'Life After the Deck', Waste Management contract renewed, construction updates
Houghton City Council, Sept. 8, 2021
Meeting Highlights
(click the underlined headlines to be taken to the video)
Triathlon organizer proposes winter triathlon “fun-raiser”
The organizer of the Verna Mize Triathlon from this summer is looking at also organizing a winter triathlon that would include running, biking, and skiing. The event would be slightly more expensive to host, but sponsors seem to be enthusiastic, according to the organizer. The same person is also working on a proposal for waterfront-facing signage representing the City of Houghton.
City manager update on construction work around the city
City Manager Eric Waara updated the council about work around the city, including the new roof on the pavilion at Kestner Park, leaks found in the water system during work on College Avenue, the building of a long-stay hotel next to Goodwill, and paving projects around the city.
Work on the Portage Lake Lift Bridge continues, but both northbound lanes should be open for a couple of weeks starting at the end of this week. When they start working on the two yet unfinished lanes, the plan is to only close one of four lanes at a time.
Work on the new pier is progressing with sewer, water, and storm sewer work in September, and then pilings will be driven until the weather shuts down the site.
Waara pointed out that for all the headaches around the city, the construction represents about $20 million in investments, with only a fraction of it coming from the city’s bank accounts.
‘Life After the Deck’ facilitated public engagement planned
Working with a consultant, a public engagement session is being scheduled for Sept. 29 at 5:30 p.m. That’s an off-week for the council. An agenda and location have yet to be set. Remote access is not currently planned.
One-year Waste Management contract approved with 4% increase
The contract was extended as-is with the intention of possibly re-bidding the service or changing the contract during that time. The contract originally had a 3% increase per year in it. Councilor Brian Irizarry asked if there was a viable alternative to Waste Management, and City Manager Eric Waara said there wasn’t at this time. The vote to extend was unanimously in favor.
Public hearing set for rural development grant for patrol vehicle
The hearing will take place at the Sept. 22 council meeting. The grant will cover a little more than half the cost of a new patrol vehicle for the police department, leaving the rest of the cost to the city.
Other Houghton news:
Fall clean-up dates will be Oct. 1 through Oct. 31.
Parade of Nations will take place Sept. 18, with an altered parade route from Franklin Square to Kestner Park, due to bridge construction.
Hancock City Council discusses letter, approves bids, adjourns early
Hancock City Council, Sept. 1, 2021
Meeting Highlights
Editor’s Note: Changing the style a bit this week to more closely reflect the style of Aggregated News. I realized some sub-heads might be more helpful than the flashy buttons, so just click on the underlined subhead to be taken to the corresponding portion of the video.
Communication from the Office of the Governor
The council briefly reviewed a letter from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office placing a deadline on charter amendments and revisions. The letter was controversial because the deadline is not part of the law, so its enforceability is questionable.
Excerpt from the governor’s letter. The entire letter is viewable in the Agenda and Documents link above.
Councilor John Haeussler voted against accepting the communication.
Public comment on the corner of Ingot and Elevation Streets
One Hancock resident stood to request that the council address the rough pavement at the corner of Elevation Street and Ingot Street. City Manager Mary Babcock said they would look into the corner and see if it needed to be placed in the work queue and update the council. Councilor Haeussler, who lives near the corner, agreed the pavement there was very rough.
New Assistant Transit Director introduction
The Hancock Transit Department is going through some changes, and the new assistant director stood during public comment to address the council. They’re working to hire some new drivers and retain current ones, which includes securing a wage increase.
Babcock updated the board about the changes at the transit department. Positions for several boards within the city and the Director of Public Works have been posted and will be selected soon.
The fundraising goal for the dog park has been met. Babcock and several members of the council expressed special appreciation toward John Deibel for his efforts supporting the dog park. The council also approved a bid for the fence work at the dog park. The Community Night Out is happening this weekend, and the last Movie in the Park is also this week on the Quincy Green. Finlandia University’s President Philip Johnson will be at the next council meeting, Sept. 15, to meet new members of the council and talk about the direction of the school. The city is also looking for volunteers to repaint fire hydrants around the city. And the city is going to be working with MEDC to help move the Keweenaw Coop to their planned new location, the former Keweenaw Buick/Chevrolet dealership.
