July 1 Is Address Display Deadline
By Ryan Schlehuber

The deadline for property owners to display their new address numbers is July 1.

Mayor's assistant Kelly Bean began distributing address numbers in March, and property owners can stop by her office or City Clerk Karen Lennard's office between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. She said the city hopes to make small street maps available this summer.

There are several rules for displaying address numbers. The numbers must be a minimum of three inches high and displayed on the building or on a display post. Addresses must be visible from the road and not obstructed or hidden. Display posts, for example, Ms. Bean said, can be placed at the head of a driveway.

Design of the address numbers is up to the owner, said Ms. Bean, but she cautions people not to get so fancy that they can't be identified from the road.

The building numbers that are assigned are already on the city's official address map, which was created by Lange Enterprise of Wisconsin, and cannot be changed, she said.

Lange Enterprise used a grid system to plot each building, apartment, and even landmarks on a map, using advanced Geographic Information System (GIS) technology.

Places like Grand Hotel, Fort Mackinac, and even the Father Marquette statue in Marquette Park have addresses assigned to them, and while addresses for the landmarks like statues won't be displayed, they will be recorded on the city's official street map and in Enhanced 9-1-1 system at the Negaunee dispatch center.

The matched addresses and phone numbers will be approved by AT&T and then given to Negaunee Central Dispatch, the Upper Peninsula's 9-1-1 headquarters. At that point, AT&T will be in charge of updating Island phone numbers and addresses.