When Menominee last updated its master plan in 2010, the region’s economy looked a lot different than it does today. Eight years later, the city is once again seeking to rework that plan to incorporate more current housing, retail, and employment trends. Tuesday, Menominee’s City Council, Planning Commission, and Zoning Board of Appeals met in joint session to hear presentations on Master Plan updates from two planning firms: Smith Group and a partnership between McKenna and UP Engineers and Architects. Both firms cited the need to update the master plan in a way that would make Menominee a Redevelopment Ready Community. City Manager Tony Graff says that designation could help the city obtain more grant funding and technical assistance from the state.
A third firm, CUPPAD previously gave their presentation for a master plan update to the city and the cost estimates for the work from the three agencies ranges from $16000 to $27000. Graff says citizen involvement is another critical part of the master plan update.
Members of the boards in attendance at the meeting will provide feedback and scoring for each of the presentations. Graff is hopeful a contact for the master plan update will be awarded by August. The update itself will likely take between nine and 12 months to complete.