Those were the goals of the joint meeting Tuesday night between the Marquette City Commission and Board of Light and Power
MARQUETTE -- The two elected bodies in the City of Marquette hold these joint work sessions a few times a year. It's a chance for them to talk about issues that are mutually important.
Over the years, some positive developments have come from these sessions, and Tuesday night was no exception. Arguably the most talked about issue on Tuesday night's agenda was the Tourist Park Dam.
The BLP has wanted to rebuild the dam since the 2003 Dead River Flood, but many area residents have said the environment will be affected by not letting wildlife flourish in the water.
It appears though that construction will go ahead this summer, now that all of the permitting obstacles have been cleared.
Mayor John Kivela says rebuilding makes sense for the city and for residents.
"It provides about 500 homes with fresh energy; it's produced by the water so obviously it's free by nature," says Kivela. "It also is going to provide a safe, clean swimming area for our residents and really enhance Tourist Park."
Renewable energy was also on the minds of commissioners and board members. They're looking at a geo-thermal project that would use the hot discharge water from the Marquette Power Plant near South Beach. Ideally it would be run to Founder's Landing, and eventually downtown, to help heat businesses and residences.
"It's a way of using the otherwise discharged water, using it to heat buildings, so it's really a great plan. There's a lot of hurdles to jump through, but hopefully we can get through them," Kivela adds.
And in keeping with the theme of lowering costs and increasing energy efficiency, commissioners want to make sure that residents are getting the best deal.
"My concern is not the technology, it's the way that the decisions are made," said Commissioner Fred Stonehouse. "As a customer, I'm saying that's not my primary--my primary is the livability of this community for everybody."
One other thing the two boards are looking at, is putting utility operations underground in some districts.
Although the move of eliminating above-ground power poles would be more expensive, in the end, the maintenance costs would be lower.
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