An agreement about the Marquette SmartZone continues

MARQUETTE — The terms and conditions for an agreement between the Innovation SmartZone and the City of Marquette’s Local Development Finance Authority are at a temporary standstill.

During a meeting held by the LDFA last night a number of questions and concerns were raised about the proposed agreement. Members of the LDFA said that they will seek the guidance from a city attorney to ensure that the SmartZone is developed in a preeminent way for the people of Marquette County.

“With prudent man investing rules you want to make sure that those dollars are being spent and the residents of Marquette will want to make sure that those dollars are being spent in conjunction with the purpose which is to create technology jobs in Marquette,” said Chair of the LDFA Rosemary Smith, “so that being the case we want to make sure that the agreement allows the dollars to be dispersed to the SmartZone in accordance with creating jobs.”

The culminating aspiration is for the needs of both sides to be well represented in the contract. After the city attorney’s review, another meeting is anticipated to be held within the next few weeks to try and finalize the contract before the LDFA’s next scheduled meeting in October.