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Northern Options offers home builder training
Northern Options Energy Center along with the Upper Peninsula Builders
Association is offering a free Michigan Home Builder training workshop.
Northern Options is a nonprofit organization committed to community
education in the areas of energy efficiency and renewable energy.
The workshop is open to any homebuilder or subcontractor—anyone
in the building trades. Commercial builders, Habitat for Humanity chapters,
nonprofit housing corporations and high school vocational education
teachers also are welcome.
This workshop will provide home builders with the practical information
they need to build and market affordable and efficient homes. Information
that will be presented includes how to best satisfy building energy
codes, how to qualify for Energy Star designation (and incorporate Energy
Star rated products), how to learn about Building America best practices,
and how to qualify for new federal tax credits.
Attendees will better understand Michigan requirements and be empowered
to build code-compliant, energy-efficient homes that meet federal tax
credit standards.
The following specific topics will be covered: overview of the residential
energy code; overview of Energy Star rated homes and Energy Star rated
products; overview of the Building America program and best practices;
an overview of federal tax credits; three examples of compliance with
residential energy code; three examples of Energy Star qualified homes.
Discussion of Energy Star products and the new requirement to include
Energy Star products in homes; and three examples of homes that will
qualify for the federal tax credits.
The case study homes include a rebuilt Lindal cedar home with shredded
(blown-in) Fiberglass insulation, a Hiawatha log home with Iycnene insulation,
and a conventionally constructed home insulated with wet blown cellulose
built on an insulated concrete form (ICF) foundation.
The workshop will be presented by Certified Home Energy rater Brad Mann
of Comfort First Energy Consultants in Lansing. Comfort First Energy
is a family-owned business that performs energy star qualifications,
H.E.R.S. (Home Energy Rating System) testing and energy audits including
blower door tests.
There will be two sessions of the program, both on March 21, from 7:30
to 10:00 a.m. and from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Both sessions will be held
in the Upfront & Co. banquet room. The evening session is open to
the public. Refreshments will be provided.
For details, call 226-1136.
Northern Options thanks Brian White of the Upper Peninsula Builders
Association for his support in promoting this event and Upfront &
Co. for the use of their banquet room. This Michigan Homebuilder Training
Project is funded by a grant from the Department of Energy. These workshops
are happening at six locations throughout Michigan.
—Sam Simonetta
Negaunee takes lead
in preserving mining heritage
In March, nine governmental units will receive the articles of incorporation
for what will be the Iron Ore Heritage Recreational Authority. Once
the authority is created, it will be the largest of its kind in the
state.
Three cities and six townships are involved with the project, including
Negaunee, Ishpeming and Marquette; and Choco lay,
Ely, Humbolt, Negaunee, Marquette and Tilden townships. Previously,
each governmental unit had passed resolutions of support for the project,
which plans to be an important tourist attraction for the county.
Carol Fulsher of the Lake Superior Community Partnership said the project
is getting the attention of statewide officials, as proven by the grant
money that has been pouring in. She said groups involved appreciate
the investment the state is making in mining heritage, and expects the
investment will be repaid.
“We’re working toward a millage vote to establish the authority
in the November 2008 general election,” Fulsher said.
The center of the heritage area is the Iron Ore Heritage Trail, a concept
that has been explored for almost ten years, which proposes a linear,
nonmotorized park connecting multiple cities and townships with one
thing in common—mining heritage.
The forty-mile connection would take tourists from Republic to Marquette,
with stops along the way at museums, plants, railways and other mining-related
sites.
The trail would encourage visitors to explore the rich mining history
in the area by stopping at indoor sites such as the Marquette Maritime
Museum, Michigan Iron Industry Museum in Negaunee Township, Negaunee
History Museum, Cliff’s Shaft Mining Museum in Ishpeming and Pascoe
House History Museum in Republic.
Once completed, the spine trail will link these important historical
sites, but it will be up to the individual communities to connect and
market their own landmarks.
“We’re fortunate that the state sees fit to invest in this
project,” Negaunee city manager Gerald Peterson said.
On the forefront of the development is the City of Negaunee, which is
working actively to develop “Old Town,” one area the trail
passes through.
