City commissioners approve complete reconstruction of Fancher, other streets

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Rebuilding downtown roads, the progress of state-aided projects and better access to cemetery records were considered at Monday’s Mount Pleasant City Commission meeting.

The Commission has approved a complete reconstruction of Fancher, Wisconsin and Chippewa Streets over the summer.

The project will cost $998,000, City Manager Kathie Grinzinger said, and includes a replacement of the storm, sanitary and water sewer lines. A bicycle lane will also be added to the streets.

She said the construction would be complete before CMU resumes classes in mid-August.

“Full reconstruction is only done every few decades,” Grinzinger said. “It will become a safer street for bicyclists.”

Malley Construction Inc., 1531 N. Lincoln Road, will complete the project as it was the lowest bidder and has previously completed projects in the city, Grinzinger said.

Other actions

The Brownfield tax credits for Parcel B, a property adjacent to City Hall, 320 W. Broadway St., were extended for five years through 2017. The tax credit was initially granted as part of an initiative with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation in 2007. The credits were set to expire in December 2012.

Commissioner Jon Joslin opposed extending the credits because he said extending the credits so far in advance of their expiration was “jumping the gun.”

Construction to create a multi-story condominium with 20 to 24 units has not begun on the property.

Commissioner Sharon Tillman read a resolution that said while the Commission is disappointed the land has not been developed yet, the credit is important to making the ultimate development of the property financially attractive.

“(It is) in the best interests of the city to extend the tax credit so it can continue to be available as an incentive to develop Parcel B,” Tillman said. “Making Parcel B more attractive could add to the tax base.”

Allison Quast, manager of bicycle store Motorless Motion, 121 S. Main St., was named to the Planning Commission, filling now-City Commissioner Erik Robinette’s seat.

The Commission approved a date for a public hearing regarding amendments to the Mount Pleasant City Code following appeals by the Tribal Court. The public is invited to comment on proposed changes June 27.

Grinzinger said the City Commission has moved forward with agreements made with the lawsuit.

The commission announced burial records from Riverside Cemetery, 714 W. Broadway St., are now available online.

“We see it as a great advantage to our residents and our visitors as we present our progress,” Grinzinger said. “Cities retain burial records forever, and there is no record retention system that allows you to dispose of them. (Obtaining those records) takes a lot of staff time and is cumbersome to city residents and visitors.”

Deputy City Clerk Sue Jones led the project and said creating the online database was “no easy task” and was completed by in-house staff members.

Also available at the website are photographs of the tombstones, a map of where to find each grave site and obituaries of the deceased, Jones said.

She said the database will be especially useful for genealogists.

“There are not that many websites out there for cemeteries,” Jones said. “We wanted to make sure everybody could get in and navigate without too much help.”