GLADSTONE — After concluding a community survey that gathered 197 responses about a proposed social district to allow outdoor alcohol consumption in a few blocks of its downtown, Gladstone is now appointing a committee to explore the possibility further and develop a “maintenance and management plan” outlining the logistics and safeguards for such a district. The committee is to consist of Mayor Joe Thompson, Downtown Development Authority (DDA) Director Patricia West, and representatives from participating establishments.

Since Michigan authorized social districts in 2020 in an effort to bolster communities and encourage foot traffic to local businesses, several municipalities have created such districts in their downtowns. Employing social districts in the U.P. are Marquette, Negaunee, Iron Mountain, Houghton, St. Ignace, Iron Mountain and Manistique, and an eighth city just approved the formation of one more than four times the size of Gladstone’s proposed social district: Escanaba.

The multi-step deliberation in Gladstone is meant to make sure that all concerns had by citizens, commissioners and business owners can be considered when forming a plan — or deciding whether to form the district at all.

West presented the results from the community survey, which was open for a few weeks and closed on Feb. 3, to the Gladstone City Commission on Monday evening. 79% of respondees were in support of the social district, 14% were against, and 7% said they needed to learn more. Concerns raised by those polled were surrounding child safety, public intoxication, parking, litter, underage drinking and more. Some suggested extending the boundaries, which was proposed for just three blocks of Delta Avenue.

“There were a handful of comments, too, that said (that) if we are extending the district down to the waterfront, they had concerns about passing the elementary or middle school, and so I definitely wanted to be cognizant of everything that the community was concerned about,” West said. “But from this point forward — if we decide to move forward — I’d like to pull together a committee … to actually figure out the logistics. What would hours of operation be? Would it be year-round? What would the boundary look like?”

Commissioners raised some questions themselves. Brad Mantela asked about additional costs, such as for the Department of Public Works (DPW) for setup and cleanup, the Department of Public Safety for patrol, etc.

West acknowledged that additional trash cans would likely be needed and could be expensive. She noted that as an alternative to physical street sign-type signage, sidewalk stickers could potentially serve as markers.

Commissioner Robert Pontius said that his hesitations were mostly around children.

“What I wouldn’t want to lose for our community is when I can tell my kids, ‘yeah, bike down to Dairy Flo,’ and they feel safe doing that without someone (whose) inhibitions have been reduced accosting them,” Pontius said. “On the street, someone with alcohol in their hand is going to be exposed to recovering alcoholics, kids, whether those people like it or not. It’s nonconsensual. So that’s why it’s very different to me versus, like, a fenced-in area.”

Safeguards to a social district would include not only certain hours of operation and boundary limitations, but also the possibility to halt drinking permissions for certain events that were meant to be family-friendly, such as trick-or-treating.

If a district is created but is later decided to be the wrong choice, the city can revoke it at any time.

Feedback from other communities can hint at guidance.

“I believe the success of our social district is due to the educational campaign we did for the community, restaurants, and social district signage posted,” wrote Brighton City Police Chief Brent Pirochta in 2023. He said they had not experienced drunk driving, fights, or people illegally refilling the designated social district cups. Brighton’s district was formed in 2021.

In St. Clair Shores, Police Chief Jason Allen — also responding in 2023 — said that during their special events within the social district, DPW blocks off the roadway, two officers work overtime, and a DDA within the district is also billed overtime. Allen said that the only problem encountered was people trying to bring in their own alcohol.

The potential benefit the Gladstone DDA can see from the formation of a social district is increased foot traffic downtown.

“From a DDA perspective, we’re hoping to see more businesses be attracted to that area as well, and so that would serve as the downtown as a whole,” West said.

The commission approved the formation of a committee to identify the best way to proceed.

In other business at Monday’s meeting, the Gladstone City Commission:

– authorized a $5,257 contract with the Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team (UPSET) for its services within the city.

– approved payment of a $37,097 invoice to Border States for two reclosers for the substation. The last time the city placed an order, staff relayed, it took seven months to come in; these two new parts are so that the facility will not be without backups in the future.

– agreed to pay $5,208 in membership dues for 2025 to the Michigan Municipal Electric Association.

– adopted a power emergency response plan to address a potential necessity to reduce load.

– approved the guidelines for the DDA facade grant program.

– approved the disbursement of funds for draw #31 of $151,485 to Staab Construction for the wastewater treatment plant project. Payments have been made regularly since the project began.

– approved an amendment to the contract with C2AE for their engineering services during the wastewater plant rebuild. It increases the contract by $127,321, which brings the total spent of the budgeted contingency to 51%.

– set dates for budget work sessions for the 2025 to 2026 fiscal year. Those meetings will be held Wednesday, Feb. 26 and Thursday, Feb. 27 from 5 to 7 p.m. both days. If a third session is needed, it will be March 4 at the same time.

– heard a presentation from WPPI Senior Energy Services Manager Brett Niemi about the renewable energy plan that has been formed to meet Michigan requirements for renewable energy. While prices will go up, Niemi explained that costs will be shared by all WPPI’s customers, even those in other states (Wisconsin and Iowa).