Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties

Bessemer City Council discusses small scale grow operations

By JEAN NORDINE

[email protected]

Bessemer — During Monday nights Bessemer City Council meeting the council agreed that Ordinance No. 366, Medical Marijuana as a home occupation, should include the prohibiting of future small scale growing operations from operating 1000 feet of parks, playgrounds, and/or churches. However the passing of the ordinance was tabled until further information can be obtain concerning EPA standards regarding such an occupation.

In other business:

—The council passed a resolution to support the Ojibway Correctional Facility. City manager Charly Loper reported that the general consensus from area wide municipalities is to “continue to hound the state” letting state representatives know how devastating a closure would be to the western U.P. A letter was read from Department of Corrections director Heidi Washington stating that a closure for one more Michigan facility would definitely take place, but what facility it will be has yet to be determined and she sympathized with the peoples concerns.

—There will be a public hearing at the next meeting to pass an ordinance to repeal antiquated ordinances and sections of the city of Bessemer’s code. One such ordinance from 1974 puts a cap on the dollar amount the city can sell property for.

—Corullo Forest Products Corporation summited a bid for two lots in the industrial park. He said his plan was to clear both lots and haul in dirt and gravel and bring both lots to usable status during the rest of 2018 and the beginning of 2019. Some of his options for this property are to expand his wood yard and truck fleet, or to put up another repair facility to repair and sell equipment. Corullo said both of these options would require 5 to 7 more employees. The council had to table the request until they hear from their lawyer concerning the legality of the sale, which brought the discussion back to the 1974 ordinance of a cap on selling prices.

—Another offer to purchase property also had to be tabled for the above reason. The property is at the corner of Eli and Kalla streets. Eric Fitting would like to purchase 2 ½ acres to put up a storage unit.

—Council approved the ordering of $3,800 worth of supplies to fix one of two water pumps leading up to Tilden.

—Loper informed the council that the Downtown Development Authority received a grant to work with Michigan State Extension to conduct a First Impression Tourism Assessment. The DDA has committed $2,000 to the project with the understanding that the city will receive a $2,000 grant to implement one of the suggested items.

—A condemnation hearing has been set for October 1, 2018 concerning the properties at 212 2nd Ave. and 112 W. Colby.

—Kelden Witt received approval to continue with the building of a new trail to the bluffs.

—Loper reported that the city’s current water operator in training has been working extremely hard to pass the water tests and she recommended the City pay for his next round of tests and for a private tutor. The council agreed.

—Concerning the sewer and water project Loper said, “The City and C2AE are working closely with USDA to get our application for the 2021 project together. We are hoping to get our map of potential projects to USDA later this week. Rumor has it that the state has a lot of USDA funds to spend quickly so we are starting with a very big ask and will wean it down based on the amount of funding we hopefully receive.”