Exploring Opportunities for Collaboration Among Calumet Area Municipalities

by Mark Wilcox, News Writer
Michigan Technological University

The Houghton County municipalities of the Villages of Calumet and Laurium and the Charter Township of Calumet are three separate communities each with their own strengths as well as challenges.

But could these communities better serve their residents through greater cooperation or even consolidation? That’s the key question that will be asked during the public presentation “Exploring Opportunities for Collaboration Among Calumet Area Municipalities,” at 7 p.m. Monday (Dec. 12) in the CLK Schools Commons.

Over the course of the current semester, Michigan Technological University Students in Richelle Winkler’s Community Development class have partnered with members of those communities.

According to Winkler, “The key question we’ve been studying is ‘Would a different municipal arrangement between the Villages of Calumet and Laurium and Calumet Charter Township better position these communities fiscally and enable them to provide better services to residents.’”

She says the goals of the project were to start a conversation, provide accessible and clear information and examine the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

“This project is a partnership between a class of seven traditional students of various disciplinary backgrounds and Calumet area community members. We would really like to get a lot of people there Monday. We don’t have any clear answers, but we do have a lot of information to share and it’s important to start a discussion about the different possibilities.”

A discussion and social with refreshments will follow the presentation.