NEGAUNEE — Health, safety, welfare, these are the tenets of good governance. It’s basis of everything good leaders do.

In Negaunee, we take this seriously! Blight, for some, is in the eye of beholder. Neglecting a building with chipping, peeling, or faded paint may not seem like a big deal but when small problems on the surface are ignored, they could lead to a disaster.

Negaunee has faced this on more than one occasion. As I have said before, Negaunee is not alone. Countless communities across this state and our nation face the same issues. Blight is the silent killer of communities, slowing creeping in — not seen as a threat — until it’s too late.

Cities need to be proactive. This is why the city council voted to adopt a property maintenance code in Negaunee. The city’s nuisance and dangerous buildings codes were strengthened with this action and they adopted of a rental code. These tools have helped to reinvigorate investment in Negaunee, not only in commercial properties, but residential as well.

A good example of our blight laws in action occurred in the spring of 2019, when the Kirkwood Building, formerly located at 324 Iron St., in downtown Negaunee, suffered a roof collapse that caused the floor of the third story to crash through to the lower the two lower levels.

The structure was deemed unsafe following an architectural review and was considered by experts to be a safety and property risk to residents, visitors and other nearby downtown buildings.

Despite repeated requests, the building’s owner failed and/or refused to take necessary remedial action to abate the hazard. As a result, the city of Negaunee voted to utilize its emergency powers under the city’s property maintenance code to demolish the building.

We were successful in the demolition of the building, leading to public to safety, then investment of a new business moved in next door. Without this code who knows when it would have come down? It cannot be any clearer. When it comes to protecting the health, safety, and welfare of those who live, work, and play here, the city of Negaunee means business!

In addition, a clear message has been sent regarding who should pay for the demolition of an unsafe structure. In this case, due to the nature of the risks to the public, the city, via its tax payers, initially had to pay.

But that changed on Feb. 28th, 2025. The Marquette County Circuit Court entered a $222,369.57 judgment against the former owner of the Kirkwood Building, in his personal capacity.

This followed a judgment against the former corporate owner, the Kirkwood Block, LLC. Both judgments arise from the 2019 collapse of the Kirkwood, and the cost of its subsequent demolition.

The outcome of this case not only shows the city used its powers properly to preserve and protect the public’s health, safety, and welfare. It also demonstrates the expectations that the tax payers of Negaunee will not be on the hook when a building owner refuses to take steps to make their structure safe.

The bottom line is, if you own a building in Negaunee and don’t take care of it, you are responsible for the outcome.