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April 1997

State Roundups
Upper Peninsula

Sawyer control shifts to Marquette County; conversion continues

The former K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base, south of Marquette in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.), continues its transition from military facility to civilian community with a recent surge of activity.

Marquette County assumed control over the conversion and development at Sawyer April 1; previously the Michigan Jobs Commission was responsible. Sawyer may become an independent political entity within the county eventually, says Steve Powers, Marquette County administrator. But that won't occur until the base becomes an established community in its own right. For now, infrastructure improvements are necessary and some buildings stand empty.

Projected costs for improvements to the airport, base buildings and infrastructure amount to approximately $15 million. However, some of the county's costs will be covered by the Air Force's caretaker maintenance program, and the governor has recommended that the state appropriate $300,000 for Sawyer redevelopment. "[Sawyer] is potentially a tremendous asset to the county," Powers says. But he adds that the county can't absorb all the initial costs, nor can the current tenants. "Twelve leases can't support over 200 buildings," he says.

Last August the Marquette County Board of Commissioners approved the move of the region's airport to Sawyer, which will occur in fall 1998, once the military airfield is made to conform to civilian air guidelines. The regional airport's location at Sawyer, with its facilities for manufacturing, warehousing and aeronautics businesses, is an important part of the reuse plan, according to Powers. Late last year the first aeronautics business moved to Sawyer: American Eagle Corp.'s maintenance facility employs about 170 and may add another 70 workers in its new location.

As of March, the 12 companies operating on the base employed about 200. In addition, a $28 million state-of the-art sawmill is under construction and is expected to employ about 80; another six business tenants are expected in spring.

But to reach the goal of making Sawyer an independent community in the county, other parts of the former base need to be redeveloped, such as the 1,600 units of base housing. About 50 families from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa currently occupy base housing under a government conveyance law that has given the tribe control of more than 270 units. "It's good to have a partner as strong as the Sault Tribe," Powers says. The tribe also operates a day care center and a convenience store, and having the occupied housing generates fees for Sawyer's water treatment plant, Powers adds. A local developer has also applied to purchase more than 300 housing units to rent.

Other signs of a developing community are apparent: A local veterinarian moved her business to Sawyer, and one of the two base chapels is scheduled to reopen.

Developing the base's recreation area, which includes a motel, several lakes, an existing golf course, and snowmobiling and cross-country skiing trails, is also on the redevelopment agenda. Base dormitories could be used for youth summer camps, Powers says.

—Kathy Cobb

Three U.P. counties share
renaissance zone designation

Gogebic, Ontonagon and Houghton counties in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (U.P.) have been designated as one of 11 state renaissance zones to spur economic development.

With unemployment ranging from about 6.5 percent in the Houghton area to nearly 16 percent in Ontonagon County, all three counties were looking for an economic shot in the arm when they decided to cooperate with the tax giveback program.

 Businesses that locate in the zone will have most state and local taxes waived for up to 15 years. Any Michigan or out-of-state company is eligible to locate in a renaissance zone; however, local guidelines will require companies to have the consent of their current government jurisdiction before they are allowed to relocate.

 In addition, the three-county North Country Renaissance Zone committee is in the process of establishing some guidelines on minimum pay scales and employment numbers for any new company moving into the zone. "Although we don't want to be so restrictive that we'll turn away companies that really could grow," says Phil Musser, executive director of the Keweenaw Industrial Council in Houghton.

Musser believes that much of the resulting job creation will come from local companies that use the zone for business expansion. "I don't believe the tax breaks are significant enough that companies will pick up and move to the U.P.," Musser says. It's more likely that companies may establish a research and development facility or a branch plant, he adds.

 The counties are focusing their marketing efforts largely on groups with some connection to the U.P., such as:

• alumni of Gogebic and Suomi colleges and Michigan Technological University. Each institution's alumni newsletter will carry a story about the renaissance zone program. Musser adds that Michigan Tech is also a selling point with its faculty and research facilities available to businesses. "How many rural areas have a major technological university in their back yard?" Musser asks.
• suppliers and customers of existing local companies.
• foreign businesses that may want to get a toehold in the U.S. market. For example, the president of Suomi College will tout the program to business people on a trip to Finland.
• people who vacation in the U.P. Musser cites the call received from the owner of a Georgia company, familiar with the area, expressing interest in establishing a branch in the area.

Two sites have been set aside in each of the three counties; five sites are for industrial use and one in Ontonagon County is designated for residential development. While the counties are not targeting specific types of businesses, the region's wood and mineral resources may play a role in just who might be interested in locating in the zone, Musser says.

—Kathy Cobb