The first section of the trail to be paved runs from the Negaunee Senior
Center west to the Brownstone in Ishpeming; it is expected to be operational
in Spring 2008. A Michigan Department of Transportation conditional
commitment for $400,120 was received to further this project.
“We’re trying to break this project into manageable components,
taking pieces we can accomplish and getting them done,” Peterson
said. “We’re putting our best foot forward.”
The City of Negaunee formed an ad hoc committee of volunteer residents
who are taking on the task of making recommendations to the city council
for interpretation of sites that would be connected to the Iron Ore
Heritage Trail. Subcommittees were formed to write grants, offer direction
for historical interpretation, plan and name connecting trails and coordinate
Pioneer Day events with the Old Town theme.
“We’ve received enthusiastic and informed input at these meetings,”
Peterson said.
The Old Town ad hoc committee meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Monday
of the month in the Negaunee Senior Center. Interested residents are
encouraged to attend.
The LSCP has put out a request for proposal for a public art installation
in the Old Town area, near the Heritage Trail route west of Negaunee.
Artists are asked to interpret three areas: the first iron ore discovery
site; the Jackson Mine, which is the first iron ore mine in the Lake
Superior region; and the missing community, which consists of steps
and foundations of homes and businesses that were relocated once the
mines and area was closed to the public. The deadline is March 16. For
details, contact the LSCP at 226-6591.
In addition, Negaunee officials arranged a meeting with Ted Ligibel,
the director of the historic preservation program at Eastern Michigan
University to discuss his potential involvement with the project.
“We’re interested to work with him and his students to get
a report and recommendation for preservation and interpretation of Pit
#1,” Peterson said.
While there is a lot of planning going on, Peterson said residents can
expect to see progress in the near future, including improvement of
existing trails in Old Town, signage installed and exciting events during
Negaunee’s Pioneer Days in July.
“Our goal is to create a market in Negaunee that doesn’t now
exist for bikers, snowmobilers, ATVers and cultural tourism,” Peterson
said.
Negaunee needs to capitalize on the gems and resources it has, and Peterson
said strong city council leadership and hard work that has gone on behind
the scenes has kick-started the process.
“We need steady progress so we can show the community volunteers
they are supported in these efforts,” he said. “It’ll
never be as fast as people want it to be, but we’re in the hard
work part of transforming a community vision into reality.”
Visit www.ironoreheritage.com or www.cityofnegaunee.org for
details
—Kristy Basolo
A Tale of Two Tacos
This is the first in a series of “Think Globally, Act Locally”
articles, which will explore the steps of taking a business idea
with an international flair to the local marketplace. This story is
about three NMU students who want to open a taco stand. The second piece
will describe the next step of their entrepreneurial adventure—finding
investors or funds. Finally, the last piece will describe the first
days or weeks of business.
The bustling streets of New York are filled with people on tight schedules,
hungry and looking for food. Whether pizza or a hot dog, people are
able to grab and go. Although Marquette is no big city and wilderness
trails coexist with a few traffic-jammed streets, this unique characteristic
of New York is present in Marquette.
There is a hot dog vendor that sells to people coming out of late-night
establishments. Every weekend, rain, clear skies or snow, there are
hot dogs. Hot dogs are great, but every once in a while, I want variety.
With this information I had a breakthrough, a great entrepreneurial
idea, the answer to the question of late night craving—I would
sell something different, I would be the vendor to provide variety,
I would start my own stand.
Equipped with my new business partners, Chris Wellens and Mauricio Posada,
we sat down to create a business plan. As an economics student, at Northern
Michigan University, I had abstract ideas as to how a business should
operate efficiently and book knowledge on how businesses determine profit
margins in globally competitive markets. Unfortunately, I had zero experience
in the application process of this knowledge.
My new business partners and I wanted to take what we learned inside
our classrooms at NMU and use it to provide local consumers with more
late-night meal choices, offering them variety — something other
than tasty hot dogs. We felt there was an unmet want in the late-night
market, and we wanted to fill it while generating a profit. Everyone
would benefit.
But how should we proceed with implementing this idea in a way that
promised success to us and our potential customers?
First, we relied on what we had been taught in our economics classes.
Our customers have choices. They voluntarily choose what to purchase,
what to eat and they value those hard-earned late-night meal dollars.
Well, maybe not hard earned.
