Posts by Zoe

Gogebic County has funding available for improvements to Watersmeet secondary roads, which requires a 60% funding match from the township.

At the special meeting held on June 25, 2021, the Watersmeet Township Board of Trustees approved an increase in property taxes in the amount of ½ mil which will become effective in 2022. These funds will be utilized to provide match funds with Gogebic County for secondary roadway improvements within the township.  This property tax increase will generate approximately $90,000 per year, which will allow for the township to receive approximately $60,000 from the County.  Additional monies are allocated to the township from gas tax and registration fees revenue.  The total annual budget for secondary roadway improvements is estimated to be $185,000 for the next fiscal year.

The Board also approved the creation of the Watersmeet Township Roadway Commission.  This commission will be tasked with creating policies outlining allowed improvements, on-site inspecting of the secondary roadways within the township boundaries, proposing specific improvements, prioritizing construction schedules, and allocating funding.

Submissions were accepted from residents/property owners who were interested in being a member this commission and at the December 15, 2021, Board of Trustees meeting, the following individuals were appointed:

• Alan Ison
• Joe LoMastro
• Harvey Shovers
• Chris Wegner
• Robert Wheeler

More Roadway Commission information will be posted as it becomes available.

While processing fire sign orders it has become evident that a road audit needs to be completed within Watersmeet Township.  

 Instead of delaying the program, the Board has determined the best course of action is to order the signs with the address number only and remove the road name. 

 Additionally, the cost of the signs have changed; $27 for flag signs and $38 for range signs, and a faster turn-around time of 2-3 weeks. 

 If you have already placed an order, you will receive a refund at the time you pick up your signs. 

 Read More> 

The Watersmeet Township Board of Trustees approved the purchase of six sets of headphones for hearing impaired individuals.

The headphones will be available at all Board of Trustees, Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals meetings.

Please notify the moderator prior to the start of the meeting to be issued a pair for use.

Fall has arrived, the bugs are gone, and the hiking trails are quieter.  This is a beautiful time to be outdoors for hikers AND hunters.   Michigan deer hunting has already started, and regular firearm season is November 15-30.

Here are a few simple steps to help keep you safe outdoors during the hunting season.

Be Informed:  Know when hunting seasons start and end and about particular regulations that affect hunting.  Read up on regulations.  Check Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Be Visible: Wear a blaze-orange hat and vest.  These will increase your visibility in the woods.  Many hunters are out at dusk and dawn, be sure your vest has reflective panels.

Be Heard:  If you hear voices or shots, let your presence be known.  A loud “Hikers on the Trail!” will let everyone be aware of your presence.

Stay on the Trail:  Hunters know to expect people on designated trails, but if you venture far off the beaten track, hunters may assume that those noises in the brush are deer. Stay on the trail and save off trail exploration for another time.

Leash Your Pets and Make Them Visible:  Put a blaze-orange vest on your pet and keep them leashed. If a hunter isn’t following the basic hunter safety of knowing your target and what’s beyond it, a dog running through the brush can be mistaken for game. Hiking with your dog on a leash will keep your dog from wandering off trail.

Watersmeet EMS would like to thank the Lac Vieux Desert Health Center and Pharmacy for their donations of epi pens, glucometers, medication, etc. This has been a tremendous help to our department and without you we would not be able to complete our jump bags and daily needs of these expensive items.

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 donation to purchase emergency medical jump kits for the Watersmeet EMS volunteers.

The jump kits will be carried in the personal vehicles of four EMS volunteers, and one will be carried by Watersmeet police.  These kits include emergency first aid supplies, an AED and oxygen.  This equipment can increase response time by allowing EMS personnel to travel directly to an emergency and begin immediate treatment without first having to drive into town to retrieve the medical rescue vehicle.

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

Thank you LVD!

The FCC recently adopted rules to establish the 3-digit telephone number “988” to serve as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Beginning July 16, 2022, callers in mental health crisis will be routed to trained counselors when dialing 988.

Eighty-two area codes in 36 states use 988 as a central office code (i.e. Watersmeet’s 358 prefix), Michigan’s 906 area code is included on this list. To ensure that all calls to 988 reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, providers in these affected areas are required to mandate 10-digit dialing across the network. This means callers will be required to input both the area code and telephone number to connect, even when making local calls.

