Marquette City Commission allows expanded outdoor seating and usage for local businesses

MARQUETTE — Earlier this week, the Marquette City Commission unanimously supported an executive action to allow local businesses to expand usage of outdoor areas.

Mayor Jenna Smith says they wanted to assist local businesses in getting the most out of their space during this time. One thing this decision will allow is for restaurants to put more seating outside, so that they can fully open their doors while preventing the spread of COVID–19.

“They would be able to use things like parking lots or sidewalk space to put tables out on or maybe do sidewalk sales so that there’s more of an opportunity for social distancing to happen when you’ve got more space,” explained Mayor Smith. “So that was a great effort by city staff to get that out really quickly. I really appreciate the work that they did, and I was happy to be able to do that on behalf of the city.”

Mayor Smith would like to remind the community that we’re all getting through this pandemic together. Despite all the challenges and disagreements people may have, the best course of action is to find solutions, and to stay kind.

“I think that we’re all kind of learning our new normal, and I think everything we do in person is kind of awkward right now,” said Mayor Smith. “But I would just really encourage everyone to be patient with each other and be kind with each other. Everyone’s got their own ideas and their own boundaries, and I think it’s just going to be important that we acknowledge everyone has their own opinion and that’s okay, and that we try to be kind to each other as we navigate it. It’s going to be awkward for a while as we get used to it, but I do think that we will get used to our new normal to some extent.”

The decision will be in effect for the foreseeable future, until things can return to normal. The City Commission hopes this change will benefit Marquette Businesses and help them to keep providing their services to the community.