Bid award for Hancock Fire Hall emergency generator
The council approved a bid for an emergency generator to be installed in the fire hall, which will enable it to be used as an emergency shelter in the event of widespread or long-term power outages. The bid was awarded to ERICO Electric, the low bid. It will also power the electric garage doors at the fire hall during outages. The effort to get the FEMA grant for the generator has been underway for years, but the installation should start soon now that the bid is approved.
City offices (and most other offices) will be closed Monday, Sept. 6, for the Labor Day holiday.
Tales from Lansing
A quick review of our representative's actions in the state capitol
Editor’s Note: Forgot to catch up with July, so this is a “twofer”, July and August. Luckily, summer is pretty slow in Lansing.
Sen. Ed McBroom
Email: SenEMcBroom@senate.michigan.gov
Phone: 866-305-2038
Sponsored bills introduced
Sen. Ed McBroom has introduced only two bills since the end of June.
Senate Bill 0595 would allow county taxes on hotel and motel rooms to be extended to short-term rentals (commonly called AirBnBs). It was referred to the Senate Committee on Economic and Small Business Development in mid-July and hasn’t seen any action since.
Senate Bill 0594 would allow counties to impose a 3% tax on short-term rentals, too. It was referred to the same committee.
You can see all the bills Sen. McBroom has sponsored by clicking here.
Votes of note
On July 15, Sen. McBroom voted in favor of repealing the 1945 emergency powers law.
He also supported a bill to spend money supporting auto crash injury rehab facilities after insurance reforms threatened their financial stability, and the waiving of drivers license renewal late fees until the Secretary of State fully reopens (for walk-in service).
You can review Sen. McBroom’s voting record by clicking here.
Rep. Greg Markkanen
Email: GregMarkkanen@house.mi.gov
Phone: 517-373-0850
Sponsored bills introduced
Rep. Greg Markkanen has introduced one bill since the last update.
House Bill 5256 establishes new rules for debt collectors, specifically, that written notice must be sent to debtors five days ahead of any other contact. The notice must include the amount of the debt claim, the name of the original creditor, the name of the collection agency, and more.
It also requires the collection agency to “contact a debtor” about claims of economic abuse but doesn’t specify what action should be taken if that economic abuse is proven. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Regulatory Reform and has seen no action since.
The bill is tie-barred with House Bill 5257.
Votes of note
Rep. Markkanen voted in favor of House Bill 4788, which would allow for local voter initiatives that could place term limits on village councilors. It passed the House 59 to 49 and is now in the Senate Committee on Elections.
Rep. Markkanen also favored making some drunk driving convictions expungable by voting for HB 4219 and 4220, and extending the .08 blood/alcohol content limit for drunk driving. The BAC limit was originally lowered from .1 to .08 to maintain access to federal gas tax dollars. These three bills have all been signed into law by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Interacting with the police
For someone with a mental health problem, any interaction with police can be dangerous for officers and individuals alike.
If a police officer is interacting with someone they believe to have schizophrenia, autism, dementia, or numerous other illnesses and disorders, there are special considerations for them to keep in mind.
An otherwise calm person with autism may react violently to being touched after not responding verbally to an officer’s questions.
A person with untreated schizophrenia may have difficulty focusing on the conversation and respond with rambling and difficult-to-understand answers.
Someone with unaddressed depression may be intent on self-harm and lash out at others who try to interfere.
These are just a few of the ways that a mental health disorder can complicate an interaction with police officers.
Despite the chaos it can sometimes cause, being mentally ill is not a crime. However, sometimes those who are mentally ill get treated harshly by those who don’t recognize their mental illness or mistake it for drug abuse or simply bad behavior.
Over the last decade, local police have been working to train themselves on how to better handle the people they interact with who may have a mental illness.
