Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties

Norrie Park sign to see repairs

By TOM LAVENTURE 

[email protected]

Ironwood - Two volunteers will attempt to repair the weathered Hiawatha entrance sign to Norrie Park.

The Ironwood Parks and Recreation Committee 6-0 approved a request from Marian True and Dave Harkness to remove the Hiawatha sign outside the main gate entrance to Norrie Park for the purpose of inspection and to repair the sign if possible. Committee member Mary Grace Loreti was not present for the regular meeting Zoom virtual conference app on Monday.

True, who attended the meeting by phone, said that he and Harkness would remove the wooden sign and allow it to dry out for a few weeks to a month. If the weathering damage can be repaired with wood filler they will reinstall the sign.

"The rot may be more of a problem than we anticipate or maybe not," True said. "We'll find out when we get it down."

True said the two would update the committee on the condition of the sign. If it's damaged beyond repair, they would recommend a new sign.

"The alternative, of course, is to get a new profile up there if we can't salvage this," True said.

In a separate discussion regarding Norrie Park, Sam Davey III, parks and recreation committee chair, said he would like to see the Norrie Park boardwalk cleanup occur and repairs made before the grass is green. A volunteer effort could work the same way that it has for the Iron Belle Trail cleanup under the pandemic rules, he said.

Organized groups usually take charge of the cleanups, however, without the ability to gather in groups the request for individuals to clear sections of trail was put on the Facebook page for the Friends of the Iron Belle trail. The same could be done with Norrie Park, he said.

"Overall it looks really good and everything was done in a week or two," Davey said. "I would like to do the same at the park."

Jake Ring, parks and recreation committee member, said he'd share the call for volunteers with his volunteer group.

In the Downtown City Square project update, Tom Bergman, director of community development for the city of Ironwood, said that construction bids will be sent out in a week along with the city purchasing the property. The Ironwood City Commission should receive a recommendation to consider later this month, he said.

Michigan will likely allow construction to start again on Thursday, as part of the revised coronavirus shutdown order, he said. The project should be able to move forward on schedule.

"Things are moving along," Bergman said. "We may run into supply chain issues with some companies that do specialty work if they were not active during the shutdown and are backlogged when they open," Bergman said. "We will ask the MEDC (Michigan Economic Development Corporation) for an extension if that happens and they have said it would not be a problem based on that."

Various grant applications to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources have either had deadlines extended or will be requested for extension soon due to the pandemic, he said. For grants that have been approved the bids may be going out soon including for the mountain bike trail grant for Miners Memorial Park.

"We hope to get it out soon," Bergman said. "The majority of the project will be completed in 2021 but we hope to get some of the work done in the fall so there are rideable sections done by the start of next season."

There is a separate bid package for the trailhead entrance signage and parking lot development, he said. That portion could possibly be completed this year, he said.

There was discussion about a playground project on land donated by Zion Lutheran Church. 

Davies recommended a demographic study to identify the largest youth clusters that are north of U.S. 2. He asked Bergman to request a demographic study from the Ironwood Area School District.

"There could be a better place with more children," Davies said.

Tim Erickson, community development specialist, said because the park is not an immediate priority there is time to review plans and explore options. However, the church did donate the land on the condition that it become a park and would revert to the church if the city doesn't build one, he said.

The annual parks and recreation user summit which was to have been held Monday, will be canceled unless there is some agreement on a virtual conference in the near future, Bergman said. The next regular meeting of the parks and recreation committee will be held at 5 p.m. Monday, June 6.

 
 
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