Workshop held to discuss housing for Wolverine workers

by Angie Asam, Staff Writer

The Rogers City city council and planning commission met Monday at 4 p.m. to discuss housing the Wolverine workforce. The workshop meeting was scheduled after a proposed Recreational Vehicle (RV) park was discussed at the planning commission level by DorVin Properties and turned down.

The city council then delayed action on the planning commission?s recommendation to do more research. A map of all properties within the city limits nine acres or larger was created and the group went through the properties to discuss other possible locations for workforce housing or an RV park.

?The Louisiana people didn?t do a whole lot. They said they definitely could?ve capitalized on it more, they did not. That money went to surrounding communities,? said council member Deb Greene who traveled to a new power plant in Louisiana with Wolverine officials.

Greene also indicated that the restaurants received breakfast and dinner business from the workers and the party stores saw an increase in business. The group came to the conclusion that possibly the best location for housing some of the workforce would be 40-acres located adjacent to the trailer park. The area i

s already zoned for that type of use and is close to sewer and water. Also near the trailer park is a 20-acre parcel that is privately owned and could be a possibility.

Other possibilities included the already talked about Fleis Property located behind Stone Lane and Seventh Street as well as the properties along Cedar Street and Bradley Highway, which are all privately owned. Calcite property is also an option for housing. After discussing the possibilities the group concluded to get someone out talking to the property owners to see if they would be at all interested and moving along in that direction.

This workshop was a starting point for the city, as they want to capitalize on the possibility as much as possible if Wolverine is cleared to build their power plant. As many as 1,500 workers could be needed during the peak construction time of the plant, many of whom will be looking for temporary housing or driving RV?s into town. Many possibilities outside of an RV park also exist, including the renting of many vacant houses in the area. The hotels and other possibilities are all options the city is discussing now as they are looking to make positive arrangements that will benefit as many as possible.

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