Lt. Nick Roberts works with the Houghton Police Department. He said larger police departments will have specialized social workers working within them but HPD is too small for that kind of specialization. He said that when they have the chance, they do arrange to have the appropriate social worker in the car from CCMH, Dial Help, or elsewhere. They already communicate and work together almost every day with those workers. But when an emergency call comes into 911, time is of the essence and they don’t usually have the opportunity to connect.
“If we have time, great!” Lt. Roberts said. “I’m more than happy to have a social worker come and assist us. They’re just not on our payroll sitting in the seat next to me.”
Additionally, in a bad situation, a social worker in the car could be one more person’s safety an officer has to consider before acting. One reason their universal presence isn’t desired. There are also many calls officers respond to where the social worker is not necessary, so their time would be wasted by constantly riding along.
Lt. Roberts thinks officers are better trained than many people think. He said a lot of the training and improvements that people ask about are already underway, including training on how to better handle situations where a mental illness is involved.
“It’s called Managing Mental Health Crisis training,” Lt. Roberts said.
The training was developed in association by NAMI, MDHHS, and MCOLES (Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards).
Normally an in-person and hands-on class, during the COVID-19 pandemic it has been offered virtually using video conferencing. Lt. Roberts said that actually benefits officers in rural and remote areas like the Upper Peninsula, as it gives them access to distant training that isn’t always affordable for smaller departments because of travel and staffing.
“I feel we’ve come a long way with that training,” Lt. Roberts said.
Officers in the training are not taught to spot and diagnose a mental illness, but they do learn telltale signs of different ailments and disorders. They’re also taught how best to interact with those in the midst of a mental health crisis in order to get a more positive outcome.
He said a big part of the training is drilling officers to remain calm and consider their word choice, mannerisms, and body language.
“They [a person of interest] will watch what you’re doing,” Lt. Roberts said. “If I look like I don’t care, they’ll key into that.”
Lt. Roberts is now a certified trainer in the MMHC curriculum and regularly offers the training to other area departments. He teaches the two-day course alongside a social worker.
“We do our best to get trained and educated,” Lt. Roberts said.
Unfortunately, the method isn’t perfect, and there are shortcomings and limitations that lead to bad outcomes. The first limitation is, of course, getting the training to the officers, which takes time and funding that isn’t always available.
Beyond that, officers still have a primary duty to react to unsafe situations. If a person is armed, particularly with a firearm, Lt. Roberts said they have to treat it primarily as an armed-person situation before they can address any mental illness issues in play. This means securing the area and ensuring officers do everything possible to disarm the person before they can hurt themselves or anyone else.
“We deal with a lot of people who can be suicidal,” Lt. Roberts said.
Roberts said that maintaining a calm attitude and talking through the situation has led to several good outcomes he’s not sure would have been possible otherwise.
Matt and Nola Olson have guardianship of their adult daughter and care for her in their home. She’s been diagnosed with schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder and is unable to live independently.
“Even though we’re [her] guardian, we don’t have the legal right to restrain her,” Matt said.
So when her diagnosis and medication were still being established several years ago and she had violent episodes, they had to call the police to restrain their daughter and protect themselves.
Matt recalled one time when their daughter was just 14 or 15 years old, they had to call the police because she was wielding a knife and making threats.
“They are being trained to go about it differently,” Matt said. “But at first it was just like ‘Oh, bad things happen, tackle, handcuff,’ you know, just — it was horrible.”
Since they live in a rural area, the Olsons usually interacted with the Houghton County Sheriff’s Department.
It’s been years since the Olsons’ last experience with the sheriff’s department. Matt said they “thankfully” haven’t yet had an experience with the “new and improved” sheriff’s deputies since they’ve received Managing Mental Health Crisis Training.
They said the one time they dealt with the city of Houghton’s police department was a much different, more sedate, and preferable experience.
“I just want people to realize that we’re doing our best,” Lt. Roberts said. “And don’t be afraid to talk to us.”
