Townships called to action: More than 60 officials attend MTA Houghton session

By JANE NORDBERG, DMG Writer
HOUGHTON — Townships are being asked to do even more with less, but the Michigan Townships Association says they’re up to the challenge.

“Townships govern 90 percent of the land area in Michigan, and account for 57 percent of its total taxable value,” said MTA District Director Larry Merrill. “Township leaders can be the spark to turn Michigan around.”

Sixty officials representing townships in Baraga, Houghton, Ontonagon, Keweenaw, Dickinson and Gogebic counties gathered Wednesday at the Franklin Square Inn in Houghton for the MTA District 1 spring meeting.

The all-day meeting included a general session before lunch titled “What’s Happening to Michigan?” and a township forum titled “A New Perspective.”

During the first session, Merrill said the Upper Peninsula had unique assets it could capitalize on but townships needed a strategy.

“You need to develop a sense of place, creating a bond with residents to make them value where they live,” Merrill said, citing Michigamme Township as a good example, having raised $87,000 to repay a loan to restore a steam engine that had become an icon of the township.

“Any community that can raise that kind of money, that’s a good way of measuring and quantifying how valuable and special people feel their community is,” Merrill said.

That made sense to Ann Johnson, treasurer of Eagle Harbor Township in Keweenaw County.

“We’re not a township that has industry so we need to focus on supporting tourism, that sense of place,” she said. “That to me is the most important thing for us.”

Townships can be powerful forces, Merrill said, but officials needed to be willing to be advocates for development and job creation.

“We have some great young people who want to stay in the area, but a lack of economic resources drives them away,” Merrill said. “If we can solve that problem, we’ll be keeping the next generation here for future prosperity.”

Officials also need to be open to change, he said.

“It’s hard considering things that are new and different,” he said. “Up here that might be a sulfide mine. Elsewhere in the state they’re talking about wind turbines. These are controversial issues but both sides have a stake, with townships very much at the heart of these issues.”

Finally, Merrill said township officials needed to be more willing than ever before to go beyond their statutory duties, be creative and find ways to partner with each other and other municipal governments.

“We’ve always been collaborative and creative,” said Eagle Harbor Township Clerk Jeane Olson. “Most of the townships up here are. It’s basic survival.”

Afternoon sessions focused on townships leading Michigan to prosperity, pursuing a sense of place, and asking township officials what they planned to do next.

Osceola Township Supervisor Steve Karpiak said he always learns something at the MTA meetings, and relies on the association’s guidance.

“After four years, I’m still learning stuff,” he said. “You don’t know anything about sewage, water, roads, property or millages when you start this job. If you call them, they help you, and if they don’t know off the top of their head, they’ll get back to you. They’re very responsive.”

Karpiak said the MTA was particularly instrumental recently in helping the township with a special assessment for fire protection.

“They held our hands through the whole process,” he said. “They’ve been a lifeline, an umbilical cord. If you’re ignorant when you start, they elevate you out of that ignorance.”

Chassell Township Clerk June Michaelson said she enjoyed sitting with Osceola Township trustees at the meeting, even if their townships face different issues.

“They’re struggling with zoning, where we’ve had it for a while,” she said. “For us, funding is the biggest thing, getting support for the things we need to do.”

For Eagle Harbor Township Trustee Richard Lantz, the meetings provided validation and a sense of camaraderie.

“Networking is the most important thing at these things,” he said. “You get to see and hear from other townships that you’re doing it right, and that you’re not alone.”



Jane Nordberg can be reached at jnordberg@mininggazette.com