Houghton City Council met on Jan. 13 for the first meeting of 2022.

As the city begins work driving support piles into the canal bed for the upcoming pier, a set of cables owned and operated by AT&T are posing some challenges. Despite the city making contact initially in May with the company, AT&T has “not been able to locate” their set of “six or seven” cables, according to city manager Eric Waara, which is understood to be somewhere in the footprint of the pier-to-be. “We are still working with them.” Waara later assured that “We’re going to have a pier when it’s done,” even if the issue necessitates a partial redesign.

The council commented on a blog post from The Fire Station Cannabis Company, regarding their removal of their sign on Sharon Avenue back in the fall. City manager Waara mentioned “that particular placement of that advertisement” coupled with some public comment had the city asking The Fire Station to remove it. The Fire Station’s release can be found here: https://906fire.com/tfs-statement-on-city-of-houghton-billboard/

In addition, the council approved the purchase of $80,000 in electric vehicle charging equipment, which the council plans to later fund with existing state programs for charging installations.

The council also approved a new member of the fire department, as well as two motions forwarding the third phase of the sewer project.