Rezoning issued, permit for fourth cannabis retailer approved, and ordinances updated
Houghton City Council, Aug. 25, 2021
Meeting Highlights
A citizen got up during the public comment session to express her appreciation of the city police department, for responding to a vehicle-pedestrian accident on their non-emergency line faster than 911. Police Chief John Donnelly said he was looking into what took the 911 operator so long during his report. The citizen said it took 15 rings for 911 to answer, while HPD picked up before the first ring finished.
The council had a public hearing on proposed changes to the zoning ordinance, which were recommended by the Houghton planning commission. One commercial property owner stood to support the changes, saying that they were long overdue. The council later passed the changes unanimously.
The council had another public hearing for an ordinance to rezone four plots of land from R3 to R4 to accommodate redevelopment into student housing with more limited, but indoor, parking.
From the board packet documents.
Some other rental property owners objected to the change, because of the reduced parking requirements in R4, and their concerns that students without dedicated parking would instead park cars on streets and in commercial parking lots nearby, congesting traffic.
Others, including one property owner and a member of the planning commission, supported the rezoning as a step toward new development and supported limited or remote parking and expanding public transit for students, in part to limit traffic on the roads overall.
Several board members made comments before the vote supporting and explaining the possible benefits of approving the change.
The board passed the rezoning unanimously.
City Manager Eric Waara updated the council on a water leak, preparation for paving projects, and other work going on in the city, including the construction of the new pier which is in full swing now.
Excavators and water pump on-site near the library on Aug. 26.
Waara reported that MDOT is nearing the completion of one part of the work on the Portage Lake Lift Bridge and that the lanes should be wider for the next part, which will hopefully alleviate more traffic issues.
Waara also thanked everyone who participated in the census. Houghton grew by over 8%, and Houghton County was the only county in the UP to show any growth.
There’s no news on the development of the new Meijer store.
The council also honored the departing President of the Housing Commission, who served in various capacities for more than four decades.
Finally, the council approved a permit application for the Nirvana Center, which is planning to develop the former Bambu restaurant into a cannabis retailer.
From the board information packet.
The board approved the request unanimously, after some discussion of how many retailers would be allowed. City Manager Waara said the market and limited geographical area that zoning allows them in would dictate how many retailers exist in Houghton.
MTU's Lakeshore Center walkway collapses into Portage Lake
Original photos and MTU's press release
I received this press release, and since I was going out anyway, I stopped to get some photos of the damage. Let me know if you’re interested in any follow-up on this. Seems pretty straightforward to me.
From Michigan Tech’s director of communications:
Late in the afternoon on August 25, a portion of a concrete dock next to the Lakeshore Center fell into the Portage Waterway. The Lakeshore Center is a Michigan Tech building that houses some administrative functions—it is located away from the main campus. The dock had been under surveillance due to cracking and shifting, and foot traffic on the dock was restricted two weeks ago while its condition was under assessment. Michigan Tech Public Safety and Police Services, as well as UP Engineers and Architects, were on the scene immediately after the dock portion fell.
Initial reports indicate the Lakeshore Center was not damaged and is not at risk. Out of an abundance of caution, access to the building is currently restricted, with only those who are helping assess and repair the damage allowed on-site. Employees have been asked to work remotely for approximately 10-14 days until repairs are complete.
Photos by Late Edition
Pandemic safety procedures leave some mental health patients feeling abandoned
Teletherapy is popular among many of CCMH's patients, but not all of them find it adequate.
Handling the COVID-19 pandemic has been tumultuous for all of us, involving quick adaptation and frequent discomfort. But for those managing a chronic condition like a mental illness, the pandemic created a fog of uncertainty and new barriers to care that exasperated some issues, despite the best efforts of local workers to mitigate them.
The state deemed mental health services essential, so they could continue under lockdown, but they weren’t specific about what preventative measures providers should or could take.
Copper Country Mental Health, the needs-based, government-supported provider of mental health care in the Keweenaw Area, received some basic guidance from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), which they combined with guidance from the CDC and the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA).
“So we had input from a lot of different agencies and organizations, and then we met as like a safety committee, and that involved our nurses, and we developed the protocols,” CCMH Director Cari Raboin said.
