Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette Calumet Village Attorney Jim Tercha stated the necessity of reinstating the gas line ordinance.

CALUMET — The Village Council on Tuesday approved a motion to enact Ordinance No. 161. The ordinance grants SEMCO Energy Gas Company the “right, power and authority to lay, maintain and operate gas mains, pipes and services on, along, across and under the highways, streets, alleys, bridges, waterways, and other public places, and to conduct a local gas business in the Village of Calumet, located in Houghton County, Michigan, for a period of thirty years.”

Referred to as the “gas ordinance,” Village Manager Amber Goodman told the council that the ordinance had been inadvertently repealed, but because of its size, it will cost “a little bit” to have it published in the local paper.

Village attorney Jim Tercha told the board the ordinance needs to be reinstated.

“This is not option,” he said. “They (SEMCO) paid for it originally, and we repealed it accidentally, so it’s our obligation to re-publish it.”

Tercha suggested that the cost will be approximately $1,000, but Goodman replied it may not cost that much.

Regardless of the cost, however, as Tercha stated, the ordinance is required to be placed back into the book of ordinances.

Trustee Pam Que made the motion to reinstate the ordinance, saying, “I don’t even know how it got repealed.”

The motion was seconded by Trustee Ken Olkkonen, and was unanimously approved.

The ordinance was inadvertently repealed with the adoption of Ordinance No. 159, on Aug. 17, 2021. The ordinance was designed to update the village governance, part of which was to repeal antiquated or obsolete ordinances that no longer served a useful public purpose. The repeals applied to more than 120 ordinances, most dating back to the organization of the village.

Ordinances numbers 1,2 and 3, for example banned gambling, dancing on Sundays, and prohibiting the operaton of brothels. Ordinance No. 7 prohibited gamblers, vagrants and prostitutes, Ordinance No. 48 authorized the Houghton County Street Railway Company to erect electric trolley ways on certain streets.

Goodman said while repealing old ordinances, some of them may possess the same ordinance number as another, unrelated ordinance.

“It can get convoluted,” she said. “I think going forward, any of the ordinances being reenacted are going to get new numbers.”

Ordinance No. 161 pertains to SEMCO, she said, so it is something that is needed.