Aside from an unfinished low-rise condo development and the Parmenter O’Toole law firm, the property has attracted no businesses. The city collects no taxes from the MAREC facility.
Incumbent Lea Markowski has held the seat for one year since it became vacant when Steve Gawron became the mayor last summer. The other seat is vacant, as Sue Weirengo declined to run again.
The agreement allows Comcast to use city rights of way to lay cables and other infrastructure. It does not make Comcast the exclusive cable provider in the city.
Contamination has been found at that site in groundwater 90 feet underground, and was in previous tests by Burgess-Norton to be moving in a north-northwest direction toward Ryerson Creek.
Recent traffic studies delivered to the city indicated that traffic levels at many segments of roads in the city are too low for traffic signals to remain, and the study recommended the city to remove them.
Markowski originated the suggestion of a public-private partnership in late December, when the service’s days were numbered and calls to keep the service running were at their highest.