<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4fj4sb_1H3VDjmC00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4fj4sb_1H3VDjmC00" width="1690" height="960" ></figure><p>I’VE NEVER LIVED OR worked in Marquette Township. I once played basketball for a team called the Trowbridge Merchants. To my recollection, the only Trowbridge merchant at the time was the Woodridge Grocery, long gone.</p><p>Well, a lot has changed since then. We still call the residential area Trowbridge Park, but the growth of the district demanded a bigger handle, so the geographical and governmental identifier… Marquette Township, became the more common designation.</p><p>Unless you’re really into local boundaries, you might not realize how big Marquette Township is. Or everything included therein.</p><h2>More Than You Know</h2><p>We’re all plenty familiar with the burgeoning business district out there. But when you look at a map, you find there’s more to the township than big box stores, chain restaurants, and traffic. Oh, the traffic. More later.</p><p>The north boundary is just shy of halfway to Big Bay, while the township extends to the south all the way down to Marquette Mountain.</p><p>Granted, a big chunk of the township’s 60 square miles… the northwest portion, is undeveloped, but that only lends to its unlimited potential.</p><p>But as I suggested, there’s plenty… therein. In addition to all the retail, there’s also an abundance of recreation, like more than ten miles of Lake Superior shoreline, including Wetmore Landing, Sugarloaf Mountain, and Little Presque Isle. The area also features Harlow Lake, Hogback Mountain, Dead River Falls, and trail networks for all modes of transportation.</p><p>Not many townships anywhere in the state of Michigan can boast such diversity. And though that’s all good, it presents unique challenges for those charged with keeping everything and everyone focused, for today, and the future.</p><h2>Behind the Scenes</h2><p>Tuesday of this week I attended a joint meeting between the township board and the Marquette Township Business Association. I was looking forward to hearing how these two groups, and likely others, are coming together to help shape where the township is going, and how to get there.</p><p>What I found is a group of people committed to the success of Marquette Township, constrained however, by a labyrinth of boards and committees working towards the same goal, but operating independently of each other. For example, representatives of the business association were unaware of the schedule for the Christmas Tree Lighting, which would certainly indicate a glitch in their communication, if not a breakdown of who’s responsible for what.</p><p>That might be a rare occurrence, but it illustrates the need for some kind of central source of planning, development, and marketing. All I need to do is look east, to the City of Marquette. Where there used to be a couple different owner-driven business associations, we now find the Downtown Development Authority, with a full-time paid staff.</p><h2>A Successful Template</h2><p>Marquette’s DDA is a function of the city, just like the Marquette Township DDA, but they appear to have different missions. According to township DDA Chairman Rob Sved, “The DDA is a public body that plans and helps fund improvements within the district. Community safety has been a big part of our discussions, especially safer places to walk and bike and better lighting along US-41.”</p><p>Unlike Marquette’s DDA, the township’s version leaves promotion of the business community up to the business association. Unfortunately, that organization is volunteer driven, and that leaves too much to chance.</p><p>In fact, one of the items on the business association’s agenda for the joint meeting was an appeal for help from the board. It seems the volunteers are just about volunteered out, and the MTBA is day-to-day. Without some kind of support from the township government, the one group promoting business development could go dark.</p><p>Speaking of dark, that brings us to the dark stores taxation issue. Those big box stores that bring so many people up the road aren’t paying the taxes they used to, so when money is needed for things like business promotion, as opposed to infrastructure maintenance, guess which one goes a-wanting.</p><p>Jon Kangas, Township Manager, is all too familiar with the bottom line. “Until Lansing comes up with a solution we will forever have a significant uncertainty with revenue due to tax tribunal appeals and decisions. The township has limited resources to address these concerns.”</p><p>There’s a Catch-22 for you. Not enough tax revenue to fight the cuts to tax revenue.</p><h2>Don’t Look Now</h2><p>In spite of it all, the township continues to grow. New housing developments are popping up all over, and new businesses continue to find a way to take advantage of all that traffic I cited earlier.</p><p>Township Planning &amp; Zoning Administrator Jason McCarthy boldly and correctly calls it, “The entertainment and retail hub of the U.P.” So somebody’s doing something right.</p><p>In fact McCarthy, along with Staff Planner Erik Powers, are the ones ultimately charged with working with developers and others interested in investing in the township. Although he can’t comment on other pending proposals, McCarthy did indicate the re-development of the former Westwood Mall space is moving forward.</p><p>“We will receive the site plan sometime next week, but the Planning Commission will not officially review it until Wednesday, December 9th. As has already been reported, the proposal includes a new retail space in place of the former Westwood Mall.”</p><p>I asked McCarthy about the space surrounding the mall, largely ignored for many years. “Yes, there are plans to address the parking lot, landscaping, etc., as part of the redevelopment. There may be other shadow developments as part of the mall redevelopment, including a phased multi-family residential component.”</p><p>So, while administrators are juggling a number of challenges, not uncommon to a community experiencing unprecedented and largely unanticipated growth, the township continues to thrive.</p><h2>Challenge Accepted?</h2><p>If they can consolidate their efforts regarding business promotion and development, and continue to facilitate new housing and recreational opportunities, other issues won’t seem so daunting. Well… except traffic.</p><p>“The traffic volume along our corridor has not changed significantly according to MDOT traffic counts,” Kangas says. “BS,” Doug Garrison says. I’m not sure how the Department of Transportation counts cars, but me thinks their methodology is seriously flawed.</p><p>“Turning movements have certainly increased and delays for some of those movements have as well, especially at peak traffic times,” Kangas says. “The township acknowledges that more frontage roads would have benefitted traffic, but we can’t solve that problem with hindsight alone.”</p><p>I’ve always believed having a parking problem is a good problem to have. Too many empty spaces is a bad retail indicator. I’m not sure if the same holds true with traffic. At some point one might consider, it’s just not worth it. But, as Kangas suggests, we can’t rewrite history.</p><h2>No Stopping It</h2><p>What used to be an unassuming collection of homes and camps in the hills west of the city is now nothing less than a powerhouse retail and residential community poised to take advantage of the U.P.’s newfound popularity.</p><p>Hopefully Marquette Township’s governmental infrastructure and administrative leadership are set to facilitate whatever it takes to shape the township’s continued growth.</p></div></body>

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I’VE NEVER LIVED OR worked in Marquette Township. I once played basketball for a team called the Trowbridge Merchants. To my recollection, the only Trowbridge merchant at the time was the Woodridge Grocery, long gone. Well, a lot has changed since then. We still call the residential area Trowbridge...

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I’VE NEVER LIVED OR worked in Marquette Township. I once played basketball for a team called the Trowbridge Merchants. To my recollection, the only Trowbri

From Trowbridge to the Township

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