A little Q&A: Asking for answers about the city of Cadillac

Tanya Berkebile | Cadillac News Bob Foster, Will Markham, Dale Sundstrom, Greg Holmquist and Joe Conerly laugh and talk over coffee recently at the Blue Heron Cafe and Bakery. The group gets together almost daily to talk about sports, life and the community. They recently had some questions about the city of Cadillac that were answered by City Manager Pete Stalker and Assistant City Manager Precia Garland.

For many people, there are questions that come up about their city. It may be about a new business coming to the city, a question about a city service or a concern about the condition of a road.

To find out what questions Cadillac residents have for their city manager, the Cadillac News hit the streets to ask what is on the minds of citizens out and about.

Although there were some people who were from outside the Cadillac area and had no questions, there were also four people who said they were perfectly happy with the city and had no questions or concerned.

At the Blue Heron, a group of men who meet almost every morning did share some questions they had about the city. Although they usually talk about anything except work, they did give up some of their chatting to give the Cadillac News questions for Cadillac City Manager Pete Stalker and Cadillac Assistant Manager Precia Garland.

The following are three of nine questions local residents had about the city of Cadillac. The answers were provided by Cadillac City Manager Pete Stalker and Cadillac Assistant Manager Precia Garland.

Q: What are plans for the development of downtown Cadillac? A major income for the downtown area is tourism, so what is the city going to do to attract more people?

Garland: The Cadillac Downtown Development Authority (DDA), an agency of the city of Cadillac, is dedicated to the redevelopment of downtown Cadillac. While several downtown projects are identified in the coming months and years to this end, the single largest is the Mitchell Street streetscape project, scheduled to occur in 2009.

In partnership with the Michigan Department of Transportation, 1.4 miles of Mitchell Street (from Pearl to River streets) will be improved in 2009. Within the DDA district (from South to River streets), enhancements will be added to the street and underground utilities improvement project.

These enhancements are all targeted at making the street safer for pedestrians and more visually attractive, and include curb bump-outs at the intersections to shorten the crossing distances, installation of decorative crosswalks, an extension of the Victorian-style light poles, including multi-head light poles from Chapin to Pine streets, “gateway treatments” at the north and south ends of downtown to welcome travelers, and additional street trees.

Other projects the DDA is working on include redevelopment of the Cobbs & Mitchell Building and the Harris Milling sites. The DDA also plans to continue its downtown beautification efforts through continuation of the hanging flower basket program and seasonal employment of its downtown maintenance worker, who assists in maintaining the numerous public infrastructure improvements that have already been installed in downtown, such as the clock gazebo.

Q: Does the mayor have an open door policy if people have questions or comments. If so, how can citizens get in contact with him. When will the mayor have a public forum or some type of coffee with the mayor event?

Stalker: The city of Cadillac utilizes the council/manager form of local government. That means that the city manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the city, and the mayor and city council meet twice monthly (first and third Mondays) during city council meetings to make decisions regarding city policy.

Work sessions are regularly held to discuss major policy issues and projects (i.e., the annual city budget, Capital Improvement Program, etc.). These meetings are all open to the public.

The mayor does not maintain an office at City Hall and he has the same voting power as the other city council members. However, Mayor Blanchard, as well as his fellow council members, welcome input from their constituents.

During each city council meeting, the agenda features a public comment period, where citizens can address council with any questions or concerns they may have.

Regarding the day-to-day operations of the city or any suggestions you may have for the city council to consider, please feel free to contact City Manager Peter Stalker, who is available to meet with you by appointment at City Hall, 200 N. Lake St. Of course, the mayor or any council member can always be reached by calling City Hall and asking for an appointment.

Q: What are some of the major projects the city is looking to finish in upcoming months?

Stalker: There are numerous projects the city has in the works. Here is a sampling: