sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com
News Photo by Steve Schuwlwitz
Alpena Councilwoman Amber Hess, left, chats recently with Alpena Fire Department Community Risk Reduction Officer Capt. Andy Marceau in the council chambers at City Hall.
ALPENA Those who serve on municipal councils say they strive to make difficult decisions that best serve everyone in their community.
Often, however, residents know little about the full scope of a council person’s jobs, how they do it, or the limits of local government power.
Three members of city councils around Northeast Michigan talked to The News about those issues:
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sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com
ALPENA–The City of Alpena is taking action to recoup more than $800,000 in back taxes from a local manufacturer.
At Monday’s Alpena Municipal Council meeting, council voted unanimously to have city attorney Bill Pfeifer serve the Alpena Prototype Biorefinery LLC, American Process Inc, and GranBio LLC a notice of seizure of personal property for unpaid personal property taxes.
According to Clerk/Treasurer Anna Soik, there is $678,787 due in delinquent taxes on personal property for years 2016-2019. That total includes interest and penalty fees. They owe another $157,666 for 2020 summer and winter personal property taxes.
When American Process opened the plant, its intended use was to produce bioethanol, but little of that was made, mainly because of issues with the process that utilized waste from Decorative Panels International.
Recent actions by boards of education in Northeast Michigan.
∫ The Alpena Public Schools Board of Education voted six-to-one to join the lawsuit against the vaping company Juul and other vaping manufacturers for marketing electronic cigarettes to students.
Trustee Eric Lawson cast the dissenting vote, saying he wanted more information on the lawsuit. He said the lawsuit casted a wide net, and he wanted to know which other companies were being sued because he was afraid they may be suing manufacturers who haven’t done anything wrong.
Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Meaghan Gauthier said disciplining students caught with vaping devices involves a lot of administrative costs.
The Latest from the First
This month, “The Latest from the First” looks at the impending shutdown of U.S.-23, which will force a long detour.
Maybe you’ve heard the old saying “In Michigan, there are just two seasons: winter and ‘Road Under Construction. ”
Northern Michiganders justifiably fear the inevitable highway closures that complicate their lives.
Transportation in this region has passed through three stages.
First came passenger ships, like the City of Alpena of the Detroit and Cleveland Navigation Co., which began linking Lake Huron’s coastal communities in 1893. To get an idea of how the city of Alpena bustled with activity when the City of Alpena steamed into port, check out the colorized postcard blown up to billboard size on the side of the Martz Opera House on Chisholm Street downtown. It depicts a crowded ship, with some of the passengers ready to disembark, and a crowded wharf, with people waiting to greet them, others waiting to board the vesse
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