Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By P.J. GLISSON
Wakefield — Wakefield’s new Park and Recreation Advisory Board is now official with members set to meet for the first time next month.
During a Monday evening meeting, City Council members confirmed the new board’s membership, which includes seven members, as well as an alternate and an ex-officio member.
City Manager Robert Brown Jr. reported the news by phone on Tuesday evening.
Confirmed unanimously by council members as community-at-large members are John Siira, Julie Tibaldo and Danielle Grayson. The council also confirmed Gracie Bouvette as a student representative from the Wakefield-Marenisco K-12 School.
In addition, Brown has designated Ashley Tarro as the city manager designee. She also recently was hired as his office assistant.
Other board members will be City Council members Mike Zeckovich and Patrick Libertoski and Wakefield Township representatives Mandy Lake and Mike Heikkila.
Brown is pleased to have Siira among the group. He said that, not only is Siira a former city manager, but also an engineer who will bring administrative expertise to the board.
As an added bonus, Brown said that three of the appointees have children in school, which is considered a plus in relation to perspective regarding recreational needs and desires of youth.
The city manager said that one community-at-large seat is still vacant, and the city will continue to advertise it.
The new board will have its first meeting in January, during which election of officers is expected.
“Then, they’ll start evaluating projects,” said Brown.
He hopes that the new board might, by June 2024, present a plan of recommendation for the council.
In other news, the council also approved a resolution, which authorizes a new policy relating to the reading of water and electric meters.
According to an agenda report by Brown, “This policy would allow residents to request a re-reading of their meters if they believe their bills need to be revised.” He added that it also would “discourage system abuse.”
He specified that, under the new policy, the city will grant consumers one free meter re-read per year. Additional re-reads would cost $40 per request. However, if an error of reading or equipment is revealed, consumers would not be required to pay the fee.
Brown said that variations in utility bills can be caused by many factors, including “weather changes, usage habits and appliance malfunctions.” He added that often a high reading is due to “a leaky toilet.”
City offices will be closed in observation of Christmas on Dec. 25 and 26.
The council normally meets again on the fourth Monday of each month, but the timing has been adjusted due to the Christmas holiday. The next regular meeting will be on Dec. 27 at 5:30 p.m.
