Posts by Zoe

NOTICE OF HEARING     

The Watersmeet Township Zoning Board of Appeals will conduct a hearing on Thursday January 11, 2024 at 6:00PM in the Watersmeet Township Community Center, N4689 1^st Street, Watersmeet, MI.  The purpose of the hearing is to consider a dimensional variance requested by Gary Dalsbo to replace a dock at 21935 Crooked Lake Rd. Parcel No. 27-06-57-001-200, in Watersmeet Township.  The variance request involves the minimum distance of a dock from a property line.

The public may express its views at this hearing or send written comments to: Chairperson, Watersmeet Township Zoning Board of Appeals, PO Box 306, Watersmeet, MI 49969 by Monday January 8, 2024.  Documents associated with the variance request may be examined during normal business hours at the Watersmeet Township offices, also located at N4689 1^st Street.

THE COMMUNITY CENTER IS HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE

NOTICE OF HEARING

The Watersmeet Township Zoning Board of Appeals will conduct a hearing on Thursday January 11, 2024 at 7:15PM in the Watersmeet Township Community Center, N4689 1^st Street, Watersmeet, MI.  The purpose of the hearing is to consider two variances of the Watersmeet Zoning Ordinance requested by Mark and Diana Sullivan at N3716 Musky Rd. Parcel No. 27-06-30-502-720, in Watersmeet Township.

The first variance request is a Dimensional Variance of setback requirements for a garage from a property line.  The second variance request, a Use Variance, is to allow the use of an outfitters tent on a permitted structure on the property during and post construction of the dwelling.

The public may express its views at this hearing or send written comments to: Chairperson, Watersmeet Township Zoning Board of Appeals, PO Box 306, Watersmeet, MI 49969 by Monday January 8, 2024.  Documents associated with the variance request may be examined during normal business hours at the Watersmeet Township offices, also located at N4689 1^st Street.

THE COMMUNITY CENTER IS HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE

Highline’s partner, AEG, has crews very busy laying cable to the West end of the Township.  Highline’s project manager, Jake Stedman, recently issued the following construction update on November 14, 2023:

 As of yesterday (Nov. 13), the crews are finishing up getting fiber placed along Thousand Island Lake Road. There is around 2.5 miles left to place in the existing conduit and then the path will be complete all the way back to town. Splicing has already started on the fiber that they have placed. They still have to finish the public portion of Maplewood Road and build Crooked Lake Road. Other than that, they are still working down Roddis Road toward the very southern end of Cisco Lake Road.

Highline is hoping to get a contractor on Deerpath Road and the private portion of Maplewood Road before the end of the year.

Crews have also started working on the Cisco Lake Road leg on the west side of the zone. One contractor has nearly completed the entire path on Old US-2 from Thousand Island Lake Road to Cisco Lake Road. Crews have gotten fiber down Cisco Lake Road to Sylvan Isle Drive where another crew had already built the public road portion and placed fiber last week.

Production may be a little slower this week with some crews taking a few days off to hunt, but they are trying to shuffle crews around to compensate.

Next Steps:

Once the cable is laid on the roads, Highline will be calling MISDIGS to mark utilities for all the driveways of homeowners requesting Highline internet service on the roads noted above.  Homeowners are also encouraged to mark any underground services that they installed privately (i.e. sprinklers, irrigation, invisible fence, electric lines not run by We Energies, etc.).   As the driveways get marked, Highline will be phoning all those homeowners and letting them know crews will be installing the fiber down their driveways (homeowners need not be home). 

After the fiber is laid to the house, Highline will be calling homeowners again to arrange a time for a Highline technician to come into the home and connect the fiber to a Highline provided router (homeowners will need to be home to allow the technician access).  For those homeowners unable to be present (snowbirds, etc), Highline will be back in the spring to finish the installations.

Also in the spring, Highline will also be back to Watersmeet to connect the rest of the Township that qualified for the RDOF grant to lay fiber optic cable.

Any questions – please call Trustee Yvonne Clark at 906-477-3029.

