City commissioners turn away proposal to ban outdoor furnaces
A proposed new ordinance to prohibit outdoor wood furnaces within the city limits was presented at Monday’s Onaway City Commission meeting, but commission members would like to consider another option.
Following in the footsteps of other communities that already have approved ordinances to ban outdoor wood furnaces, such as Alpena and Rogers City, city manager Joe Hefele would like to see Onaway follow suit.
A draft was prepared by city attorney Mike Vogler and given to commission members during the post-Labor Day session.
Hefele said a few outdoor furnaces have already been installed in town. “I would have a problem telling the folks who have invested in those that they have to remove and replace them,” Hefele stated in his manager’s report to the board.
With the price of natural gas expected to increase due to Hurricane Katrina, many people have been considering alternative heating sources. Hefele believes the outdoor wood burners need to be eliminated as an option.
“THESE FURNACES are fine in the country, where homes are further apart, but the smoke they produce will create a problem in a city like Onaway, where homes are very close together,” Hefele stated.
An ordinance “would prevent any more of these units from being installed.”
Commission members would be more in favor of regulating the home-heating devices and have asked Hefele to do a little more research.
Possible regulations could include placement of the furnace on the property, the height of the smoke stack, and a restriction the time of year they could be used, such as the winter months only.
The matter will be discussed further at a future date.
IN OTHER business: o It was reported that city crews had completed 29 more sewer hookups in the last three weeks. That brings the total connected-customer count to 171, and leaves 33 Phase one and two customers still not connected.
o Hefele is recommending any relocation of the Onaway Police Department not be on the main floor of the courthouse.
The commission had inquired into whether the OPD could be relocated on the main floor now that it has been restored.
Bringing the OPD into the courthouse would eliminate some utility bills and allow the city to sell the building the OPD presently calls home
Hefele said these are good arguments, but there is a problem.
A $200,000 grant the city received from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to restore the main floor was based on the museum getting all of the space and storage area. Moving the OPD to the main floor would be misleading to the funding source and possibly affect future applications to MEDC.
Hefele said, if it is the commissions desire to move the OPD in the courthouse, he recommended locating the department on the yet to be restored third floor.
A first step, Hefele suggested, is to sit down with chief Jim Gibson, and discuss the matter further before any decisions are made.