Sister City group reorganizing

One of the volunteer groups that advises the Marquette City Commission on a particular subject is reorganizing itself.

The Sister City Advisory Committee does not have funds of its own.

The city funds that the group uses were recently transferred to the Marquette Community foundation.

Sister City Advisory Committee chair Robin Mackie says under current rules, the committee is unable to access that money at the Community Foundation directly.

She says the group would need to do that sometimes, such as occasions when a delegation is visiting and committee members might need to pay certain expenses out-of-pocket for the visitors.

The Sister City Advisory Committee had a joint work session with the City Commission last Wednesday.

Many of the commissioners want the Sister City group to either operate in an official capacity for the city, with defined goals and objectives, or become a totally independent 501(c)3 nonprofit group.

The commission asked the Sister City group to establish concrete goals and report those goals by late April.