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MARQUETTE -- The Marquette City Commission heard a presentation Monday which looked at the future of the Cliffs-Dow site and a possible land swap deal.
The presentation brought to the board Monday was a presentation by Special Counsel Richard Baron and TriMedia Environmental & Engineering representatives Tom Anthos and Ryan Whaley regarding a potential land swap deal for the former Cliffs-Dow site, which has been discussed as a possible location for the new Jacobetti Home for Veterans.
The presentation discussed environmental considerations of the possible land use deal, which if agreed to, would see the Department of Veterans Affairs take over the Cliffs-Dow site and the city of Marquette take hold of the site of the current Jacobetti home.
"We felt it was really important to inform the commission about specific factors that should be considered whenever we go into any property transaction, especially one of this nature," said Marquette City Commissioner Karen Kovacs. "Making sure that, as we're about to enter into negotiations, or continue with negotiations as we are, we really need to make sure we are properly assessing any type of sale or transaction of this property to make sure we understand what were getting and not ending up with another piece of contaminated property."
While a deal remains far off, with no letter of intent between the two parties being sent, the city is already looking at environmental impacts and possible liabilities that would come along a possible deal.
"What we've heard here are great considerations to take back and include those in that letter of intent," Kovacs said. "That letter of intent really assures that both parties have an understanding of the basic terms of agreement and some commitment to a project."
In June, it was announced that $63.4 million in funding was secured for the construction of a new Jacobetti home.