Watersmeet Broadband Task Force

            Yvonne Clark, Trustee
            John Oliver, Trustee
            Bob McGuffin
            Greg Clark

The Watersmeet Planning Commission will be holding a Town Hall Meeting to receive input from Watersmeet residents and property owners on a proposed zoning change.  The proposed zoning change involves allowing for retail marijuana sales within the township.  A proposed zoning change has NOT yet been drafted or submitted to the Town Board.  Retail marijuana sales can be a controversial issue and could have substantial effects on the township. We are inviting the public to give direct input on this subject before the Planning Commission votes on a recommendation for a zoning change.  The meeting will be hosted at the Watersmeet Township Community Center on December 6th at 5:30 p.m. and will also be available online for those individuals who have subscribed to Watersmeet News on the township website:  www.watersmeet.us.

Before the start of the public comment portion of the meeting, the Planning Commission will provide a brief history of the township discussions involving this issue and a summary of research into the topic.  Residents and property owners will then be allowed to ask questions and offer their preference of being in favor of or against this proposal.  Attendees will be allowed to speak and ask questions in turn and will have a 3-minute time limit.  While non-residents and non-property owners are welcome to attend the meeting, we ask that they not speak as this is a Watersmeet Township issue.

If you intend to speak or ask questions, we request that your comments be kept brief and to the point.  The audience could potentially be large and we would like to give speaking opportunities to as many people as possible.  This meeting will be conducted in a courteous and respectful manner.

If you are unable to attend this meeting, written comments will also be accepted by mailing them to:  Watersmeet Township Planning Commission, PO Box 306, Watersmeet, MI 49969, by Wednesday, November 29, 2023.

Watersmeet Township representatives are conducting a 911 audit to:

1. Confirm all addresses within the Township
2. GPS locate all property driveways
3. Inventory and photograph all fire signs
4. Inventory and photograph all road signs

The representatives who have been authorized to conduct this audit are:

1. Joe LoMastro
2. Chris Wegner
3. Robert Wheeler
4. Zoe Coleman

The purpose of this audit is to improve GIS applications used by emergency response personnel (fire, medical, police) to locate addresses when responding to 911 calls.

The above individuals may find it necessary to enter some properties to verify property structure, driveway and fire sign locations.  The only photographs that will be taken are of road signs and fire signs.

Please allow these individuals to complete their duties in the interest of emergency response safety.

If you have any questions regarding this project, please call the Watersmeet Township office at 906.358.4501.

In May 2022, the Watersmeet Township Board of Trustees formally requested Michigan DNR conduct a study to assess the need for additional controls, primarily in the form of a “No Wake” ordinance, in 8 channels of the Cisco Chain.  The requested study was conducted in the summer and fall of 2022.  Preliminary reports and recommendation were provided to the Township in November 2022.

Prior to making a final decision, DNR held a public hearing on June 20, 2023 to allow interested persons to present their views on the preliminary reports and the need for special rules.

The DNR issued a final recommendation on October 18, 2023 and determined there isn’t enough evidence to substantiate a need for additional watercraft controls on the Cisco Chain.  Read More>

On Friday, September 29, 2023, the U.S. Forest Service granted Highline and their partner AEG a permit to lay their fiber on Forest Service Lands! AEG is sending work crews up here this week and we should start to see work crews shortly. They are committed to working hard until the job is finished or the snow chases them south. Fingers crossed for a late first snowstorm!

If you signed up for Highline and live on a private road, please download the form below, fill it out and email it to Shannon.sink@aeg.cc. If you have any questions please feel free to email Trustee Yvonne Clark at trustee1@watersmeetmi.gov or call Yvonne at 906-477-3029. Thank you!

Click here for private road right of entry form

Watersmeet Broadband Task Force
John Oliver, Trustee
Yvonne Clark, Trustee
Bob McGuffin, Member
Greg Clark, Member

The members of the Watersmeet Volunteer Fire Department would like to take this opportunity to thank the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians for their generous donation that enabled us to purchase a Lifepak 15 cardiac monitor with a built in AED for the Watersmeet EMS volunteers.

This will enable them to perform a 12-lead EKG and notify the ambulance of the Lifepak reading in case the person may need a Flight For Life called ahead of the ambulance arriving on scene.

Precious time, and possibly lives, will be saved because of this generous donation to our community.

Thank you LVD!

In the past, the township accepted post-marks in determining whether property tax payments had been made before the September deadline for Summer Taxes and the February deadline for Winter Taxes. Beginning with the Summer 2023 tax season post-marks will no longer be accepted as a payment date.

As you know the US Postal Service doesn’t always process correspondence in a timely manner. When mailing payments to the township for your property taxes please allow plenty of time for us to receive them.

