HANCOCK - The Hancock City Council took a step to improve the look of the city by authorizing a blight reduction plan for 12 structures, mostly rental units.
Ray Gerhart of Northern Consultants, Hancock's Michigan State Housing Development Authority administrator, said work for all the projects was bid out in December for a total of $94,560. Funding will come from MSHDA.
"We're requiring a 20 percent match (from the owners)," he said. "A lot of these projects we've been trying to do something with for years."
Although it's not part of the blight reduction plan, Gerhart said the owner of the former Masonic Temple building on Hancock Street is working to improve that building by constructing apartments in it.
"I'm sure people would like to see that building back in use," he said. "That's a very exciting project if it comes to fruition."
The council voted unanimously to proceed with the blight reduction plan.
The council voted, also, to approve an emergency moratorium on the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries in order to have discussions on the subject because of the uncertainty of what is going to be happening to the Michigan law allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes and the establishment of dispensaries for those allowed to use it.
City Manager Glenn Anderson said the emergency moratorium will last 91 days.
Councilman John Haeussler said during the life of the emergency moratorium, the council can discuss whether they want to make the moratorium longer if they want to do nothing.
The council decided to install speed bumps on Crestwood Drive and Sigsbee and Warren streets, but not all council members liked the idea.
Last year, the city had to pay for damage done to the undercarriage of a resident's vehicle after it drove over a speed bump, on which one of the pins holding it to the street had come loose, causing the damage.
Councilman James Hainault said he wants the speed bumps there.
"I'd rather take my chances with a torn muffler than a kid's life," he said.
Councilman Ted Belej said he doesn't think the speed bumps are necessary, but rather more police patrols will slow traffic.
"There's better ways to control traffic than speed bumps," he said.
Hainault said police can't be in all areas all the time.
Belej made a motion to not place speed bumps in the city. That motion failed 4 to 3. Another motion to keep the speed bumps was approved 4 to 3.