Month by month through the pandemic, the guidance they received changed, and so the committee met repeatedly to update their procedures.
“So it was a moving target,” Raboin said. “It was moving and changing all the time.”
The CCMH staff were also concerned because some studies being released showed that severe mental health disorders could be an increased risk factor for mortality in patients with COVID-19. They felt that the increased risk to the people they’re meant to serve called for a higher level of caution.
Therapy was moved to phone or video interaction. Injected medications were offered in the parking lot by masked and gowned nurses. Even emergency room mental evaluations for people brought — sometimes involuntarily — to the hospital were done over the phone in coordination with emergency room staff and family when available.
“[CCMH] staff would talk with them [the hospitalized] on the phone, too,” Raboin said. “So we got a lot of input, more than just the phone assessment.”
Assertive Community Treatment, which is regular one-on-one activity between a patient-consumer and a CCMH worker and often involves things like making and attending appointments or doing personal shopping, was able to continue with some extra precautions.
But any kind of group social activity had to be ended and didn’t resume for a long time. In the best of cases, these activities moved to a virtual format.
Matt and Nola Olson said that was hard on their adult daughter, who also lost the job shredding paper she had been working a couple of hours per week because of lockdown.
Their daughter doesn’t like cameras and so virtual options don’t suit her.
“When everything shut down and isolation came, you could really see it,” said Nola, their daughter’s full-time caretaker.
This in turn meant Nola had less time for her own work and personal care, which were already limited by the lack of trained, available respite care.
“I had to keep her busy,” Nola said.
Nola felt that the isolation was causing their daughter’s symptoms of schizophrenia to worsen. They felt the first therapist they worked with remotely didn’t understand and wasn’t listening to their concerns.
“We have to deal with it, they don’t,” Matt said. “They’re on the other end of the phone.”
The Olsons were able to change therapists to one they felt took more care to compensate for the shortcomings of telehealth, but still feel their daughter would be better served by in-person therapy sessions.
Raboin said there are pros and cons to using teletherapy. Not being able to read physical cues and body language is definitely a drawback, but she said they got a significant amount of positive feedback from consumers about teletherapy, as high as 70% approval in a survey they sent out. Those who have trouble keeping in-person appointments because of transportation issues, or symptoms of their illness that make going out in public more difficult, found it particularly helpful.
“We hope to be able to continue to provide that as an option,” Raboin said.
It’s currently allowed under special federal and state rules, but may not be in the future. Until CCMH hears from agencies that are above them in authority, they can’t make any long-term plans, either. And not having a plan to offer their patient-consumers keeps everyone apprehensive.
The Olsons said that not knowing what the plan was, and not having any direct contact with therapists or other professionals has left them feeling out of the loop and abandoned.
Raboin said communicating was “definitely” a challenge. They sent out letters, updated their website, and attempted other outreach with each update.
“But the best way we found to communicate with people is one-on-one,” Raboin said.
The most reliable way they found to communicate information was to have someone’s case manager or primary clinician talk with a patient-consumer or their guardian directly about new information or changes.
Whereas transportation to appointments is a barrier to care for some, access to broadband internet or wifi is a barrier for others.
CCMH provided iPads for some consumers who didn’t have a good device for video chatting and bought calling cards for others who had limited minutes on their phones.
The Olsons have to rely on dial-up internet or cell-based internet because of the rural location of their home and their financial constraints, which is another thing that keeps video conferencing from being a good option for their daughter, so they mainly rely on audio-only phone therapy.
“As far as mental health was concerned, it’s all telephone,” Matt said. “And it’s hard to gauge things off a telephone… you’re missing all of the visual cues.”
The Olsons said that the double-standard between physical and mental health was part of what made it so frustrating.
“What burnt me up was the hospital was open the whole time,” Matt said. “Granted you had masks and you had to check for fevers and you know, but if you broke your arm you knew you could go to the emergency room and have your arm dealt with.”
But for mental health issues, there was nowhere open to them.
The Olsons are told their daughter has an illness of the brain and it should be treated as a physical ailment, “but we weren’t treated that way.”