Beginning October 24, 2021, consumers must dial 10-digits (area code + telephone number) for all local calls. On and after this date, local calls dialed with only 7 digits may not be completed, and a recording will inform you that your call cannot be completed as dialed. Consumers must hang up and dial again using the area code and the 7-digit number.

Beginning July 16, 2022, dialing “988” will route calls to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

For more information visit the FCC Suicide Prevention Hotline page.

The FCC initiated the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) to help bring broadband internet service to rural and under-served areas of the United States.  For additional information on this initiative visit FCC.gov, search RDOF.

The RDOF auction pays internet service providers to go into rural, underserved areas and build out internet infrastructure. The Atlantic Engineering Group (AEG) won our area in an FCC auction late last year. AEG is performing the engineering work for our area this year and hopes to complete the actual buildout sometime next year.  Highline, which is the service arm of AEG, will bring the internet service into the home and service the accounts. This is exciting news as they will be delivering fiber optic broadband, which is the gold-standard in internet, to most of Watersmeet Township*!

Here are some of the specifics:

• Buildout to be started in Spring 2022 (depending on weather conditions)
• Speeds to be up to 1 gigabyte per second download and up to 500 megabytes per second upload
• No data caps
• Set-up fee of approximately $99
• Service pricing to be around $99/month which includes a modem/router
• $29/month additional for a digital phone line may also be available

The introduction of real, legitimate broadband opens a seemingly endless array of possibilities. Here are just a few options that come to mind:

• Ability to finally work and live up north
• Never walk into a cold cabin again with a wi-fi thermostat
• Ditch satellite tv and that ugly dish and stream for half the cost
• Surveillance and security for unattended cabins
• Unlimited kitten and puppy videos

Representative Jack Bergman (he lives on the Cisco Chain) has been instrumental in getting our area prioritized in AEG/Highline’s buildout schedule. Many thanks also go to the Watersmeet Broadband Task Force which includes Dan Hance, John Oliver, Bob McGuffin, Greg Clark, and Yvonne Clark, Watersmeet Trustee.

Here’s how YOU can help make faster reliable internet happen quicker – Highline and the Watersmeet Task Force is asking every Michigan property owner to go to the HighlineFast web page and enter your property address. If your address does not appear in the drop-down list, it may help to leave off the leading letter in your address. For example: 3928 instead of N3928.  (If it still does not appear, select an address closest to you and you can correct the information when Highline contacts you.) By entering your address you are letting Highline know you are interested in their service. It is not a commitment to subscribe to their service.  You do not need to enter any credit card information.  The more properties that express interest, the higher we will move up on their build out schedule.  Right now, their website indicates that we are scheduled to be fully operable in 2023, but Highline representatives have indicated that they expect Watersmeet to be completed in 2022!

After signing up, you may be contacted by Highline to confirm your address and/or to request a $25 deposit (which will be deducted from the $99 set-up fee) to confirm your commitment in installing internet service. This deposit assures service and may also prioritize installation.  Installation fees this low are likely predicated on scheduling the installation crew and fiber optic runs to the homes for these advanced service commitments for the initial service offering.  It is expensive to deploy/bury fiber optic cable, installation costs would likely increase once crews leave our area.  Highline has an aggressive deployment schedule across the UP.

Improving internet service to all of Watersmeet has been an important issue for many years.  It is vital to our economic growth.  Please take a few minutes to log onto the website and help our community.

*It is possible that not ALL residences/businesses in the Watersmeet Township are included in the RDOF auction results area.  That is why it is SO IMPORTANT for all residents to sign up on the Highline web site.  Highline has indicated that if enough residents in these areas sign-up for interest they may be able to include service to these “edge areas” during the initial installation phase.  The only way they will know that you are interested is for you to SIGN UP!

Visit Highline’s website for addition information (https://highlinefast.com/internet) and local area updates (https://highlinefast.com/area-updates). Highline Internet is also available on Facebook or call them at 888.212.0054.

EMPLOYEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Highline will also be advertising for employment of surveyors, construction, technicians, and customer service representatives at competitive wages.  They are looking to build a local Highline Team.  Call or apply on-line at https://highlinefast.com/job-opportunities.

If you have any questions, please email Yvonne Clark, Watersmeet Trustee at trustee1@watersmeetmi.gov .