I’m writing this with two days left in October and, by the time that you read this, October will be behind us. So I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the last two months (especially October) were good for us. I pay special attention to these two months for two reasons. First, everyone is back in school and, second, the weather (which relates back to the first).
The impact of roughly 3,000 public school and 10,000 NMU students is noticeable in several ways. Mostly good, but with the caveat that we really want everyone to be safe. Not only safe while traveling and learning, but also safe while recreating. Which brings me back to me second point, the weather.
Last years month of October brought a very violent storm to the area that hit around the third week. Not only did it cause extensive damage to several areas, including our shoreline, it also took two lives. Although not students, the two were visitors to the area who couldn’t resist the lure of watching the big waves on Lake Superior caused by that storm. There were also other “close calls” reported where people could have just as easily been injured or lost their own lives.
Marquette is a beautiful place to be in the fall. Even after the leaves have turned and fallen, there’s still the lake that can put on a pretty good show when the weather is right, and it’s not just limited to October. In 1975, November brought the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald and the rest of the winter can often bring strong winds and weather. My point is that I’d like everyone to enjoy our splendid beauty but do so with some caution (and common sense) especially when close to Lake Superior.

Welcome back students and especially those that are new to NMU. Marquette is a bustling place and, because the summer is not quite over, many areas of construction still exist. For example, there is still some significant road work on Presque Isle Avenue and in Presque Isle Park that I’m sure will affect your day.

Speaking of Presque Isle Park, this is a popular destination for old and newcomers alike. Especially Black Rocks, where jumping from the high rocks into Lake Superior has become somewhat of a rite of passage and leads me to mention the perils of Lake Superior. Please take the time to familiarize yourself with the lake and its potential dangers. The locals are well aware, but sometimes the draw of its beauty underscores the lakes awesome power that is often not evident at first glance. So please take the time to learn before you leap. As a side note, you might want to pay attention to parking restrictions in that area as well.

Late summer and fall continue to be a busy time for us here at the City. Due to the short construction season, we are often hurrying to finish projects while planning ahead for the next season. I’m sure that the new construction at Founders Landing will catch your eye and, if all goes as planned, we hope to have one more project there next summer. Housing close to downtown seems to be the area of emphasis, but housing growth in general is something that you’re also likely to see.

The City is also working to develop some larger parcels of land in the Heartwood Forestland. This is an approximate 2400 acre tract near the south City limits and Marquette Mountain Ski Hill and is also the heart of the NTN trail biking network. We realize the tremendous popularity and value of the network to both locals and visitors alike and are working hand in hand with the Noquemanon Trail Network to ensure its continued appeal and success.

This area is likely to see light industrial use and some new housing as well. In any case, my thanks to all for living in or just visiting our fine City and

Summer has arrived, although it doesn’t seem to feel like it sometimes. But hey, if you lived here as long as I have, you know this is more like the norm. Warm or not, this time of year represents the construction season for us and we’re back at it, although not quite as aggressively as we were last summer.

Two significant street projects are underway and motorists are urged to seek alternative routes to avoid potential delays. Presque Isle Avenue between Fair Avenue and Wright Street is being completely redone including City infrastructure. Water, sewer and storm water infrastructure is, in many parts of the City, several decades old with some as much as a
century old. Presque Isle Avenue has needed work for over a quarter of a century and I’m happy that we are finally getting to it. The other road project is South Fifth Street near City Hall which is also an older part of the City.

While traveling, you might also take note that we are replacing all of our traffic signals and street lights. This is all part of an energy saving upgrade that has been long overdue. Not only will the energy savings pay for the improvements, but by putting in new smarter traffic signals, your ability to navigate through town will be greatly improved. If all goes according to plan, we should have this work complete about mid-summer and in time for all of the visitors that usually arrive about then.

All in all, it should be another fine summer for City residents and visitors alike. We continue to move forward with many positives things in Marquette that I feel will only contribute to a better living and visiting experience.

Finally, we are on our way to a real spring and summer. It’s late April as I write this and, as recently as the significant snow storm two weeks ago, I had my doubts spring would come. Reports indicated we received anywhere from 20 to 30 inches of the white stuff over a three-day period.
Normally when I write this article I try to cover a few different topics that I think might be of interest. This time, however, I’d only like to touch on one. That being the U.P. Health Systems new $300M plus hospital. You see, we just finished a tour of the new facility with members of the City Commission, the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and City staff and it was nothing but impressive.
It’s impressive in size, technology, logistics and efficiency, but what really struck me were the services. We have all become very comfortable with a hospital in our community as we’ve had at least one for decades. Maybe, in some ways, too comfortable because the truth is, under the current healthcare model, this kind of hospital with these kinds of services in a city like Marquette are not the norm. In other words, we are fortunate.
You are more likely to see this type of facility and services in a less remote, more metropolitan area. Although we do have most, if not all, of these services now, we are going to have the most advanced technology available, attached to a more efficient process, all wrapped up in a state of the art building. From my information, which I consider the reliable kind, this will all be supported by a high-quality staff. I can personally vouch for the staff because of recent experiences that support the fact that they are nothing but the best.
In other words, as a community we are very fortunate to live in an area where an entity like U.P. Health Systems is willing to provide a service that is not available to many other areas in this country. I, for one, am thankful that they are here and I hope you will join me in giving them the support that they need. If not, I’m quite sure they will earn it.

Well, it’s midwinter and we have successfully completed all of the annual outdoor events that I talked about in the last newsletter. I need to go light on the “we” because I have had very little to do with that success, but in a small way we’re all involved somehow. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank all of those who ARE in the thick of it and have worked very hard over the years to make our community a positive place to be. Especially in the winter.
This time of year for the City is filled with planning and preparing for the summer. Which to us is also best described as “the short construction season”. We try to schedule these projects through a five-year plan, but on occasion things happen to either change or add to that plan. Two such changes happened last year. The first was the result of a serious storm last October that caused considerable shoreline damage and the second was the long-awaited acquisition of the old Lighthouse property from the U.S. Coast Guard.
A large portion of the shoreline that was damaged during the storm occurred at Shiras Park (Picnic Rocks) where much of the shoreline and a large part of the parking area were impacted. As a result, the park was closed to the public. By shifting some of our financial resources around we hope to have a short-term fix in place so that the park can be re-opened for this summer. Because some of the fixes that we have in mind (both long and short-term) will reconfigure the parking area and entrance, the park will look somewhat different when re-opened. We will also begin the planning for a permanent, long-term fix.

You can also look forward to some improvements at the new Lighthouse Park. The City Commission recently accepted a long-term development plan for the park that outlines the proposed improvements. Also by shifting some of our financial resources we are happy to say that we will begin some of those improvements this summer as well. At the very least we hope to relocate the multiuse path, refurbish the Captain’s house for use as a short-term rental, possibly refurbish the old station house and generally clean-up the property. If time and money allows we will also look at improving the entrance to the park via East Arch Street.
Overall, we’re looking forward to another busy “short construction season” and we hope that you are here with us.