Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By ZACHARY MARANO
Ironwood — Director of Community Development Tom Bergman said that city staff will present a draft of the boundaries for the downtown development plan to the Downtown Ironwood Development Authority at the DIDA meeting on Thursday.
Bergman explained that the DIDA intends to establish a tax increment financing district in the downtown area. He said that a TIF district would neither increase nor decrease taxes but would change how the city spends tax dollars.
The DIDA will administer these funds. Bergman said that they could use them for beautification projects such as setting up new signs promoting downtown, placing light poles and improving sidewalks. He also said that these resources could be allocated to downtown businesses for façade improvements and similar things.
Bergman said that narrowing down where their development area boundary will determine the parts of the city where the DIDA can capture tax dollars and, by extension, how much they will have to spend on these projects.
City staff have been working on the downtown development plan with the Grand Rapids-based firm McKenna. McKenna Vice President Paul Lippens visited the city in person to “get a lay of the land” in late July and to answer any of the DIDA’s questions. Bergman said that Lippens hopes to have a draft of the development area boundary next month.
The proposed development area boundary goes from Memorial Street to the state border with Wisconsin and from Frederick Street to McLeod Avenue. It also includes three blocks south of Ayer Street and west of Curry Street. Per Bergman’s suggestion, the planner with McKenna connected the development boundary to U.S. Highway 2 through the Douglas corridor.
Bergman said that he plans to provide drafts of the city’s development area boundary to the DIDA members in early October. He said they would thoroughly review the drafts at the meeting at the end of the month. The October DIDA meeting is scheduled for the 27th at 8 a.m. in the Ironwood Memorial Building Women’s Club Room.
Bergman told the DIDA that he met with the Ironwood Carnegie Library board to discuss how the TIF district will impact the library, but they are also waiting for the map to see the tax dollars that the program will bring in.
Community Development Assistant Tim Erickson said that “First Friday is in full swing for September,” with events on the first Friday of the month including a farmer’s market and live music by the band XTRA in the Downtown City Square. DIDA member Bruce Geenhill added that the Historic Ironwood Theatre will be screening “The Wizard of Oz” on Friday.
DIDA member Ivan Hellen said that his downtown historical signs should be completed by the end of the month. Hellen said that area residents and visitors will have the opportunity to follow the signs on a self-guided tour, with each sign providing information and photos of the city over the years. He said that these signs will be mounted on 20 buildings. Thirteen of the signs were complete as of Thursday’s meeting.