My partners and I could not assume that just because we offered variety
the late-night people would buy whatever we sold. The food item of choice
had to be something they craved leaving the bars. Something they craved
even more than hot dogs…
It had to be cost-effective for us, as entrepreneurial venders, to cook
and keep the food of choice warm. We decided we needed something simple—a
cart. All of us agreed up to this point. But, what, oh what, could we
sell?
I wanted to sell pizza, something that people could easily grab and
eat. Chris voted for hamburgers. “They are an obvious fast food
option,” he boasted. Mauricio was set on tacos, tacos seasoned
with his secret family recipe—a potential market niche.
Tacos are easy to make. Many people love them. The local community just
finished reading Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle. But would we bring
something of value to our customers?
To find out, we surveyed NMU students. As a downtown merchant, we would
be profitable only if we provided a food item in a cost-effective fashion
that they would value. The value would be expressed in the money they
would choose to spend at our cart. The student vote was split between
pizza and tacos sold at various profitable prices.
As a team, we decided to offer tacos. They could be produced at the
highest profit margin when compared to our second best alternative—pizza
slices. Tacos became a new option for late-night eaters. They were easy
to keep warm, tasty and inexpensive to make. We were especially proud
of our corn tortilla that was fried, providing a soft shell with a contrasting
crunch. Our tacos would consist of ground beef, cheese and lettuce all
piled into a hot and crunchy corn tortilla.
Knowing that we had a solid idea, we took the next step. We contacted
local development agencies—Michigan Works!, Lake Superior Community
Partnership and Marquette Downtown Development Authority. We checked
into local ordinances, zoning restrictions and the Marquette County
Health Department. The resources are abundant, the support plentiful
and, consequently, we were ready to charge ahead.
In order to keep the price of the taco as reasonable as possible, we
would have to have the ingredients supplied at the cheapest price. We
traveled to Wal-Mart, Gordon Food Services and Econo Foods, looking
for the ingredients and comparing prices. The price difference was small,
but we were looking for a way to get a large volume of ingredients cheaper.
We set up a meeting with Econo Foods, asking if we could set up a deal,
hoping for a better price.
Early on Friday morning, we approached the counter asking for Tony,
the general manager. “Should we talk here or go upstairs?”
Tony asked.
We opted for the conference room, ready to launch into a rather elaborate
presentation. Tony entered, and I pitched our business plan, after enthusiastic
introductions.
Mauricio added our hope for a relationship with Econo Foods, and Chris
worked out the details. We discussed having Econo as our sole supplier;
in turn we would be able to get a discount on ingredients.
We were offered a business account that would be paid monthly. In a
small way, we were modeling ourselves after Econo Foods, a small business
that was a force in the Marquette food industry.
Excited with our progress, we made tacos to celebrate our first official
business meeting. The evening was filled with heated debates on cart
warmers, outdoor space heaters and of course, the price of the products.
With full tummies and the motivation to become millionaires, we bundled
up and walked to Downtown Marquette.
The deserted streets and isolating cold pushed us to the Matrixx. At
2:00 a.m., people were starting to trickle out, hoping to catch a bite
to eat before they went home. Here we surveyed what people craved.
The answers were varied and somewhat amusing. Tacos and pizza seemed
to tie for first, with “but there are only hot dogs” following
behind. We struck up a conversation with the man working at the hot
dog stand and asked how his night was.
“It’s alright,” he said. “Sometimes my buns freeze
and people yell at me.”
We mulled around watching the sales, freezing. We walked back, disappointed.
There was a small volume of people, many of whom did not want to eat
a hot dog. Would they eat a taco? We were deflated, the experience a
bit defeating. Should we invest our money, time and energy into something
that was riskier than we thought? Like any other new business, we went
back to the drawing board.
After much deliberation, we decided to use this failure to seek other
options. We decided to expand our customer base. Perhaps the bar scene
would be more profitable in the summer when it was warmer and conditions
not as harsh. If we were going to start now, we needed a different plan,
something that looked more promising in the short run. The advantage
of having the cart was that we were able to change our location and
sell to different people on different days.
Perhaps we needed to change our market, perhaps we would sell more…on
campus, at a large place of business in Marquette County, and another
place? Do our readers have any ideas?
—Amee Loftis, guided by Tawni Ferrarini, associate professor
of economics, NMU
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