Fireworks permitted, regretful resignations accepted, and city manager rated exceedingly well
Hancock City Council, Aug. 18, 2021
Editor’s Note: The audio for Hancock’s city council has been giving me trouble, and just when I thought I had it solved, a new problem was introduced. This week, the air conditioning was running. I did my best to make it understandable, but there’s only so much that can be done. Councilor Will Lytle and Mayor Paul LaBine’s voices particularly blended into the sound of the fans blowing. I’m trying to figure out what more I can do. Thanks for understanding.
Meeting Highlights
During City Manager Mary Babcock’s administrative report, she updated the board on census results, which showed the population decreased by more than 100 people. This could signal a small decrease in the tax budget. She also implored everyone to keep voting for the Hancock dog park in the Bark For Your Park contest until the end of the month.
Poster from the council information packet.
The community night out plans have been finalized. Rewind will be at Porvoo Park, and the city council approved the fireworks permit during this meeting, too.
Poster from the council information packet.
During the meeting, the council accepted a couple of resignations, with regret. Doug Lancour informed the council of his wish to be replaced on the Board of Review, and Jerry Wuorenmaa resigned from the Rental Code Board of Appeals. Both emails of resignation are in the council information packet (‘Agenda and Documents’ link above). The board positions will be advertised for applicants.
The council also unanimously supported a resolution to support partnerships for “materials management”, which is a term that combines things like garbage, recycling, compost, and other refuse. Councilor William Lytle pointed out that while Hancock was a regional leader in recycling, there was still plenty of room for improvement.
The council reviewed the city manager’s performance in closed session, in accordance with the Open Meetings Act. They returned to open session after a few minutes and reported her review as generally exceeding standards. No link on this one because there’s not much on the video other than the vote, which was unanimously in favor of accepting the positive report.
One resident complained during the final public comment, about the traffic turning left from Reservation Street onto Quincy Street. They said the confusion of people in the right lane turning left and the left lane sometimes suddenly deciding to go straight was dangerous and asked if there was anything that could be done to improve signage or find solutions to prevent collisions.
Experienced birder talks danger to raptors, bats from proposed wind turbines
Local birding expert Joseph Youngman presents to the Guardians of the Keweenaw Ridge about the danger to raptors and bats if wind turbines are built in Stanton and Adams Townships
Editor’s Note: The views expressed in this video are not necessarily shared by Copper Beacon or its employees, and Copper Beacon was not compensated for producing this video. (See more below)
This meeting took place Monday, Aug. 16, 2021, in the Stanton Township Fire Hall. About 35 people gathered at 6:30 p.m. to talk about the ill effects of wind turbines and their construction, hear birding expert Joseph Youngman speak, and plan how to stop the development of turbines.
The video opens with some comments from Guardians of the Keweenaw Ridge leadership before introducing Joseph Youngman, vice president of the Copper Country Audobon and experienced birding expert.
Youngman spent some time taking questions after his presentation, not all of which related to his expertise with birds. He did his best to field all the questions but had to pass some off to others.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first time I’ve covered something like this in its entirety, and I was somewhat conflicted about whether I should or not, thus I feel the need to make this note and explain the choice further here.
The event is clearly in support of a single viewpoint and recording and sharing it promotes that, but there are likely people who hold other opinions and didn’t feel comfortable attending or speaking up at this meeting. Those people deserve a fair chance to speak within Copper Beacon’s pages, too.
For those who hold any variety of viewpoints, in support or against wind turbines, I invite you to either email me at me@joshuavissers.com to inform me or write a letter to the editor to be published on Copper Beacon’s op-ed page.
If a group in support of wind turbine development is formed, they can expect I’ll make a similar, cost-free effort to attend and record their meetings, not in an effort to support their viewpoint, but in order to bring news of their meeting and information on their views and discussion to you, my readers, listeners, and viewers.
KISMA's boat wash outreach events
Students work to stop aquatic hitchhikers from ruining your favorite fishing spot
More information from KISMA: https://www.mtu.edu/kisma/