Trustee Jim Tercha, left, asks Treasurer Debra Aubin questions about property taxes during the Calumet Village Council meeting on Tuesday. (Kent Kraft/For the Gazette)

CALUMET — Despite early technical issues preventing the Calumet Village Council meeting from being broadcast online, and Village Manager Megan Haselden’s absence due to a family emergency, there was a calm and orderly beginning to the proceedings. Blight improvements were a main topic of discussion.

But first, two cancellations were announced, including the unfortunate need to cancel the planned second year for CroFest.

Calumet Theatre Executive Director Nathan Jones told the council “due to circumstances beyond our control, we won’t be having CroFest this year but still plan on bringing the festival back next year.”

Village Trustee Kelly Ryan told the council the special meeting on the topic of 9th Street planned for Tuesday, June 23, has been postponed. She continues to work on the issues surrounding the potential abandonment of a portion of 9th Street by the council, including a focus on what continued access by emergency vehicles would look like if the abandonment is approved.

The overriding issue causing the delay of the meeting was the fact a land survey of that area has not been completed yet. When it is completed and the council has the information needed, a meeting will be scheduled and the public will be informed.

Later in the meeting, Ryan briefed the council on an item of new business also related to 9th Street. Jim Flood, owner of the Mineral Range Depot which he is restoring, asked the council for a 30-day closure of the end of the block of 9th Street where it intersects with Oak Street. He is requesting the closure because his restoration work includes the need for scaffolding which is unsafe to use while the road is in use. Ryan said she has been on 9th Street while Flood has attempted his work and agreed it would be safer to have a brief closure to allow him to work safely. She also feels a closure would help the survey crew get their work done in a quicker and safer manner.

The closure was approved by the council in a 5-0 vote.

“We need to get the DPW (Department of Public Works) out there and make sure that we’re getting the road closed down the right way,” Ryan said, “so the 30-day closure will most likely start early next week.”

The council spent the most time at their meeting discussing the issue of blight within the village. In their September 2025 meeting, the Calumet Village Council created an ad hoc Blight Task Force, but the group never met. Trustee and President Pro Tempore Pamela Que was nominated to take over the lead for the task force in the April meeting, and she has led two meetings of the group so far.

Que has walked around the village and taken photos of what she feels are blighted areas that need to be addressed.

“One thing you’ll notice as you walk around,” said Que, “is that there are a lot of things that were sitting in yards that people took to the dumpster last year and got cleaned up, which is great.” The village will have a dumpster available for resident use again this year and information about that will be made available when a date is set.

President Rob Tarvis reminded everyone that the dumpster to collect metal objects is always available in the CLK main parking lot. Que added a reminder that mattresses and tires are not allowed in the dumpster.

The pictures of blighted areas Que has collected will be presented to the council at a future meeting, hopefully in July.

“Once we show the council the PowerPoint, we’ll be looking for feedback from the council and thoughts on where we need to go from there,” she said.

Trustee Jim Tercha offered several suggestions on ways to make sure residents without financial means to get rid of unwanted materials in their yard can still improve their space. He suggested a small fund where the council, once they are made aware of a resident that needs help, could pay for a professional group to gather up the unwanted materials. On the topic of cars, Tercha also mentioned there is a company on M-26, on the way to Ontonagon, that will tow cars away. Que said she would look into Tercha’s suggestions.

Team Big Annie was once again present, represented by Vada Riederich, as the placement of the statue of Big Annie was finally finalized. After a multitude of changes in plans on where Big Annie should go, the council voted unanimously to accept the recommendation of the Historic District Commission (HDC). Located in the Greenspace Park next to the Calumet Theatre, the HDC recommended Big Annie is placed “in the exact location currently excavated … oriented at an angle of up to forty-five degrees, facing the southwest corner of the Greenspace Park.” A 2-foot brick surround was also compromised on.

Tercha introduced the Extra-Voted Millage Renewal for the council which is at a rate of 3 mills. First passed back in 1976, this millage has come up for a vote every five years and this is another year it will go before the voters. If passed, this millage will be in effect for the Village of Calumet from 2027 – 2031 and is projected to raise around $39,000 in the first year.

Unusually, the council had dissent in their vote on this measure. Que was the one “nay” vote on the millage referendum because she thought the $39,000 in revenue was not enough money and could not possibly cover both snow removal and street maintenance. The 4-1 vote in approval was still enough to put the measure on the ballots later this year.

In other business, the council:

�–� approved bills and payroll in the amount of $53,158.23.

�–� unanimously approved purchasing 100 tons of cold patch, a material used to patch asphalt and fill pot holes.

�–� unanimously approved the Articles of Incorporation for the Fire Authority, a combined effort between Calumet Township and the Villages of Laurium and Calumet, after both Que and Ryan mentioned how impressed they were with the articles.

�–� heard an update from Treasurer Debra Aubin looking at the forecasted revenue to the Village if 100% of the property taxes were collected.