It seems that I always mention two things when I write this article, construction and the weather, and this time will be no different. I think that I can safely say in both cases that the news is positive. The good news regarding construction, other than we are pushing ahead with several of our planned projects, is that the City Commission recently made a significant decision about Lighthouse Park.
For those who are unfamiliar, Lighthouse Park is the old Coast Guard Station and Lighthouse that were traded to the City back in 2010 for the current location of the new Coast Guard Station. So this development has been a long time coming. The City Commission unanimously approved a plan to create a new entrance to the park from Arch Street, relocate the multi-use path, create new parking areas for visitors to the park and create additional parking for the Maritime Museum. This is a very significant first step in moving the long-awaited park towards more public access and use.
In regard to the weather, I’m hoping that, by the time you’re reading this, we’ve made the turn toward spring. We’ve had one of those winters that I remember from growing up in Marquette. To me, the 200 plus inches of snow that we have received so far is nothing new; however, it can still be a challenge and gets old really fast. The good news that I would like to mention here is the tremendous effort put forth by our City snow plowing crews. They have been working 12 hour shifts for several weeks now to, at the very least, keep pace with the snowfall. Granted, there are likely some citizens who are not happy with how we are handling it but, as the City Manager, I can’t think of a better method. So, if you see a snow plow driver thank them for their hard work, it will go a long way.