supporting the purchase of Hunters Point by the DNR as an addition to Fort Wilkins State Park for several reasons:
¬… overwhelming support, both verbal and written, by the citizens of Grant Township to encourage the preservation of that area; ¬… aesthetic benefits of an area that has been enjoyed by many for generations as a tourist attraction; ¬… economic benefit to the community because of its heavy reliance on tourism. In other business the board:
§ Heard a report from Sheriff Ron Lahti on the successful cooperation of the township and law enforcement for a safer Fourth of July celebration.
¬ß Heard from Anita Campbell, chair of the Grant Township Land Use Planning Committee, that the committee is working on goals and objectives and will next meet at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 27, in the Copper Harbor Community Building. Campbell also mentioned the approval of the People and Land grant of Kellogg funds for land use planning, received recently by WUPPDR (Western Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Region). She noted that Keweenaw County Zoning Administrator Jane Pelto is scheduled to field questions on zoning at the next joint land use committee meeting for all five townships at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 17, in the Allouez Township Community Building in Allouez (near the Amoco station). Editor’Äôs note: See Keweenaw Today’Äôs present home page for brief articles on the Sheriff’Äôs report and the land use planning grant. ’Äì Michele Anderson July 13, 2001
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