City of Marquette still negotiating with Pattison over railcar storage
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
The city of Marquette is still in negotiations with Pattison Sand Co. regarding Pattison’s proposal to lease space in the roundhouse area east of the Driftless Area Wetlands Centre in order to store railcars.
Pattison Sand owner Kyle Pattison had originally proposed storing up to 183 railcars on the empty city property, although the total has since been dropped to around 70. He said the move could improve the efficiency of moving cars not only for his company but Canadian Pacific Railway (CP).
Members of the city council were initially worried about how the storage area could impact an already steady flow of rail traffic across the community’s crossings.
At the May 11 council meeting, Marquette Mayor Steve Weipert said the city is now working to come up with ways to mitigate noise and traffic going across the streets.
“We’re trying to limit how many times they could actually do that in a day,” he said.
Weipert assured no final decision will be made unless it’s at a council meeting where people can share their input. He stressed the idea is worth considering, though.
“The motivation is for him to make money, and the motivation for us is to make money. We have a piece of property sitting there that is doing us no good. If we can make money off it and not cost the city a dime to do it, you at least have to look into it,” he said.
Utility rates discussed
The council approved the second reading of an ordinance that would raise the city’s base water rate from $3 to $4 and base sewer rate from $8.25 to $10. The sewer hike would take place in July, but the water increase wouldn’t occur until January.
Fine for using city hydrant
The council approved fining a CP contractor $500 for getting water from a city hydrant without city authorization. The infraction violated city code that says “no person, unless specifically authorized, shall open or attempt to draw water from any fire hydrant for any purpose whatsoever.”
Plans for basketball/pickle ball court
The council supported the Marquette Action Club’s submission of a Wellmark Foundation grant for a combination basketball and pickle ball court at the city’s Timber Ridge Subdivision.
