Racers Bryce Hattamer, left, and Mike Rogan reach the end of the dual slalom race where riders battle it out side-by-side on berms, rollers and jumps during the Marquette Trails Festival at Marquette Mountain Ski Hill Friday night. (Journal photo by Corey Kelly)

By JAYMIE DEPEW

Journal Staff Writer

MARQUETTE — “What makes you proud to live in Marquette?” was one of the questions Aaron Arnett of Arnett Muldrow & Associates asked Marquette residents and business owners last week over a course of several meetings about the Downtown Development Authority Greater Downtown Identity Enrichment Project.

While “the people” and “Lake Superior” were among the first responses, “the trail system” was also at the top of the list.

Over the weekend, thousands attended the Noquemanon Trail Network’s fifth annual Marquette Trails Festival, which is held along the NTN’s south trails near Mount Marquette.

The festival included marathon and five-kilometer trail running races, mountain biking races, youth-friendly courses and outdoor socials, including bonfires, live music and food from local vendors, and more.

According to Lori Hauswirth, executive director of the NTN, 52 percent of pre-registered participants were from outside of Marquette County.

All proceeds from the festival are donated to the NTN and used to maintain current trails, create new ones and hold community events. The 2017 festival raised over $9,500 and drew in more than 1,500 people.

The NTN’s Singletrack trail system has received national acclaim as a recreational destination in several publications including Bike Magazine, Silent Sports Magazine and others. In 2014, the NTN Singletrack trails were awarded status as an International Mountain Bicycling Association Ride Center — one of two in Michigan, according to the NTN website.

The NTN was founded in 2001 as a nonprofit with the mission to develop and maintain non-motorized multi-use trails to promote active recreation in the area.

To accomplish that, the NTN has worked with government and private land owners to develop approximately 60 miles of single track, 78 miles of ski trails, and over 40 miles of winter use single track trails, according to NTN president, Cary Gottlieb.

The trail access is dependent on the generosity of landowners both public and private. There is no direct public funding for development or maintenance of the trail systems.

“The NTN is dependent on volunteers, membership, donor contributions, fundraisers, and grants to keep the trails available for everyone,” Hauswirth said in an email.

During a phone interview Friday, Hauswirth said the trails aren’t just for bikers, but everyone.

“The trails have helped make Marquette the place that it is today. I moved away for 24 years and I didn’t come back just for my job but the trails,” she said. “They’re attractive to people of all ages and people are locating here because of the world-class trails. They are truly a community asset because it’s huge for people to escape their daily grind, and we want to continue to make sure their experiences are something special.”

Hauswith explained that although trail users have been stereotyped as younger people who are “going out and ripping up the trails,” that’s not the case. Rather, many are professionals with good jobs and healthy incomes.

“Visitors are coming and spending an average of $60 to $130 per day in the area and sometimes stay three to five days,” she said. “I know people who have stayed weeks to enjoy the trails and do other things like sightseeing and eating at restaurants in town and surrounding areas.

“If people are coming from downstate, sometimes they’ll stop in Munising or go up to the Keweenaw to try a different trail system, so it’s really a regional economic impact.”

At a Marquette City Commission meeting two weeks ago, around 100 people filled the City Hall commission chambers — a rare incident, as other meetings grapple with low public attendance.

Shortly after the meeting started, chairs had to be pushed forward to make room for dozens of people standing in the hallway. As seats filled, parents stood with children on their shoulders and people lined the back and sides of the room, shoulder-to-shoulder.

While a handful of people attended the meeting for different reasons, the majority were there to learn about and discuss specifically one item on the agenda: the Heartwood Forestland property.

After longstanding disputes between Marquette and surrounding townships, the city of Marquette purchased several parcels of the Heartwood Forestland for $5 million in 2005.

Shortly after, the Marquette city and planning commissions allotted a Heartwood Forestland Ad Hoc Committee to help with the future decision-making of the land.

The parcels, which have several NTN trails interwoven and nearby, could possibly see a different kind of development as city officials recently sought requests for qualifications (RFQ) from potential developers.

The city’s solicitation was for parcels 9, 10, 11, 12 and 35. Parcel 35, which is 20.39-acres of heavily tree-covered forestland, is adjacent to the southern NTN trailhead and was appraised in September 2017 for $153,000 and zoned as a multi-family residential district.

According to Marquette City Manager Mike Angeli, the city is considering selling the property because they’re going to lose its largest tax generator with the upcoming closure of the WE Energies-operated Presque Isle Power Plant.

“At about this time next year, we’re going to lose the tax revenue for WE Energies, the electricity plant in north Marquette,” Angeli said. “At its peak, in 2013, we received $1.6 million annually that went to the general fund.”

So far, Angeli’s had to configure $600,000 in cuts and said he’s responsible for determining another way to replace or absorb the remaining $1 million. The city also still owes $2.6 million on the Heartwood Forestland purchase, Angeli said.

The NTN recently sent the city a letter asking that Parcel 35 be taken off the market. If the city is unable to do that, the NTN will look into buying the parcel, even though the organization does not fit the RFQ criteria.

Families, business owners, bikers, runners, college students, professionals and out-of-town residents addressed the commission, pleading the value of the trail systems in Marquette.

“This is vital, I don’t know of any other resource the city of Marquette owns or has any sort of tie to that makes it on to covers of … national (and) international magazines,” said Matthew Luttenberger of Marquette. “The trails really define a lot of what we do up here.”

A couple of people told the commission the trails were the reason they moved to the Upper Peninsula.

If the trails are changed significantly, which could happen if the parcels sell to developers, visitors bringing in tourism revenue will seek them elsewhere, Hauswirth explained.

“It’s time to embrace our assets and preserve the land and start valuing the trails as community trails,” she said, adding that “great cities have the courage to give their best land to the public” — quoting a former mayor of Charleston, South Carolina.

Susan Estler, executive director of Travel Marquette, said Travel Marquette is teaming up with Lake Superior Community Partnership, among others, to place postcards in hotels so people coming in for events can go online, do a quick survey and say where they stayed and how much they spent “so we have a better understanding of the impact.”

“There are definitely people coming in (from other areas) for specific events. If you spend any time in town or on (the highways), for that matter, you can see people coming in with bicycles … clearly the NTN trails and the (Iron Ore) Heritage trails are an important element to bringing in visitors.”

As far as the Heartland property goes, Estler explained that Travel Marquette is good partners with the city and the NTN and that the organization hopes an equitable decision that’s good for both sides is made.

Jaymie Depew can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 206. Her email address is jdepew@miningjournal.net.