The Downtown Development Authority met Dec 20. Among the items discussed were maintenance of the decorative holiday lights, two of which were damaged in the winds and a light pole that had come loose.

The subject then turned toward grant money. This coming September, the car show will once again return to Munising. Their request for $1,000 was denied. The DDA instead agreed on a $500.00 grant for the show, the same as given the previous year.

Kathy Reynolds, C.E.O. of the Greater Munising Bay Partnership/ Alger County Chamber of Commerce and the Executive Director of the Munising Downtown Development Authority reported the success of Rekindle the Spirit. There were 94 winners and over $9000.00 in prizes. In the twelve years of the program began, Rekindle the Spirit recorded nearly $2.5M in spending within Alger county. The incentive to buy locally has paid off well.

Finally, the discussion turned toward other business. The township is looking into creating an outdoor pickleball court. There was discussion focused on the effort to raise money for the venture, which may include crowdsourcing matched from Community Spaces, Community Places up to 50K. The project will likely cost $130,000 as a rough estimate, a number which covers only the court itself and not restrooms.

As the last Devin Olson was recognized on his 10th anniversary as City Manager.

The next meeting of the Downtown Developmental Authority will be January 17th at 6:00 p.m..