MARQUETTE — Voters had the opportunity to ask eight candidates running for the Marquette City Commission questions during a forum Wednesday night at Marquette City Hall.

The event was hosted and organized by the League of Women Voters of Delta and Marquette counties.

Candidates are running for two open seats in the general election Nov. 6. After results from the Aug. 7 primary election are determined, the top four vote-getters will proceed to the general election.

Commissioners Mike Plourde and Jenna Smith are running to keep their seats against candidates Aaron Andres, Maragret Brumm, Jenn Hill, Matthew Luttenberger, Brian E. Miller and Jermey Ottaway.

The forum was moderated by Darlene Allen, unit leader of the Marquette LWV. Audience members submitted questions on note cards during the forum, which were read by Allen and answered by each candidate. Candidates had the chance to provide statements before and after the forum.

The forum, attended by more than 40 people, covered topics ranging from economic development to environmental conservation, increasing the city’s tax revenue to addressing the future of the building along College Avenue that currently houses UP Health System-Marquette.

The Mining Journal, to remain fair and neutral, selected just one question to feature each candidate’s answer, listed alphabetically.

The highlight question was: As a steward of local government, how do you plan on helping to manage growth and development so residents, visitors and businesses are assured that the city’s special character will be sustained, and that the natural beauty, which makes Marquette’s quality of life special, will be preserved in the future?

Andres: “It’s going to involve a lot of communication with different groups (and) experts on all the different topics to decide what the best route to go is, and ultimately then it’s up to the citizens to tell the city commissioners what they’d like to have in there, or how … the way that the public would like us to proceed if we are to represent the public and represent the people of the city and the surrounding community so that our local area can grow and develop in the way that the citizens (wish it) to grow.”

Brumm: “First of all, in order to be a steward of where you are and going in the future, you have to remember … how you got to where you are, and I believe we have to remember that Marquette was created to be a port for the mines. That’s why the city of Marquette was created. Negaunee came first with iron ore, Marquette came second with the port. We have a tremendous advantage in natural resources and we must maintain our stewardship with the land. As far as I’m concerned, one of the most important city departments is the city arborist, who is responsible for the trees within the city. In the long run, we could lose all of this if we’re casual, if we’re careless or if we’re afraid of losing money and make the wrong decisions. We can’t let fear guide our judgement.”

Hill: “I have a degree in planning. I’m so interested in this topic. I think there’s some wonderful examples that are happening around the country of how we could learn from them and bring our resources to bear. In particular, I think there’s a lot of really good science and analysis that’s happening around how to plan for the extreme weather that’s coming our way and how we could put that in play in the future. That’s the part of taking care of nature. And on the community side, the people side, a lot of communication and transparency. We actually have a pretty small city government, relative to all the things that happen, and as a city commissioner, it’s going to be my job to be transparent and bring that transparency and communication to you, so in whatever ways I can do that. I think our guiding stars will be ‘Is the city safe and healthy for children?’ And if it’s safe and healthy for a child to be here, then it’s going to be safe and healthy for all other folks to be here as well.”

Luttenberger said preserving the city is a “core value of Marquette. We all love the woods, we all love the shores, we all love the snow that comes. I guess the only difficulty comes from when a walker wants to ride the same trails as a biker, or a bike path isn’t cleared off for pedestrians to walk. The stewardship is not a quick answer and that’s kind of what I’m getting at here, is the solutions we might come up with, when we’re dealing with nature, it can always be modified, and they should be modified. We’re recognizing now how much. If you spend $20 million on something, it might not be the same cost to run it three years later.”

In reference to the city recently seeking request for proposals regarding the sale of Parcel 35 that’s located along Noquemanon Trail Network trails, Miller said, “This is a difficult question but I think a commissioner’s job is to listen to the public first before putting these request for proposals together to sell these lands and whatnot, and it is going to have to go to the planning commission and the zoning commission and hopefully over time we can build something that the whole community can agree on. One of my core values … is preserve our parks, lakes, natural environment that Marquette offers and we’re really (only) going (to) be able to do this with open discussions with each other and making educated decisions.”

Ottaway: “You have to manage urban development very economically and very strategically. Marquette, the most valuable resource is clearly our lakeshore, and if you talk to citizens in town, which I’ve talked to many, nobody wants this place to turn into Traverse City. That’s always been a thing. And that, to me, means don’t build so much on the lakeshore. Maybe across the lake is OK but not on the lake, not (on) beaches. I can tell you from a small business standpoint, our small businesses need tourism, so we want to make sure those things are really growing smartly. We want to make sure that people want to come to Marquette. We want to make sure those natural resources are still available, so I’m an advocate for protecting the lakeshore, for sure, but yet we do need to grow.”

Plourde: “First off, I want to say that I am not a candidate of developing the lakeshore any further. It’s already developed. I know that we’re going to have to move the road — Lakeshore Boulevard. We’re going to have to move it inland. City government is doing a great job right now — I should say city employees are doing a great job right now looking for grant money. I am a huge proponent of getting grant money from the federal level, the state-level foundations, anywhere we can get it from. I support that every day, and we’re going to need to move that road and I, personally, don’t want to develop anything on the east side of that road except parks and beaches and I will hold fast to that. Other than that, yeah, we do need to have development like people have said. It’s got to stay with the magic of the city. One of the things I’ve learned being a city commissioner, people have no trouble telling me what their opinion is. I like that. I’m grateful for that, … so tell me what you think and I understand fully that I represent everybody.

Smith: “That’s a loaded question … but I do a lot of research and you do in-person tours, you talk with residents. For example, with the south trails, I know a lot of you are aware of the (NTN) bike trails that recently came up … I did a three and a half-hour tour through the south trails to really learn about that property before even deciding what direction to go on that. I did a lot of research, looking at maps, which isn’t my speciality, but I did the best I could, talking with residents, listening to concerns, responding to questions from the public and really not rushing into a decision.”

The forum was live-streamed on the LWV’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LWVDeltaCountyMarquetteCountyUnit/ and videotaped and posted on the website: http://lwvdeltacounty.org.

LWV provides a free, online voter guide at www.Vote411.org where Marquette County voters can view their ballot, read and compare candidate responses to questions on relevant issues and see the language for their local proposals. The website also helps voters find their polling place and read tips about voting in Michigan.