NEGAUNEE, Mich. (WZMQ) – The city of Negaunee held a public input session Tuesday night to gain insight into what people want to be included in Negaunee’s latest strategic plan.
Residents, business owners, and anyone interested in the future of Negaunee gathered at the Upper Peninsula Brewing Company to voice their concerns and make suggestions about what is needed during this next phase of redevelopment. City manager Nate Heffron explains what the goal is.
“Tonight, we’re hoping to gain some insight from the public, business owners, and just folks in Negaunee about our new economic development strategic plan called “Forging your adventure,” said Heffron.
The new strategic plan is a long-term blueprint, designed to enhance the quality of life for Negaunee residents, promote economic growth, and strengthen Negaunee’s identity as an outdoor-centric community. This is the latest step in the redevelopment, that builds on the progress made during the “Moving Forward” campaign.
“As we all know, Negaunee has really stood still for quite some time, and we’ve made a lot of strides in the last five, or six years, and we want to continue that momentum, attracting new businesses, getting people to build homes, getting more people to live here,” said Heffron.
Negaunee resident Jon Becker made some suggestions regarding housing.
“The city should continue to do things to try to incentivize property owners to develop vacant parcels. Are there tax incentives that we can offer? Are there grants that we can help them secure so that we’re building housing for people who clearly want to come here and live here,” said Becker.
The City Council will now take the information to Their Economic Development Committee which will evaluate the insights gathered here and then send it back to the City Council which will make a more formal decision at their next meeting in November.
