Marquette City Commission updated on Cliffs-Dow property progress

MARQUETTE — The city of Marquette is making progress with the city-owned  Cliffs–Dow property.

In back–to–back meetings tonight, the Marquette City Commission was updated with the status of the Cliffs–Dow property, courtesy of representatives from Trimedia Environmental and Engineering, along with Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, or EGLE.

The presentation went into depth about the history of the site, and how it relates to potential problems the site faces today.

The site was used to make wood tar, remnants of that production still lies underground.

How these substances permeate and reach Lake Superior is a major concern, and factors such as lake levels, soil permeability, and severe storms have been taken into account to assess the safety of the site.

For now, Marquette City Manager Mike Angeli is negotiating with Veridia group for possible purchase of the property.

“At some point we’ll be ready to present the completed negotiation sale of the property to Veridia,” said Mike Angeli during the meeting. “The commission approved me to negotiate that sale that’s still in the process. All indications are that we’re moving in that direction, and when and if we get there, I will bring to [the commission] that sale agreement, probably with a development agreement. The two kind of go hand-in-hand. Then the commission will vote on both of those.”

Currently, the site can be used for any kind of zone, however it will likely be used for a residential area.

It was noted that while the site did show pollution, the nature of the groundwater in the area and other factors determined it doesn’t pose an immediate threat to people, although measures will be taken to limit its effects.

Stay with ABC 10 as we follow any developments.