You can receive a receipt with a self-addressed envelope as in the past. If you don’t do this you can always contact my office by email, treasurer@watersmeetmi.gov, or by phone (906) 358-4501, to verify that I have received your payment.

If you pay your taxes after either the September or February deadline date, please contact my office to find out the exact amount that is due prior to sending any payments to me.

If you make a payment for Winter Taxes that arrives in my office after February 29th it will be returned to you as Gogebic County doesn’t honor checks that are made out to Watersmeet Township. Beginning March 1st each year you need to contact the Gogebic County Treasurer directly to find out the amount due at (906) 663-4517.

The township doesn’t accept credit card payments for taxes at the present time, only cash, personal checks, bank drafts, or money orders.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me at treasurer@watersmeetmi.gov, or phone (906) 358-4501.

Paul D. Kemppainen
Watersmeet Township Treasurer

During a Special Meeting on July 12, 2023, the Watersmeet Township Board of Trustees finalized and approved language modifying the Watersmeet Township Zoning Ordinance.  Specifically, Section 7.05B has been modified to read as follows:

7.05B Use of Trailer Coach During Construction of Dwelling

A property owner in any District may be permitted to use one trailer coach upon premises which qualifies for construction of a dwelling and occupy the same for dwelling purposes during the actual construction of the dwelling. The trailer coach may be on the property between March 1 and October 31 each year, provided that a valid building permit has been issued and actual construction is occurring as certified yearly by the Building Inspector in conjunction with the Zoning Administrator. The trailer coach can be used for the purpose of a dwelling for a maximum of 5 consecutive building cycles from March 1 to October 31 commencing with the initial issuance of the building permit for a dwelling on the property.  Failure to secure a renewal of the building permit for the current year or failure of the Owner to demonstrate good faith progress toward completion of construction prohibits the use of the trailer coach as a temporary dwelling or placement of it on the property. The Building Inspector will make the determination as to whether the trailer coach may be used as a temporary dwelling on a yearly basis.

Special Permission outside of normal building period from March 1 – October 31.

If actual construction will be taking place on the property between October 31 and March 1 and if a property owner wishes to use a trailer coach as a temporary dwelling during this time period, on or before October 15, the property owner shall send a written request with proposed work for the winter to the Zoning Administrator along with a special fee of $75.00 and the Zoning Administrator given authority to grant permission to do so. All such determinations shall be made on a case-by-case basis by the Zoning Administrator.

Issuance of required certificates shall be contingent upon compliance with the following conditions:

1. Installation of water supply and sewage disposal facilities in conformity with requirements of Section 7.06, and approval of the same by the Western Upper Peninsula Health District shall precede occupancy of the trailer coach.
2. In a space provided on a copy of the Certificate of Compliance retained for filing, the applicant shall affix his signature indicating he has full knowledge of the limitation of the Certificate, including penalties that may be imposed in violation of the terms thereof.

The entire ordinance can be viewed at the Watersmeet Township office, N4689 1^st Street, Watersmeet, Michigan on weekdays from 9 am to 3 pm. The modifications to Section 7.05B will become effective 30 days from the date of this publication.

Questions or comments may be forwarded to Julie Mathiesen, Watersmeet Township Clerk, P.O. Box 306, Watersmeet, MI   49969.

Highline Contractors’ Fiber Optic Installation Update

This summer Highline began building high-speed fiber internet in Watersmeet. Due to a short construction season, Highline’s contractor has been working swiftly to build this state-of-the-art network to formerly unserved and underserved areas.
The construction had to pause a few weeks ago to address some permitting issues. Highline promptly worked with the Gogebic County Road Commission and hired a new crew to address proper permitting practices. Construction will resume as early as this week. Highline believes this pause in construction will not impact their goal to complete this project in 2023.

Once construction resumes Highline will begin contacting future customers for updates on burying the fiber to your home. Highline’s goal is to complete this part of the installation as soon as possible. Once the cabinet serving Watersmeet is active, the second step will be scheduling the in-home installation.

We appreciate your support and will provide another update in September. Please contact Bruce Moore President and GM of Highline Midwest if you have any questions. bruce.moore@highlinefast.com or 989-529-5152.

If you have any other questions for the Watersmeet Township, please contact Yvonne Clark at trustee1@watersmeetmi.gov or 906-477-3029.