Questions Linger as Island Adjusts To First Address System
By Ryan Schlehuber

Main Street residents R.D. and Amelia Musser's entrance gate dons the newest trend on Mackinac Island, address signs. Ninety percent of the Island's property owners have received their new addresses, and once everyone has them, the city can implement Mackinac County's enhanced 9-1-1 service. Mackinac Island has never had an address system until now.

As Mackinac Island's transition into an address system slowly progresses, and as residents and business owners work to comply with the new address ordinance, several questions continue to linger.

What are the addresses for?

Not for postal service mail or bulk mail, say city administrators. Although it may assist delivery people to find the appropriate house, the address system is being implemented to qualify Mackinac Island for Mackinac County's enhanced 91-1 emergency response system.

Addresses will be matched with telephone numbers so emergency dispatchers in Negaunee know instantly from where a call is being made. Fax numbers and Internet telephone lines are also keyed into the system. Mayor Margaret Doud's assistant, Kelly Bean, said property owners are being notified that post office box numbers will continue to be used for mailing, although package services, like UPS and Federal Express, will use the physical addresses.

What is the Island's current emergency response system?

Mackinac Island now uses basic 9-1-1, which means a caller can dial 9-1-1 and reach a Negaunee dispatcher, but that caller must explain who they are, what their emergency is, and direct emergency responders to where they are at. This is difficult for visitors and seasonal workers, who may not know where they are.

Mackinac Island joined the county's 9-1-1 system in October 2002, three years after the rest of the county did, and only after Michigan State Police would no longer provide 24hour dispatch service. Since 2002, Island property owners have been paying a 9-1-1 surcharge of $2.21 per telephone line per month, the same rate other county communities pay for enhanced 9-1-1.

The rate will not change when the enhanced 9-1-1 system is up and running on Mackinac Island, said Bryce Tracey, Mackinac County's 9-1-1 coordinator.

What are the benefits of having enhanced 9-1-1 on the Island?

Island emergency response units, such as the fire department, ambulance, and police, have long relied on familiarity and landmarks when responding to emergency calls. Today, relying on familiarity alone is too great a risk, as the Island's residential community has seen a large increase in subdivisions and new homes. The days when locals knew everyone who lived on the Island are gone.

With enhanced 9-1-1, dispatchers can pinpoint a call from the Island before the caller even speaks.

"If someone has a heart attack and is able to dial 9-1-1, but can't speak, with enhanced 9-1-1 we're able to dispatch emergency responders to that specific location right away," said Mr. Tracey.

What has been completed so far?

Perhaps for the first time in Island history, there is a complete map of all of the Island's streets and official names. Also, each lot, building, and major landmark on the Island is assigned an address number. About 90 percent of Island property owners have received their new addresses, said Ms. Bean.

Ms. Bean said the residents who have not received their new addresses have been hard to contact.

"Sometimes, I only have a name for a summer resident and no phone number," she said. "Sometimes, I don't even have a name. It's just a matter of hunting each person down."

Ms. Bean believes she will finish submitting the rest of the addresses by next month.

When will the Island receive enhanced 9-1-1?

Mr. Tracey said there is no definite completion date, as the city, the county, and the telephone company are working to match all telephone numbers with the corresponding resident or property owner.

"It's a three-way cooperation system," said Mr. Tracey. "Being that this is the first time the Island has ever had an address system, there is a lot to do and a lot to match. We have to make sure that all three databases the city's the county's, and the telephone company's match. It may be six months to a year before we get it, but it's really hard to gauge at this point because we are working from scratch."

How do Island residents and property owners receive their addresses?

Ms. Bean is asking any property owner who has yet to retrieve a new address to call her at 847-6556 or e-mail her at a s s i s t a n t @ c i t y o f m i . o rg . Otherwise, residents can pick up their address numbers in person Monday through Thursday, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

When are address number signs suppose to be displayed?

A July 1 deadline was issued by the city, however, it has not been enforced. The city is strongly urging those residents who have their addresses to get their signs up as soon as possible. Ms. Bean said enforcement of the address sign display ordinance will most likely take effect when all residents and property owners have their new addresses. She believes all property owners will have their new addresses by next month.

Where are address signs suppose to be displayed?

The signs, which should have numbers no shorter than three inches tall, should be displayed on the building where it is most visible from the road. For buildings that are further away from the nearest street, a posted sign at the head of the driveway is efficient.

For hotels, employee housing buildings, and condominiums, which have several living units and entrances, the city asks that the main building number be posted just like other buildings. For multiple rooms, signs, which can be directional signs that include arrows, need to be displayed to guide emergency responders to the appropriate door. Each room door can have numbers starting with 100, said city building inspector Dennis Dombroski, which many hotel rooms and employee housing rooms already have.

Why are there four digits for each address?

The larger numbers make it easier for the city to assign new numbers to future development and expansion on the Island, said Michael Lange of Lange Enterprises, who was hired to implement an address grid system.

"By starting with 1,000, it eliminates the possibility of the Island running out of numbers," he said. "If you ran out of numbers between two lots, the city would then be forced to use letters with their four-digit numbers," making it even more confusing with multi-unit buildings that may already have assigned letters to rooms or apartments.

Mr. Lange said the starting point of the numbering system was at the southeast part of the Island.

"There is a lot of math involved in this process, but, basically, we assigned a number every 3.3 feet on a perfectly straight road," he said. "Obviously, there are not many perfectly straight roads on the Island so there are more numbers assigned for every bend in the road," so one building's address could be 7400 Market Street while the building only a few yards away could be 7600 Market Street.

All properties running from south of the Island, near the City's water plant, to the north, are addressed in the 1,000 or greater numbers. From the furthest east point of the Island going west, assigned numbers are 6,000 or higher.

M-185, a road which follows the shoreline of Mackinac Island, was not figured into Mr. Lange's north-south, east-west grid. He said, upon the request of the City, that M-185 be addressed separately, after the rest of the Island was finished.

What problems or concerns are residents and the City facing at this point in the

process?

There are always a few wrinkles in a new system, especially for a large scale project such as this, however, said Ms. Bean, there are no monumental problems with the system so far, only small housekeeping adjustments.

For example, West Bluff residents anticipated their addresses would be displayed from the front of their homes, however, the City is requiring them to display addresses in the back, on the service road, because that road is more accessible to emergency response units, said Ms. Bean. For some residents on the West Bluff, however, owing to its location between the two roads, access to their homes is easier from the main road, so that is where their address signs should be displayed.

Property owners and residents need only to refer to their master deed or to the City's plat map to assure themselves which street to use.

As far as losing the charm of a tight-knit community working together without an address system, the Island is adapting to meet today's standards in emergency response care and safety without much, if any, resistance.

"It's the 21st century and we had to do away with the old Island attitude," said yeararound East Bluff resident Betty BeDour.

"The change of pace here is so much slower than other places," said Woodbluff condominiums resident Lee Finkel, "but (the new address system) doesn't bother me much. We'll just need to teach the new delivery guys one more thing here on the Island."

"It's the way of the world," said Dan Musser III, president of Grand Hotel. "If we can save one life, it makes it all worthwhile."